The task before Finidi George
The appointment of former Nigerian professional football coach and former player, Finidi George, as the new head coach of the Super Eagles is commendable. His appointment has ended the two-month search for a capable replacement for the Portuguese handler, Jose Peseiro, who resigned from his position in March following the inability of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to renew his contract. No doubt, this is a vote of confidence on indigenous Nigerian coaches. Much is expected from the new coach.
Finidi George has garnered a rich experience having served as an assistant coach to Peseiro for 20 months, a period during which the Super Eagles produced the African Footballer of the Year in Victor Osimhen, for the first time in twenty four years, and posting the best AFCON performance in over a decade. The team finished runner-up to Ivory Coast at the recent AFCON. George is expected to beat that record.
The new Super Eagles coach should tap from his experience as a member of the golden generation of the Super Eagles, who, in 1994, lifted the African Cup of Nations and put up a brilliant performance at the FIFA World Cup held in the United States under the tutelage of the Dutch tactician, Clemens Westerhof, where it narrowly lost to Italy in the dying minutes of the second round match. George should also inculcate a winning mentality he imbibed as a professional footballer at Ajax, Amsterdam, where he won the UEFA Champions League with the team in 1995 and many Dutch league titles.
Although indigenous coaches have been accused of favoritism in team selection and arrogance sometimes, we urge George to be different. He should do well as a coach and win more laurels for the country. Since 1980, when the German manager, Otto Gloria, lifted the AFCON trophy in Lagos, Nigeria has had more foreign coaches than indigenous ones. Till date, Steven Keshi remains the most successful indigenous coach of the Super Eagles. He won the 2003 AFCON held in South Africa. Shaibu Amodu won bronze twice.
Related News
George, who won the last Nigerian domestic league as a coach with Enyimba Football Club of Aba, has a responsibility to develop local talents and incorporate them into the national team. He should borrow a leaf from the legendary Westerhof who, in four years, turned players from the local league to regular Super Eagles starters and international stars. There is no shortage of football talents in Nigeria. Harnessing the abundant talents to form a formidable team should rank high in his priorities.
The biggest task before the new national team coach is to qualify the Super Eagles to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. At the moment, the team is in a precarious position in the African World Cup qualifying group, lying third behind Rwanda and South Africa after two matches apiece. Nigeria has no reason not to qualify from this group, because the countries currently ahead of the Super Eagles in Group C are ranked lower than the Nigerian national team and do not boast of the same caliber of players as the Super Eagles.
The new coach should build on the good team he inherited from Peseiro. In his first assignment, he won one friendly match against Ghana in Morocco and lost the second to Mali also in the same venue. The win over our arch rivals, the Black Stars of Ghana, the first time in eighteen years, should be a morale booster. However, the loss to the Malian national team calls for stock taking. It is too early for the reported spat between him and some national team players such as Ademola Lookman and Umar Sadiq, at the recent Morocco friendlies. He should learn to carry everybody along while making those on the bench not to feel less important. Above all, players must be selected strictly on merit at all times.
The Super Eagles had shown flashes of brilliance in the last few years. George should return the team to the good old days when the Super Eagles performed so well in African and global football. To whom much is given much is expected. Therefore, George should improve the standard of our football.