Izuchukwu OkosiThe job of the Super Eagles coaching position has been declared vacant by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Since that declaration, a lot of indigenous coaches have expressed interest in handling the Nigerian national team.
These caches have either been in the saddle before or are aiming to have a shot at the team for the first time.
With the chances of the NFF handing the job to an acclaimed world class coach due to inability to pay heavily for his entitlements, Prime Business Africa’s Izuchukwu Okosi presents the three coaches who are likely to be considered for the position and offers reasons why they are seen as the best options.
Meanwhile for those who might not have been privy to the names, these are the coaches to have shown interest in the position: Emmanuel Amunike, Sunday Oliseh, Sylvanus Okpala, Antonio Conceicao (foreign), Ndubuisi Egbo, Daniel Amokachi and Salisu Yusuf.
Conceicao is the only foreign manager to have thrown his cap in the ring and although he has coached a number of top AFCON sides including the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, he wouldn’t be classified as one of the world class coaches that Nigerian football faithful were hoping for.
1. Emmanuel Amunike
Former Super Eagles winger and 1994 African Footballer of The Year award winner Emmanuel Amunike is in the running for the job and many believe he has the prerequisites to become the successor to Jose Peseiro.
Amunike, a key member of the 1994 AFCON won by Nigeria where he scored the two goals in the final against Zambia in a 2-1 win, was in charge of the Golden Eaglets side that won the cadet World Cup for a record fifth time in 2015.
That team had the likes of current African Footballer of The Year, Victor Osimhen, international teammate, Samuel Chukwueze and Kelechi Nwakali who was the MVP of the tournament.
In fact the trio were the top three players in the MVP (Most Valueable Player) rankings – Nwakali, Osimhen and Chukwueze in that order. Osimhen of course finished the tournament as topscorer with a record 10 goals.
So Amunike, a onetime member of the FIFA Technical Committee, is seen as a father figure for the players who are familiar with his coaching ideas and principles.
Osimhen in his speech during the 2023 Africa Player of the Year award ceremony held on 11 December 2023 in Morocco did admit that without Amunike, he couldn’t have achieved that feat.
2. Finidi George
Another Tunisia 94 AFCON hero who was also a key player for Nigeria at the USA 94 World Cup, Finidi George is most likely going to be in the running for the job.
George was one of the assistants to Jose Peseiro during the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire and is currently the chief coach of Enyimba FC of Aba.
The former Ajax and Real Betis star who won the 1994/1995 UEFA Champions League title with Ajax (with fellow Nigerian international, Nwankwo Kanu) has been designated to be in charge of the team in the team’s upcoming friendlies against Ghana and Mali.
Having also worked with a number of the players at the AFCON, this factor is enough to make Finidi a good candidate for the job.
READ ALSO: NFF Hands Peseiro New Contract, Releases Super Eagles Squad For AFCON Qualifier
3. Antonio Conceicao
If you have coached the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon and have a deep understanding of the dynamics of African football, then that is a good criteria to be considered for the Super Eagles coaching job.
The problem with appointing Conceicao could be that the Nigeria Football Federation went public with their plans
Perhaps if the egg heads at the Glass House had known that a coach in the person of Conceicao were interested, they might have quietly conducted an interview with him.
Now the pressure could be on the NFF to appoint a local coach going by the demands of most Nigerians who know they cannot afford employing the likes of Jose Mourinho for instance.
In the words of ace sports journalist and social commentator, Desmond Ekwueme: “An indigenous coach who probably played football and started in the local scene would see it as a task to help develop the local league to ensure production of quality players for the Super Eagles and other tiers of the national teams,” the onetime News Editor at Complete Sports newspaper told Prime Business Africa.
The identity of the substantive coach is expected to be made known in April ahead of June’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixtures against South Africa and Benin Republic.
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Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
