•Portuguese coach won’t solve Eagles problem, says Fuludu
Ex-international Edema Fuludu and former England international of Nigerian descent John Fashanu have both expressed doubts over the ability of Jose Peseiro to lead the Super Eagles to glory.
The Nigeria Football Federation on Sunday announced the appointment of the Portuguese as the new head coach of the Super Eagles, with immediate effect, subject to the signing of agreed terms with the gaffer.
The NFF also announced Enyimba coach Finidi George as Peseiro’s first assistant, while Salisu Yusuf and Usman Abdallah are second and third assistants respectively.
Ex-international Ike Shorounmu is the team’s goalkeepers’ trainer, with Eboboritse Uwejamomere the match analyst.
Speaking with The PUNCH, Fashanu said he hoped Nigeria won’t regret the appointment of the Portuguese.
“There is an old saying that if you haven’t gotten anything nice to say, just shut up,” the ex-Wimbledon forward said.
“I have nothing nice to say about him (Peseiro) because I know him very well and I’m just disappointed that the NFF had gone for him. I think in the next six months or a year I believe Nigerians will be screaming and I hope we don’t regret his appointment.
“I am very surprised and I’m short of words at the moment. Also, considering the money he is going to receive because I know he won’t be paid anything less than £20,000 to £30,000 monthly.”
Africa Cup of Nations winner, Fuludu added, “Personally, I still insist that it is not about appointing a foreign coach, rather it is about rejuvenating our league that is saturated with a lot of problems.
“Bringing the foreign coach is just a stop-gap that will not eliminate the problem with our football. Now is the time to invest in our coaches because the development of a country’s football is directly related to the success of its league at various levels.
“We may win three to four games and qualify for the Nations Cup but that is not development.”
But the NFF failed to disclose further terms of the engagement of the Portuguese, such as the duration of the contract and salary of the new Eagles boss.
He is expected in charge of the Eagles during the friendly games against Ecuador and Mexico in the United States next month.
The 62-year-year-old replaces Austin Eguavoen, who was appointed following the sacking of Gernot Rohr last December.
This was after the NFF, in a statement from its media team titled ‘Communique of the meeting of NFF Executive Committee endorsed Peseiro following the termination of Rohr’s contract and had agreed certain terms with him.
Reports said both parties had agreed the gaffer would be in Cameroon for the 2021 AFCON as an “observer” with Eguavoen in charge on a temporary basis, before taking full charge of the squad after the continental showpiece.
But sources said “higher forces” prevailed on the NFF not to hire the manager, and instead go for a home-bred coach, which led to the arrival of Eguavoen.
Eguavoen remained in charge of the Eagles after the AFCON, where the Eagles crashed out in the round of 16, before failing to qualify for the World Cup final last March.
Peseiro spent his first eight years as a manager in the third and fourth tiers of Portuguese football, starting out as a player-coach at União de Santarém.
In 1999 he was appointed at C.D. Nacional, which he helped promote to the Primeira Liga in three seasons. He had since gone on to manage Sporting Lisbon, Porto, and was an assistant at Real Madrid.
During his spell as a manager, he managed 627 matches, won 307, drew 148 and lost 172.
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