A former Deputy President of the Sports Writer Association of Nigeria, SWAN, Umar Sa’id has claimed the former Nigeria international, Austin Eguavoen, lacks the technical prowess to lead the Super Eagles.
Said’s comments followed the purported appointment of Austin Eguavoen, as the interim manager of the Super Eagles by the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF
Eguavoen was purportedly appointed as the interim manager of the Super Eagles after Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro stepped down last weekend.
But Sa’id, in an interview with DAILY POST on Wednesday, advised the NFF to retain the coaching crew who worked with Peseiro at the last Nations Cup before the appointment of a substantive coach.
“I’m not in support of Eguavoen’s appointment, even if he is going to handle the team in the meantime. The coaching crew under the leadership of Peseiro’s assistant, Finidi George, should be brought back. For Eguavoen, I don’t know what he’s going to do there.
“Eguavoen has been there before and we know his antecedents.”
He added, “I believe the NFF will look for a competent coach that will take over the team.
We gave our best at the just concluded Nation Cup. We lost the match technically, not that we don’t have the players.
“We have seen how Eguavoen handled the Super Eagles in the past. That’s why it’s better the coaching crew under Peseiro continues with the job. Honestly, Eguavoen is not the best for me”
DAILY POST reports that though Eguavoen was the NFF’s Technical Director in 2020, he was appointed the Super Eagles manager on an interim basis for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, following the departure of German coach Gernot Rohr.
He later returned to his Technical Director’s job after the Super Eagles crashed out of the AFCON 2021 following an agonizing defeat to Tunisia in the round of sixteen.
Following the exit of Peseiro, news filtered in the media that Eguavoen had been mandated by the NFF to step in as the interim manager of the Super Eagles.
While Enyimba International coach, Finidi George, who was Peseiro’s assistant at the recently concluded AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, will serve as Eguavoen’s assistant until the NFF names a substantive manager for the Super Eagles ahead of upcoming international engagements, including the qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup double-header against South Africa in June 2024.
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