The former president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick has backed the decision of the newly appointed coach of the Super Finidi George to go for foreigners as his assistants instead of indigenous coaches.

Finidi was appointed as the substantive coach of the Super Eagles following the exit of Jose Peseiro as coach of the team after the expiration of his contract in February. He was the second assistant to the Portuguese for the 20 months he was in charge of the team.

Trusted as an indigenous coach by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Finidi has however looked  abroad for his assistants after he was given the free hand by the football house to pick his assistants. Like we reported he has forwarded the names of three foreigners to work with him as physical trainer, first assistant and match analyst.

His decision hasn’t gone down well with a section of the media who feels he should have looked inwards for his assistants, the same way he was trusted for the role ahead of other foreign coaches. However ex president of the NFF Amaju Pinnick thinks otherwise.

“Backroom staffing is more scientific right now. If he (Finidi) says he needs three backroom assistants, perhaps one for goalkeeper training, the others are for other positions. We have huge talents in Nigeria both on and off the pitch; you cannot but see that Nigerians are everywhere”, he said on Arise News.

” But the assistant coaches are the engine room of the success of any coach because they see what the coach can’t see. They call his attention to things that he cannot see even before games. It is the backroom staff that makes up the team.

“The coach is just like the leader, he harmonises and streamlines everything that they tell him and puts it to use but it goes beyond that.

“But then, it depends on funding from the federation, but I think it is not out of place. Finidi should be allowed to do what he wants to do. But if there is a paucity of funds, they can discuss it with him because we have critical matches”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Stanley Nwabali was one of the success stories of the senior national team of Nigeria at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), where the team finished second after losing to the host Cote d’Ivoire by 1-2 in the final match of the tournament.

Nwabali was drafted into the team by former  head coach Jose Peseiro as a solution to the crisis that he endured in goal in the build up to the tournament. The Chippa United shot stopper didn’t disappoint as he kept goal in all of the games of the team at the tournament.

Peseiro brought in Portuguese goalkeeper trainer Nuno Carrapato to work with the shot stopper in the build up to the tournament and also at the tournament proper. The coach was his former player during his days as coach of Sporting Lisbon.

Carrapato worked with the team in their last game before the squad for the tournament was named and he picked Udinese shot stopper Maduka Okoye, who has 16 caps for the senior national for Nigeria as  the one who should be in goal at the tournament.

Even when Nwabali was scouted and called up , the coach still insist on Okoye but the now established first choice of Udinese who has now kept goal in 18 consecutive Serie A games turned his back on the team.

Okoye informed the coaches that he will like to focus on becoming the first choice of his team in Italy than go to the AFCON, where he isn’t sure of reclaiming his shirt as the first choice goalkeeper. That decision paid off and he recently declared his readiness to be back in the fold of the team for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The decision of Chuba Akpom to switch his international allegiance from England to Nigeria hasn’t yielded any positive output as he is yet to be capped by Nigeria three years after he was given the green light by world football governing body FIFA to play for Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Akpom who represented England at various youth levels was snubbed by former coach Jose Peseiro, who despite referencing his availability and good form didn’t back it up with a call up for the 28 year old even when he was voted the best player in the English Championship last season.

After a slow start following his move to Dutch giants Ajax , he has found his feet once again and now has 15 goals from 30 games in all competitions, a remarkable output especially with Ajax having all sorts of issues on and off the pitch this season.

He is now hoping that the form will get him a maiden call up to the team with former Ajax winger Finidi George now at the helm as the substantive coach of the Super Eagles, following the exit of Peseiro upon the expiration of his contract in February.

” When you make certain decisions you don’t look back. Chuba has been in his best form lately and more than ready to represent Nigeria when he gets the chance. As for England that is a closed chapter because he has no regrets turning his back on them for senior football. The way forward is to keep his form and hope for a call to the Super Eagles”, a source close to the former Arsenal prospect told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Ade Emmanuel

All eyes were on Napoli forward Victor Osimhen in the build up to the Africa Cup of Nations after his astonishing performance for Napoli lifted them to their first Serie A title in 33 years.

He was expected to bring that form to the AFCON for the senior national team of Nigeria, but he found it hard to replicate the same form he showed in Italy in Cote d’Ivoire where the team went all the way to the final before losing 1-2 to the host.

Osimhen ended the tournament which just a goal, which he scored in the opening game of the tournament where they battled to a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea. He had three other efforts all ruled out by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

The new coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Finidi George, who was one of the assistants of the former coach Jose Peseiro at the tournament had now detailed how he intends to make the Napoli man get his mojo in the colors of the senior national team of Nigeria.

” At the AFCON, I think he was given too much job to do because he was most times alone in attack, so he is exhausted when he finally gets the ball. Of course he missed some chances but which striker doesn’t? .  Going forward we need to play very close to him that wasn’t the case at the AFCON and it’s one of the things I hope we will do when the qualifiers resumes”, Finidi said.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The second leg of the semi final of the Europa League took place today with Atalanta taking on Marseille while Bayer Leverkusen took on Roma in the second semi final.

Atalanta welcomed Marseille with the first leg tied at 1-1, they know they had it all to do in front of their home fans and that they did 30 minutes into the game thanks to their Nigerian import Ademola Lookman.

Aided by a wicked deflection, Lookman  opened scoring when he was allowed too much space on the edge of the box, but a hefty touch off the inside leg of a defender takes it into the bottom-right corner past Lopez. Handing the Italians a 2-1 lead as both teams head into the dressing room for the half time break.

In the 52nd minute, Lookman hesitated over a golden chance, but feeds Matteo Ruggeri as part of a one-two for the latter to smash a terrific finish into the far top corner. That goal ensured they extended their lead to 2-0 and 3-1 on aggregate. They extended their lead to 3-0.

