The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has opened up on why Finidi George was appointed as the new head coach of the Super Eagles, ahead of other competent coaches like Emmanuel Amuneke.
According to NFF Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, Finidi’s impressive track record as a coach and his experience working with the Super Eagles as an assistant coach made him the standout choice for the job.
Furthermore, Olajire emphasized Finidi’s experience working with the Super Eagles as an assistant coach for 20 months, under Jose Peseiro.
Olajire highlighted Finidi’s achievement of winning the league title with Enyimba in his second season as coach, and his current progress towards retaining the title in his third season.
Olajire also lauded Finidi’s decision to return to Nigeria and start his coaching career with an NPFL club, Enyimba.
“I’m not a member of the Technical Committee but I can also look at a lot of positives around Finidi George,” Olajire told Hotsports.
“Finidi George was not only a great football player, he has prepared himself very well and done himself no harm with the laurels he has been able to acquire in his short period as a coach.
“He had the option of remaining in Spain and taking up an appointment with a second tier club but he chose to come back to Nigeria and start with an NPFL club.
“He started with Enyimba. In his second season, he won the league title. It is not easy to win the league title so we must praise him for that and looking at the log now, this is his third season with the team and with four matches to go he’s well on the way to retaining the title.
“That is no mean feat and it shows that this is a man who knows what he’s doing.
“Pertaining to the Super Eagles, he worked for twenty months as an assistant with Jose Peseiro, that gives him head start over anybody. He worked closely with the team, was with the team when they qualified for the AFCON and came second at the AFCON.
“It’s natural that someone of this stature, someone who has accomplished these things and who has been very close to the team gets the nod, with the fact that we have only five weeks to very important matches.”
Finidi’s appointment has been met with a relatively widespread sense of approval from Nigerian football fans, who see him as a worthy successor to Jose Peseiro.
“His experience and achievements as a coach, combined with his knowledge of national team worthy home-based players, make him the ideal candidate to lead the team to success in its upcoming matches,” Olajire added.
With only five weeks to go before the Super Eagles’ crucial matches, the NFF believes that Finidi’s appointment is the right decision to ensure the team’s success and the 1994 AFCON winner will be looking to make his mark and prove that the NFF made the right decision in appointing him as the new head coach.