The search for the next coach of the senior national team of Nigeria will top the priority of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) following the decision to end the one month reign of Finidi George after a disastrous performance during the recently concluded world cup qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Yesterday the football house confirmed that they will appoint a foreign expatriate to lead the team with Finidi who managed a 1-1 draw against South Africa, before a 1-2 loss to Benin Republic relegated to a new role.
One name that has been speculated as the front runner for the job is Portuguese coach Toni Conceição, who initially tick the boxes to be appointed earlier before Finidi was handed the job.
Conceição was among the over 40 coaches who initially applied for the job made vacant by the NFF following the exit of Jose Peseiro, upon the expiration of his contract as coach in February.
Related Post
In advertising the position, the NFF listed the following requirements as what is needed to be a part of the process, which officially came to an end on the 12th of March.
Are you a passionate and experienced football coach ready to take on the challenge of leading the national team? The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is pleased to announce openings for the position of Head Coach for the Senior Men’s National Football Team. Super Eagles.
Requirements:
– Relevant Coaching qualifications
– Proven experience at the elite level of football management
– A successful track record in leading teams
– Knowledge of African Football will be an added advantage
If the above is followed to the letter, then the chances of Toni Conceição becoming the next coach of the Super Eagles looks very likely as he is the one who has all of the requirements needed for the job.
In his last job as the coach of the national team of Cameroon, he led the team to a bronze medal finish at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. They lost on penalties to Egypt in the semi-finals and bounce back with a win over Burkina Faso on the same tiebreaker to finish third.
He was at the helm as coach of Cameroon for two years and in the 24 games that he handled as coach, they won 14 and lost just two. Eight of the games ended in a draw.
His team scored 28 goals and conceded 14 in return. His record is way better than his successor Rigobert Song who won just five games and lost eight times in 24 games. Little wonder he is on a three man shortlist to replace the man who took his role two years ago.
The president of FECAFOOT Samuel Eto’o who was keen to appoint an indigenous coach upon taking over as the head of the country’s football body admitted that dismissing the 62 year old Portuguese hasn’t paid off, hence tried to have him back in his role ahead of the resumption of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
