Champions League record holder to serve as Emmanuel Amunike’s Super Eagles assistant coach – report

The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, may have settled for former international Daniel Amokachi as one of the assistant coaches to the new head coach of the Super Eagles, Soccernet.ng reports.

A new handler for the Super Eagles is expected to be named this week, with all indications pointing to former Barcelona winger Emmanuel Amunike.

After shelving initial plans to appoint a foreign coach for the national team due to financial constraints, the NFF has reportedly decided to hand Amunike the Super Eagles coaching job. 

The 1994 Africa Footballer of the Year won the race ahead of Finidi George, Daniel Amokachi, Ndubuisi Egbo, Michael Nsien, and several other former internationals.

According to reports from Owngoal, Amunike will work with fellow AFCON 1994 winner Amokachi to guide the Super Eagles to reach clearly stated objectives.

Enyimba FC coach Finidi was the assistant coach to Jose Peseiro during the Portuguese manager’s near two-year stay as head coach.

Daniel Amokachi’s impressive profile

Amokachi was only 17 when he went to his first Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria in 1990, where Nigeria picked a silver medal.

Amokachi entered the Champions League record books in 1992 when he became the first player to score in the competition’s new format after his goal secured a 1–0 win for Club Brugge in the opening match in the group stage against CSKA Moscow.

He won the prestigious Belgian Ebony Shoes Award twice, in 1992 and 1994.

In 1994, the former Ranchers Bees star was in the same Super Eagles squad with Amunike as Nigeria became African champions for the second time in Tunisia.

Amokachi and Amunike were the only players to score two goals each for Nigeria at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, the country’s first appearance at the Mundial.

Both of them also scored against Argentina in the final of the 1996 Olympic Games, where Nigeria won Africa’s first gold medal in the football event.

Amokachi played for Everton and Beşiktaş before injury forced him to retire in 2006, after which he took up the coaching job at Nasarawa United.

He has also coached Enyimba FC, Ifeanyi Ubah, and Finland’s JS Hercules.

Amokachi has previously served two spells as assistant coach of the Super Eagles, helping out Shuaibu Amodu and later Stephen Keshi.

The high point of his coaching career was assisting Keshi in guiding Nigeria to a third continental triumph at the 2013 AFCON.

NB: Is the Amunike-Amokachi combo the best fit for the Super Eagles at this moment? Leave your comments below, please.