Former AS Monaco striker Victor Ikpeba has urged Daniel Amokachi to throw his full support behind Super Eagles head coach Finidi George for the success of the team, Soccernet.ng reports.
Finidi was unveiled as the new head coach of the national team with Amokachi named as one of his assistants.
The two retired footballers were key members of Nigeria's Golden Generation that won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1994 and qualified for the World Cup for the first time.
However, while Finidi only kicked off his coaching career three years ago, Amokachi has put together a decent CV over the last 18 years.
Amokachi has been Super Eagles' assistant coach on three different occasions, including winning the 2013 AFCON as Stephen Keshi's deputy.
The former Club Brugge forward was also the Super Eagles' caretaker coach between 2014 and 2015 and can potentially boast a better track record than his new boss.
However, Ikpeba has urged Amokachi to recognise Finidi as the number-one man and avoid the repeat of the ugly scenario that developed when Emmanuel Amunike was asked to assist Augustine Eguavoen in 2022.
Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup with Eguavoen and Amunike in charge.
“The boss is Finidi,” Ikpeba said as per Score Nigeria.
“Amokachi should support his former teammate and there has to be trust between them.
“Three years ago, there was chaos among the coaches when (Emmanuel) Amuneke came in to assist (Augustine) Eguavoen before the 2022 World Cup playoffs against Ghana.”
Finidi's primary assignment is to help Nigeria qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
NB: Can ego allow Amokachi to support Finidi better than Amunike supported Eguavoen? Leave your comments below.
The advice by Victor Ikpeba that Daniel Omokachie should give total co-operation to Finidi George is very important and timely if the Super Eagles is to achieve it’s cardinal objectives. However I believe the NFF should be able to get a better Goalkeeper-Trainer if they’re unable to get enyeama who is reportedly quoted as uninterested. There should be Goalkeeper-Trainers better than the named Baruwa!!
Maybe Ikpeba should also learn to keep quiet rather than blabbing to the media every now and then.
the bull name is working against him .
amochachi shud go for a change of name . hopefully. he wil be the next full time coach after the world cup in Canada and america…
that is 2030 world cup in morroco, Portugal and Spain .
and anniversary game will be in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to mark 100 year of world cup competition
Ikpeba and his rants about Amunike. All he is doing is to justify why they choosed Finidi other than the better qualified Amunike.
The advice is okay, from the perspective of moving forward.
That said the NFF shouldn’t have imposed Amokachi on Finidi in the first place. Doing so is like setting the foundation for whatever issues that may crop up later between the two ex-internationals.
In football, you’re as good as your present achievement or experience. No doubt that Amuneke and Amokachi have good CVs, Finidi’s CV is not inferior either. A successful member of the golden generation, a successful player and winner for clubs and country, and a successful country and club coach too, how do the two clubless and jobless Amunike and Amokachi rank better than the reigning coach of NPFL defending champions, Enyimba FC, who appears to be poised to retain the league this season? I love the three explayers. But I wrote an essay in support of Finidi because he’s presently leading a club, successfully. He assisted Peseiro and understands the current players and team than the others who were pundits during AFCON. Again, considering Amunike’s avoidable fight with Eguavoen, how does he expect to work and succeed with loyal assistants when he was disloyal to someone else? If I were Finidi, I won’t pick any of those two ex-team mates as my assistants! As for Baruwa, he did well as the goalkeeper trainer at AFCON compared to an uninterested Enyeama. I urge all Nigerians to support Finidi, a noiseless winner, to achieve the best for Nigeria football.
I understand that Victor Ikpeba was a member of a group set up by NFF to select a coach for the Super Eagles and to advice on other related matters as well. The group, not he, made the decisions and he had to abide and support those decisions reached by his group and propagate same before the media when asked. That is what he has done. Are we expecting him to come to the public place and rebel against his group and the decisions it had reached? If the decisions made does not appeal to anyone, perhaps we should learn to be civil and criticise the group instead of picking on Victor Ikpeba who only had but One vote at the meeting. We should avoid making a mountain out of a molehill by throwing a wedge in the cordial relations existing between Coaches Finidi George and Daniel Amokachi. Daniel should search his heart. He knows what goes with the job of an assistant coach. If in his heart he is not comfortable with acting the assistant, he should please withdraw his services immediately rather than tarnish his good reputation which he had spent decades building. If he does not know it, Nigerians love and hold him in high esteem. As to some Nigerian football fans trying to muddy the waters of football, if na oyibo coach wey nor win pim for e country, we go support Amokachi to be e assistant… Colo mentality.
Nobody is quarrelling with Ikpeba defending the decision of the technical committee in chosing Ikpeba,what people are quarrelling with is his consistently targeting Amokachi and portraying him as a trouble maker who would pick a fight with Finidi,he made this point earlier that would have sufficed but persistently hitting at it in the media is petty,they were team mates and are acquainted enough for him to reach out to either of them personally and not having to do so on the media at each given opportunity.
He only said it once but different outlets have chosen to carry it at different times
Amokachi is a cool headed personality, but would not tolerate nonsense. But if things being equal sky will be there limits. God bless Nigeria for appointment of our fellow Nigerian to be Supper Eggle Couches