The senior national team of Nigeria started preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers game against Sierra Leone in Monrovia yesterday with their first training session at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Lagos.
Head coach of the team Jose Peseiro had 21 out of the 23 players called up in training but the duo of Divine Nwachukwu and Ebube Duru were giving time out to recover after their participation in the NPFL playoff.
Aside the duo, Victor Osimhen and Bright Osayi-Samuel are the other two players yet to join the camp of the team ahead of the game. Camp sources confirmed that they will likely be around for today’s session.
Meanwhile none of the Nigerian assistants of the Portuguese coach is in the camp of the team as at the time of this report. Peseiro has four Nigerian assistants in Salisu Yusuf, Finidi George, Usman Abdallah and Ike Shorunmu who has quit his role over what he term as unfavourable working conditions.
When OwngoalNigeria.com broke the news of the axing of the Nigerian assistants attached to the senior national, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said they were being rotated as part of the cost cutting measures of the football house.
Maybe that is the reason why there is no Nigerian assistants in the camp aside the goalkeeper trainer Abideen Baruwa, who was drafted in from the U20 as replacement for Ike Shorunmu.
Baruwa took the goalkeepers on drills while the other foreign assistants of Peseiro handled other aspects of the session with the head coach supervising what was a light session. The real hard work begins today.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
