There are growing calls for the Nigeria Football Federation to replace Jose Peseiro with an indigenous head coach following the Portuguese manager’s poor
One-time Stuttgart forward Jonathan Akpoborie has faulted calls urging the Nigeria Football Federation to replace Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro with a former international, Soccernet.ng reports.
Peseiro has come under fresh criticism after guiding the Super Eagles to two disappointing draws against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in November.
The poor results left Nigeria with no room for any further mistakes in the race for qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Among those not impressed with Peseiro’s handling of the national team is former Moroka Swallows goalkeeper Peterside Idah.
In place of Peseiro, Idah proposed for a coalition of former Super Eagles stars, including ex-Juventus midfielder Sunday Oliseh, one-time Everton man Daniel Amokachi, and himself, to take charge of the former African champions.
However, Akpoborie does not support a Nigerian coach handling the Super Eagles.
The former Wolfsburg striker insists he has not seen any of his compatriots with the requisite quality and charisma to lead the three-time AFCON winners to glory.
“The discussion where people keep telling me that a Nigerian must handle our national team, no! I haven’t seen any yet,” Akpoborie told Complete Sports.
“Okay, there are some promising coaches in the Premier League right now, but do they have the experience to handle the politics of our national team? I don’t think so because they are young.”
“So there are so many things, when I say some of these things, some people say I criticise too much. No! It’s just what is on the ground that I am saying. I’m talking about the things on the ground and when those things are on the ground.”
Akpoborie scored four goals in 13 appearances for Nigeria during his playing days.
The livewire forward was in the Super Eagles squad to the 1992 and 2000 Africa Cup of Nations, where Nigeria won bronze and silver, respectively.
