Jose Peseiro has stepped into one of Africa’s most prestigious yet testing jobs – coaching Nigeria’s senior national team with their esteemed fans hoping the new Portuguese manager can rejuvenate an unconvincing team plagued by recent disappointments, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
International friendlies against Mexico and Ecuador were Peseiro’s first games in charge of the team which ended in defeats but the Super Eagles showed aggressive attacking displays that yielded results in their 2-1 win over Sierra Leone last Thursday with a little hope of either praise or slate him.
Will Peseiro finally turn around the Eagles’ luck on the football pitch?
Some ex-stars have however backed the Portuguese coach to return the team back to the glory days but unanimously agreed that the former Sporting Lisbon coach needs more time to rebuild the Eagles.
Former Secretary-General of the Nigerian Football Federation, Fanny Amun believes winning is paramount for the team to restore confidence.
“He (Peseiro) has been engaged and he’s doing his job,” Amun told PUNCH Sports Extra.
“It’s a building process, we must be patient with him. Forget about playing well or playing badly, the most important thing is for us to qualify. If we had played badly and qualified for World Cup, won’t the fans like it? People said we played well but did not qualify.
“Let us give him (Peseiro) time, allow the NFF do their job, that’s the way I see it. We cannot have a 100 per cent performance but what they’ve done is a rebuilding process. They played the first two friendly friendlies, they lost. Now this is the first competitive match they’re playing which is a qualifying match and they won. No matter how they won, it doesn’t really matter, that’s the way I see it.”
Former Eagles defender, Ifeanyi Udeze, also corroborated Amun’s words as he also agreed that the end justify the means.
“I think the truth is we have a new coach in person of Jose Peseiro. The game against Sierra Leone for me was not that bad, remember that we played without a defensive midfielder and for me that was a problem for the team.
“I understand that a lot of people expected the Eagles to play very well which did not happen. At the same time, I think for now, Sierra Leone should not be considered a small team again in terms of football.
“The most important thing is that we got our win, our first three points in the group. So we just need to focus on our next game against Sao Tome and Principe on Monday.”
When asked if Peseiro could bring Eagles back to glory days, Udeze replied, “We are waiting, we are hoping. Let’s just give the man a chance and see what he has to offer.”
Speaking after the win against Sierra Leone, Peseiro also pleaded for patience to build the team.
“We created a lot of scoring chances, we could have won with a bigger margin, but the team needs more time and we must work.
“I don’t want that. I don’t like to suffer goals, any time. We must work more. More time, more sessions, more meetings but it is okay, we beat them 2-1 and I am happy we won. I told them in the dressing room, our team can and must play better more,” he said.
The Super Eagles would look to be at their best when they face Sao Tome and Principe in their second Group A game on Monday in Marrakech, Morocco.
Both teams have never met before and this could give the Eagles a chance to start a reign of dominance.
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