The former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro says he fixed the main issue troubling the senior national team of Nigeria before leaving his role as coach , OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Peseiro left the team in February, a few weeks after leading them to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, where they were beaten 1-2 by the host Cote d’Ivoire. It was Nigeria’s best finish at the tournament since winning it in 2013.
He was replaced by his assistant Finidi George, but he was later sacked by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) after a poor performance in the world cup qualifiers games against South Africa and Benin Republic respectively.
Nigeria forced South Africa into a 1-1 draw before suffering a 1-2 loss to Benin Republic to further drop down their group in the world cup qualifiers as they are now 5th in the 6 team group.
Reflecting about his time, the Portuguese said he met a huge problem on ground when he took over as coach of the Super Eagles, but solved it before his contract ran out at the end of the Africa Cup of Nations.
” When I took over the team, the goalkeepers was a huge issue in Nigeria. I kept the faith in the ones I met but noticed their confidence is low when they play for us. I went out and got a new one (Stanley Nwabali) and made him first choice at the AFCON. The biggest stage but I was vindicated with his performance. That solved the issue I met”, he said.
Ade Emmanuel
