Nigerian football legend Segun Odegbami has admitted to a change of heart regarding Eric Chelle’s appointment as Super Eagles head coach, revealing the Franco-Malian's detailed plan to transform the team, Soccernet.ng reports.
Odegbami, a key figure in Nigeria’s 1980 Africa Cup of Nations triumph, was initially among those critical of the Nigeria Football Federation’s decision to hire Eric Chelle.
The 46-year-old became the first non-Nigerian African coach to take charge of the three-time AFCON winners when he was appointed in January, a decision that caught many by surprise.
Chelle, a former Mali international, had an unremarkable playing career and had yet to secure a major managerial achievement before leading Mali to the quarter-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
With the NFF widely expected to turn to a European coach after the unsuccessful tenure of Finidi George, the appointment of Chelle left figures like Odegbami questioning the Federation’s direction.
However, after meeting Chelle for the first time this week in the company of NFF Secretary-General Muhammed Sanusi and National Sports Commission Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko, Odegbami was given insight into the coach’s blueprint for the Super Eagles.
In his column for Complete Sports, Nigeria’s third-highest all-time goalscorer described Chelle’s approach as reminiscent of Clemens Westerhof, the Dutch tactician who masterminded Nigeria’s golden era in the 1990s.
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Eric Chelle’s game plan: A return to Nigeria’s roots
Odegbami highlighted Chelle’s meticulous approach to player scouting and tactical philosophy, revealing the coach’s commitment to building a cohesive and dynamic squad.
“He has been gathering information on all great players of Nigerian descent abroad and keeping their data,” Odegbami wrote.
“He passes those born abroad and those that were bred in Nigeria through different prisms for his analysis. He has spent endless hours watching each one of the players at least five times in different matches to know them well.
“He is almost ready now. He would use the natural strength of Nigerian players to form his style of play – pressing hard when they lose the ball, spreading out and playing with confidence, strength, and speed when they are in possession. Getting to opposing goals in the shortest possible time and with the fewest number of passes.
“These are copies from Father Tiko and Clemens Westerhof’s books of football. He reminded me of how Nigerian football was played when at its best—quick forwards, quick counters, using strength and speed down the flanks.
“As he went on and on, he was making sense and raising confidence. He seems to know clearly what he wants to do.
“Finally, it was clear he was not in Nigeria for the money that he would make. He wants to create history for the country and for himself.”
Chelle will have little time to settle, with Nigeria facing two crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers this month. The Super Eagles travel to Kigali to take on Rwanda on March 21 before returning home to face Zimbabwe four days later.
Nigeria currently sit winless in their group after four matches, trailing Rwanda, South Africa, Benin, and Lesotho. With only the top team securing automatic qualification for the World Cup, Chelle's new approach must deliver results quickly.
The stakes could not be higher, but if Odegbami’s assessment is anything to go by, Nigeria may just have found a coach capable of reigniting the Super Eagles’ identity.
