Nigeria football legend Segun Odegbami has urged head coach Finidi George to work out his own playing style for the Super Eagles and not look to repeat that of former handler Jose Peseiro, Soccernet.ng reports.
Before he was appointed as the national team head coach, Finidi worked as assistant to Peseiro who guided Nigeria to the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d'Ivoire.
Peseiro devised a defence-first strategy that made the Super Eagles difficult to beat but left many Nigerian fans unimpressed.
About six Nigerians died watching the Super Eagles grind out victories and draws at the AFCON, including Dr Cairo Ojougboh, a former member of the House of Representatives, and Alhaji Ayuba Abdullahi, the deputy bursar of the Kwara State University.
Finidi has vowed to make the Super Eagles play more offensively and, true to his word, the team looked a lot sharper in attack in the second half of their World Cup qualifier against South Africa on Friday night.
However, Nigeria failed to power to victory rather settling for a disastrous 1-1 draw with the Bafana Bafana.
While admitting that Finidi will not lead the Super Eagles to victory in every game, 1980 AFCON winner Odegbami has warned Finidi against resorting to Peseiro's coaching style.
“I do not envy Finidi at all,” Odegbami wrote in his column in the Vanguard.
“He is sitting on a time bomb even if I firmly believe that he deserves his new position and should be given the chance to garner the needed experience, by winning and losing matches whilst becoming a better coach, and kick-start an era when Nigerians will accept to sink or swim with their indigenous coaches.
“I listened to Finidi in several interviews. He talked glowingly about his time under Jose Peseiro and gave the man plenty of credit. I hope he is only being diplomatic.
“My humble advice is that he leaves Paseiro completely alone. He should not make Paseiro’s era and ‘success’ at AFCON the barometer, or model, or foundation for his own team.
“The truth is that Peseiro, even during his best moments at AFCON 2023, was never convincing.
“The Super Eagles were not brilliant. They were lucky. Their performance left 6 Nigerians dead, from anxiety and tension generated by the hypertension-laden style of the team.
Odegbami, Nigeria's second-highest goal scorer of all time, added:
“Nigeria was fortunate, riding on the back of, with plenty of luck. She survived and got away with it till the final match.
“Finidi should approach this assignment with a slate full of his own ideas born of his knowledge, vast experience and deep understanding of Nigerian football and Nigerian footballers. Their effective deployment will make defeating African teams more routine.”
Finidi will look to register his first win in charge when he leads the Super Eagles against Benin Republic's Cheetahs on Monday.
this finidi wil nt be able to qualify nigeria for 2026 world cup; wrong choice of coach gives wrong results!
Odegbami was a great player for Nigeria . I loved him so much that I named my first son Segun. Nevertheless, he needs to allow Finidi to grow into the game. Unfortunately for Eagles players were absent through injuries. As far as the match against South Africa he needs an experience player in defence , and Boniface up front . Boniface plays in a top league against top defenders and can and will bring more to the Eagles Attack. Lookman needs to stop over dribbling. I am confident they will get the 3 points tomorrow