It ended that way and they booked a spot in the final, where they will take on German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen following their 4-2 aggregate win over Roma after coming from behind to draw 2-2 at home to preserve their unbeaten run in all competitions this season.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleman

Two former coaches of the senior national team of Nigeria have proven that they still have best wishes for the players and the team by extension with their recent act towards a player of the team, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.

The longest ever serving foreign coach Gernot Rohr who left his role in 2021 has constantly spoken about the team, even though they are group rivals in the world cup 2026 qualifiers. He showed his human side ahead of the game against his team in June.

Rohr sent a message of support to Moses Simon who got injured in the friendly game against Mali and required surgery that will keep him out for three months. The surgery went well and he is in his first stage of rehabilitation.

Erstwhile coach Jose Peseiro also reached out to Simon to show his support. The Nantes winger was one of the players the coach picked as his favorite not just in terms of his abilities but in the manner which he conducts himself on and off the pitch.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

As many as four players who represented Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations where they finished second after a 1-2 loss to the host Cote d’Ivoire in the final will not be in the squad for the games of the World Cup 2026 qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria will resume the world cup qualifiers under a new coach in Finidi George, who has been appointed as the substantive coach of the team following the exit of Jose Peseiro in February upon the expiration of his contract.

Finidi held the role in interim capacity before stepping up to his present designation two weeks ago. He is expected to lead the team out when they take on South Africa in June in Uyo and Benin Republic in Cote d’Ivoire.

Already he has drawn up the list of players who will be called up to the team for the two crucial games but has left out the quartet of William Troost-Ekong, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Moses Simon and Zaidu Sanusi.

Simon is recuperating from the surgery he had after sustaining an ankle injury while on international duty with Nigeria, Ekong was ruled out of the season upon his return from the AFCON where he was voted the most valuable player (MVP) of the tournament. He isn’t expected to be back till the second week of June.

Zaidu Sanusi is also expected to return within the same time frame, while Osayi Samuel recently picked up an injury that lead to his substitution in Galatasaray 0-0 draw against Konyaspor on Tuesday. The length of time he will be out injured is not known yet according to a statement on the official website of the club.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

A lot has been said about the form of Nigeria interaction striker Victor Osimhen this season at Italian Serie A side Napoli with many saying he isn’t the same like he was last season, when he powered the team to their first Serie A title in 33 years.

Osimhen scored 26 goals and also had five assists in 32 league games , a tally which earned him the league top scorer award and he was expected to match or exceed the number this season but that hasn’t been the case.

Napoli are having a very poor season and have already lost the Serie A title to Inter Milan, a spot in Europe next season looks very bleak and many has pointed at the poor performance of Osimhen as part of their struggles this season, but Avelino Bonnetti says he has been the standout player for the team.

” Osimhen has played in just 23 games this season and he has 15 goals and three assists. Remember he was away for a while at the AFCON and also missed over a month due to injury. So he missed two months and yet came up with such high numbers”,he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” Compare his numbers to last season based on goals per game and you will agree with me that it’s almost the same if not better. He is having a fantastic season but it is going unnoticed because of the way the team is struggling”, he stated.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The newly appointed coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Finidi George has picked the players who will be in the squad for the first competitive game he will handle as the coach of the team, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Finidi was appointed the coach in permanent capacity after filing in as a stop gap in the friendly games against Ghana and Mali respectively, following the departure of Jose Peseiro as coach upon the expiration of his deal in February.

We can exclusively reveal that Finidi who was an assistant to Peseiro for 20 months, and was a part of the technical setup that finished second at the AFCON has decided to go for 80% of the players who were at the tournament for the games against South Africa and Benin Republic in the month of June.

Both games are in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup with Nigerian sitting 3rd in their group two points behind leaders Rwanda. The coach has decided to keep faith with the core that went to AFCON but handed a recall to a couple of others who missed out on the tournament.

His reason is that the game isn’t the right avenue to call up new players to the team due to how crucial it is in the qyast to be at the next World Cup, but the trio of Nathan Tella, Victor Boniface, Wilfred Ndidi and Cyriel Dessers who missed out on a spot in the team for the AFCON due to varying reasons made the list.

It will be made public next week ahead of the first game against South Africa on the 7th of June in Uyo.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

As the European season draws to a close, a couple of players are facing uncertain future at their current club especially those who will be out of contract at the end of the season and no talks have taken place over an extension, OwngoalNigeria.com reports.

Some players of the senior national team of Nigeria are also facing the same situation as the season draws to an end. Top of the list is the duo of Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi at recently promoted English Premier League side Leicester City.

While Ndidi is likely to remain at the club, the situation is a little different for Iheanacho, who have been frozen out of the first team setup since his return from the Africa Cup of Nations in February. Both players will however be clubless at the end of the season.

Former first choice centre back Leon Balogun will also be on the look out for a new team with his deal at Scottish side Rangers running out by the end of June. The club has made it known that the 35 year old won’t be offered fresh terms to stay beyond the expiration of his present deal.

It’s a lot different for Chidera Ejuke who is on loan to Belgium side Antwerp from Russian side CSKA Moscow, he took the window afforded by FIFA for players in Russia to suspend their contracts due to the war with Ukraine.

At the end of his current loan deal , the deal of the 26 year old who has 8 senior caps for Nigeria will also run out with the Russian side, and he will be hoping he has done enough to earn a stay at his present club or move elsewhere. He presently has five goals and six assists in 37 games in all competitions.

Super Eagles AFCON star Ola Aina completes the list with no talks over an extension of the one year deal he signed with Nottingham Forest. He is however not expected to be short of suitors as he has largely impressed with his performance.  The games he missed was due to his involvement with the Super Eagles at the AFCON,  and also when he is injured or not fully fit.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman