The former captain of the senior national team of Nigeria John Obi Mikel has hinted that a former midfielder of English Premier League side Chelsea asked him about taking over as coach of the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Nigeria have been without a substantive coach since the exit of Finidi George as coach with talks breaking down with Bruno Labbadia who was named as the new coach by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Austine Eguavoen was put in temporary charge of the team leading them in the AFCON qualifiers, where the team picked four out of a possible six points by beating Benin Republic 3-0 and drawing 0-0 away to Rwanda in Kigali.
His mandate was to lead the team for two games and following the conclusion of the games, the role is expected to be made vacant soon, with Eguavoen confirming that his fourth stint has come to a temporary end shortly after yesterday’s game.
Mikel speaking on his podcast Obione said Gustavo Poyet who left his role as coach of Greece in March following the expiration of his two year contract asked him about the offer of taking over as Super Eagles Coach after contacts with the NFF.
He said he advised him to accept the role, but should be aware that he will likely get the much needed support from the federation, although it will be a good career move as he will get the chance to work with very good players.
Like we reported after the breakdown in talks with Labbadia, the ex Uruguay international was among a shortlist of four which includes Aitor Karanka and Fabio Cannavaro form which the German was picked as coach.
Just like Mikel, Poyet made his name playing for Chelsea from 1997 to 2001 before moving to Tottenham Hotspur where he spent three years. He made the switch to a coach in 2006 when he became a player and assistant manager at Swindon Town alongside ex-Chelsea teammate, Dennis Wise.
The role of assistant he also played at Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur before becoming head coach.
He has since then managed teams like Brighton and Hove Albion, Sunderland, AEK Athens, Real Betis, Shanghai Shenhua, Bordeaux with his only role as head coming with Greece as earlier mentioned.
