The technical committee of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, will meet today (Thursday) to pick the next coach of the Super Eagles, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Nigerian national team has been without a substantive head coach since Jose Peseiro vacated the position after the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
Former international Finidi George took charge of the Super Eagles on an interim basis for the friendly games against Ghana and Mali in March.
A new head coach is expected to be named in the coming hours as Nigeria prepare for two crucial World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic in June.
Ahead of the coach selection, NFF technical committee member Felix Owolabi has outlined the qualities the body will look for in the shortlisted candidates.
“I think this issue of Eagles having either an indigenous or foreign coach should not cause this great country sleepless nights. Whatever the NFF decides, the talents are already there,” former international Owolabi said, as per Score Nigeria.
“All we need is someone very intelligent, knowledgeable about the game, who has seen it all as a player at local, national and international levels. He must be that personality who is higher and above the players.
“To manage the Super Eagles, the coach must have integrity such that the players will respect him. His CV should be enough to speak for him. And there should be an understanding that such a person will respect the local league, which is the future and destiny of our football.”
Who does the crown fit?
Two criteria stick out from Owolabi’s comments.
The next Super Eagles coach must have enjoyed an excellent playing career for club and country, and he must have made a significant impact during his coaching career.
Of the two front-runners for the Super Eagles coaching job, Domènec Torrent and Emmanuel Amunike, it is the former Barcelona winger who fits the bill almost perfectly.
Amunike won two Egyptian league titles and the CAF Champions League with Zamalek. He claimed two honours with Sporting Lisbon and the Copa del Rey with Barcelona.
For Nigeria, Amunike lifted the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations and the Olympic Games gold medal in 1996, scoring in the final of both competitions.
He was the second Nigerian – after Daniel Amokachi – to score two goals in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup and was the CAF Africa Footballer of the Year in 1994.
The best club Spanish manager Domènec Torrent played during his active days was amateur side Olot, in the sixth division of the country’s league system.
Torrent, however, has a slight advantage over Amunike regarding the coaching criteria.
As a coach, Amunike led Nigeria to win the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2015 and guided Tanzania to qualify for the 2019 AFCON for the first time in almost four decades.
Torrent, on the other hand, has managed clubs in Spain, Brazil, and Turkey. However, he only spent a few months at any of Girona, Flamengo, or Galatasaray before he was sacked for poor results.
The most significant period of Torrent’s coaching career was spent as Pep Guardiola’s longest-serving assistant and close buddy.
The 62-year-old was Guardiola’s right-hand man when he coached Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and his first two years at Manchester City.
The experience and tactical knowledge he gained beside one of the world’s greatest football minds has, however, failed to come to the fore since he left the coaching bench at Manchester City.
The NFF technical committee could, however, be open to hiring a European manager for the Super Eagles while a Nigerian tactician could be picked as the assistant.
It is a formula that has worked well in the past, according to Owolabi.
“A mixture of both with a perfect understanding will give us results. After all, the three times we won the African Nations Cup, we had two whites, Otto Gloria and Clemens Westerhof.
You can only get the best if you go for the best,” Owolabi noted.
NB: Does the NFF coach selection committee’s criteria favour Amunike or Torrent? Leave your comments below.
SHORT TIME BEFORE OUR NEXT GAMES!!! so AMUNEKE is the best because of time to prepare. amuneke is two time assistant super Eagle coach and that is very crucial if our Nff Jamboree officials actually know football or know what they are doing. I have it on good international information that some of our nff members and technical committee have been bribed and some are after what they stand to gain. Mr nff president should simply hand amuneke and let him select his assistants himself no excuses! that is what immediate effect. If you idiots appoint a journeyman white coach and we eventually fail to go to next world Cup after the last world Cup disaster-class decisions by the these jamboree Nff and all his bodies, then we will all protest seriously to the world and fifa and Nigeria president and sack all of them out of office impromptu! Maybe we can also appoint a foreign Nff president and it’s foreign nff members and technical incompetent committee! Give amuneke this job already and let him hand pivot and pick his assistants personally! WE SHOULDN’T DISREGARD AND DISRESPECT OUR OWN, Amuneke Emmanuel is and should be crowned…
OH MAN, WHO ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO BEGIN TO CALL OUR LEADERS, “IDIOT”?
