Categories: EPLNews

Pinnick Says Yobo’s Appointment is Not Different To That Of Former Arsenal Star

The former Everton defender’s appointment as Nigeria’s national team assistant manager has received a lot of criticism, but Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Amaju Pinnick has once again defended the decision. 

Joseph Yobo was appointed as Gernot Rohr’s number two, but it did not go down well with a lot of of people including former Super Eagles star, Celestine Babayaro who questioned Yobo’s credentials.

However, Pinnick insists the decision is a right one, comparing Yobo’s appointment to that of his former Everton teammate, Mikel Arteta, at Arsenal.

Arteta and Yobo were teammates at the Goodison Park before the Spaniard moved to Arsenal in 2011. He played for five years with the Gunners before retiring in 2016.

Following his retirement, Arteta moved into management, and he became an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.  He returned to Arsenal as their head coach in December 2019 after Unai Emery was sacked as the Gunners manager.

Having seen Arteta’s journey into management, Pinnick also expects Yobo to take a similar route with his appointment as Super Eagles assistant manager.

The NFF president made this claim in an interview with HipTv, saying the only difference between Arteta and Yobo is their skin colour.

This post was last modified on February 28, 2020 4:14 pm

Joba Ogunwale

Oluwajoba Ogunwale has many years of experience as a sports content writer. The most recent of these was at Opera News, after which he took up the role of Editor-in-Chief at Soccernet.

Share
Published by
Joba Ogunwale

Recent Posts

Galatasaray hit with Victor Osimhen blow as Okan Buruk laments missed chances against Ajax

Nigeria international Victor Osimhen will miss Galatasaray’s first playoff game in the UEFA Europa League… Read More

1 hour ago

Placeholders? Saudi clubs’ Deja vu tricks with Boniface and Osimhen

Saudi Arabian clubs appear to be repeating a familiar pattern in their pursuit of Nigerian… Read More

2 hours ago

Ajax vs Galatasaray: Victor Osimhen scores again, but toothless Lions lose record in Amsterdam

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen was on target for Galatasaray, but his goal was not… Read More

8 hours ago

Super Eagles call-up? Nathan Tella breaks silence on Chelle’s selection

Super Eagles winger Nathan Tella has expressed his desire to return to the Nigerian national… Read More

13 hours ago

Can Akpom save Van Nistelrooy’s job? Leicester close in on Super Eagles-eligible striker

Leicester City are edging closer to securing the signing of Super Eagles-eligible striker Chuba Akpom… Read More

16 hours ago

Napoli reject first official bid for Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen amid Arsenal and Man United link

Napoli have turned down an initial €65 million bid from Galatasaray for Victor Osimhen, with… Read More

18 hours ago