The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has announced the retention of Austin Eguavoen and canceled the appointment of a Portuguese tactician, Jose Peseiro, as the new Head Coach of the Super Eagles.
NFF Dumps Peseiro, Retains Eguavoen
KanyiDaily recalls that in December 2021, Peseiro was appointed as the permanent replacement for Gernot Rohr who was sacked just a few weeks before the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Eguavoen, who was serving as the interim manager following the dismissal of Rohr, was expected to hand over to Peseiro after the AFCON tournament in Cameroon.
However, in a statement on Monday, February 7, the NFF general secretary, Mohammed Sanusi said the services of Paseiro will no longer be needed following a “recommendation” of the technical and development committee.
According to him, Eguavoen will continue as Interim Technical Adviser while former Eagles midfielder, Emmanuel Amuneke, was named as the team’s assistant coach alongside Salisu Yusuf and Joseph Yobo.
The statement reads, “The NFF Board has approved a recommendation of the Technical and Development Committee retaining Augustine Eguavoen as Technical Director/Technical Adviser (interim) while Emmanuel Amuneke becomes the Chief Coach of the Super Eagles.
“Salisu Yusuf will be the 2nd Assistant Coach/Chief Coach of the CHAN team and Joseph Yobo will be 3rd Assistant while Aloysius Agu remains the Goalkeepers’ Trainer.
“We acknowledge and appreciate the interest that Mr Jose Peseiro has shown in Nigeria Football during our very cordial discussions and have absolutely no doubt about his capacity. We believe that perhaps in the future, there could be an opportunity to work with him.
“However, in view of the positive performance of the Super Eagles at the just-concluded Africa Cup of Nations which has given hope to Nigerians and boosted our confidence in the present coaching crew to qualify us for the World Cup in Qatar, we have decided to accept the recommendation of the Technical and Development Committee to retain the Eguavoen-led coaching crew and strengthen it with the addition of Emmanuel Amuneke.”
New Super Eagles Coaching Crew
- Augustine Eguavoen – Technical director/technical adviser (interim)
- Emmanuel Amuneke – Chief coach/first assistant
- Salisu Yusuf – Second assistant/chief coach, CHAN
- Joseph Yobo – Third assistant
- Aloysius Agu – Goalkeepers’ trainer
The development comes after the Super Eagles’ outing at the 33rd AFCON in Cameroon.
KanyiDaily recalls that the Super Eagles of Nigeria are billed to take on the Black Stars of Ghana in March for a place at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