YOU DON’T JUST OPEN YOUR MOUTH ANYHOW TO TALK TO HUMAN BEINGS, TALKLESS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY LEADERS. WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, THEY ARE ALREADY LEADERS.
PLEASE, LET’S LEARN TO SPEAK WITH SOME GRACE.
Please just a note of correction, Emmanuel Amuneke was not the first Nigerian to score two goals in a single edition of the World Cup. That honour goes to Daniel Amokachi. Both Amuneke and Amokachi scored their first World Cup goals during Nigeria’s opening game against Bulgaria in US ‘94 World Cup. However, while Amunke’s second goal came during the second round loss to Italy, Amokachi had already scored his second World Cup goal in the last group match against Greece.
That is noted. Thanks for the spot. The story will be updated
you didn’t even see it clearly before correcting someone that was right. He said “Emmanuel Amunike was the second Nigerian after Daniel Amokachi to score two goals in a single world cup” His write up has no fault.
Dear Mr Noble, you can see from the writer’s response that the correction has already been made. You only read the story 3hours after the correction has been made.
Dear Mr Aleks, so sorry brotherly. I admire you for being polite and civilized.
dies it matter in this case? say something else
The Author only narrated the achievement of Amuneke winning u17 cup, 5th Nigeria coach to lift the trophy. How about his records with ocean boys and Julius berger, also the u20 team? he coached in Zambia, Sudan, Egypt, got sacked in all the clubs. For the record, he managed 9 matches with Tanzania, won only 2.
Any coach that is able to qualify low rated team like Tanzania should be praised.im sure if take Guardiola there,it won’t do it
Amuneke will fail Nigerians are so blind to what is right you guys are always talking of the under 17 team , what did he do in Sudan, Egypt Zambia with zanaco, if Amuneke is appointed we will not qualify for the world cup. Just like the case of Tinubu every one was shouting emi lokan , it has turned out to be ẹni kan lo mo , you better appoint conceicao who won a bronze at the afcon or torrent domenec and forget about tactically bankrupt coach in person of amuneke
Afcon was expanded to 24 teams in 2019, reason it was easy for tanzania to qualify, same reason they easily qualified for last afcon. Aforesaid, he only won 2 matches with tanzania. I wish whoever is picked best of luck.
l used to imagine and wonder the faces of the people that are currently running the Nigerian football federation (NFF). Thanks goodness, l happened to know one of them today – Felix Owolabi.
chai , Oga, Owo blo!!! So you dey among dem wey dey mess us up for that NFF? Na wa for una-o! Youu are a man l used to respect a lot. Why are you you people always employing “African Time” in everything you do? One would expect that as you and some of your people there are past footballers yourselves, you guys would understand the importance of URGENTLY (I MEAN URGENTLY) appointing a trainer for the Eagles? A serious minded FA should have completed this process more than 1 month ago to allow ample time for the new coach to settle down and organise things.
But in you guys’ usual lackadaisical fire brigade style, you and your people in the glass house have decided to waste all this time in the world saying you want the best. The best could have been selected/appointed by now in a more structured timely ⏲️ manner. Mr Owolabi, we are all disappointed innyou and your people!!!!!
As regards the next Super Eagles’ coach, l personally believe that Emmanuel Amunike is capable of doing the job, supported by good foreign assistants. Senegal and Cote Devoire won the AFCON with local coaches, and l am supremely confident that Amunike will deliver.
Please, oga, Owolabi, you and your people at the NFF should jettison your bad habit of time wasting and learn to work with and ahead of time ⏲️ ⏲️ ⏲️
Don’t mistakenly pick Amunike and if you do forget about the next world cup. Also picking Amunike means you have already Biafralised Super Eagles because he is a tribal bigot.
So to this day we are still finding hard to free ourselves from this mental slavery,if the foreign coach are better than we should as well let them run our government,mumu them the last three Afcon was wone by which foreign coach?