Nigeria’s football legend Segun Odegbami has cautioned former Super Eagles forward Samson Siasia against pursuing the national team coaching job at this time, Soccernet.ng reports.
This advice comes shortly after Siasia expressed his renewed interest in managing the Super Eagles, following the expiration of his five-year ban imposed by FIFA.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has yet to appoint a new head coach for the Super Eagles, two months after former international winger Finidi George vacated the position.
With Siasia now eligible to return to the dugout after serving his ban for match-fixing allegations, he has signaled his willingness to take charge of the national team once more.
“I am not a messiah, however, we need to sit down and identify our priorities,” Siasia stated during an interview on Kennis 104.1FM’s Sports Salsa. “We will see how things unfold.”
Siasia has previously managed the Super Eagles on two separate occasions. He succeeded Swedish coach Lars Lagerback in November 2010 but was dismissed in October 2011 after failing to qualify the team for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
His second stint was brief, stepping in as interim coach in 2016 following Sunday Oliseh’s resignation.
Despite these setbacks, Siasia achieved significant success with Nigeria’s youth teams, guiding the U20 squad to the final of the World Youth Championships and leading the U23 team to Olympic silver and bronze medals.
However, 1980 AFCON hero Segun Odegbami has urged Siasia to reconsider taking up the vacant Super Eagles coaching role.
Odegbami expressed concerns that Siasia’s reputation could suffer if he joins the NFF’s planned consortium of coaches for Nigeria’s upcoming matches against Rwanda and Benin Republic in September.
“He was once acknowledged as FIFA’s coach of the year,” Odegbami wrote in his weekly column as per the Vanguard.
“That was when he led Nigeria’s Under-20 to the finals of the World Youth Championship in 2005, the under-23 national team to the finals of the Olympics in 2008, and a third place at the Olympics in 2016.
“In 2019, Samson Siasia was suspended by FIFA for 5 years following unsubstantiated charges of corruption against him.
“Having served the suspension, he is now free to return to football. He may have been pencilled down as part of an interim consortium of coaches headed by the Director of the Technical Department of the NFF, Austin Eguavoen, to handle the Super Eagles should a foreign coach not be hired in the next week.
“That arrangement is laden with danger for Samson.
“Should the team fail to win, his name will be added to those of other ‘failed’ Nigerian coaches, and the door to a future as head of the Super Eagles will be slammed in his face,” Odegbami warned.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles kick off their qualifying campaign for the 2025 AFCON with clashes against Benin Republic and Rwanda in the first ten days in September.
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Let's go there WITHOUT a substantive Coach if it is allowed. We appoint a permanent coach afterwards whether we make it or not. Let Siasia and Eguavin be facilitators for the meantime.
voice of reason ooo.
He should work from club side for now.
What in life is not fraught with danger.? What if they succeed in qualifying.? Coaching is such a job that you cannot succeed all the time. We have seen coaches succeed in a particular team and fail in other teams. The fact a coach fail at any point in time doesn't mean he cannot be hired again and again especially if he has done well in his CV. Siasia should go ahead if called upon to join a consortium of coaches. Nobody should be afraid of failure.
I think the position is a poisonous chalice right now . The team needs stability . Eagles have what is takes to qualify for the next AFCON , but like a chef he has to get the ingredients rights . The problem is the disorganised NFF. Is Eguavoen the right May to head the technical position . He failed against Ghana and during the AFCON . Is that not an eye opener . as for Siasia he has been out for 5 years , as a result he hasn’t not attended any refresher courses . Would you allow a surgeon to operate on you that has been out of practice for 5 years . There are other coaches in the game who are better placed than Siasia.
Eguavon who failed to qualify the team for the World Cup . Siasia that has been out for 5 years - it shows that the NFF are clueless and should all resign - they want an expert but want to pay peanuts with conditions unacceptable to any reasonable coach . They want to have their cake and eat it . If Eagles fail to perform against Benin and Rwanda the buck stops with the NFF and Ministry of Sports . Who is planning team tactics . Who is watching the opposition. Other countries have appointed their coaches within days , but the NFF are so inept they can’t set a proper process . jumping from one coach to another . It’s a disgrace that a team like Nigeria once the giant of Africa , blessed with so much talent can’t get its house in order
Why did we allow Preseiro to leave in the first place?.
This was the greatest mistake the NFF made in recent times.
How could we have allowed such a brilliant individual who led us to the final of AFCON to have left the scene abruptly.
It's clearly a pathetic case of administrative ineptitude.