Sky Sport commentator Luca Marchegiani says former Super Eagles number one goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has the ceiling to be one of the great goalkeepers in the game if he improves on certain areas in his game, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Okoye played his 14th consecutive Serie A game for Udinese as they slump to a 1-2 loss against champions in waiting Inter Milan. The 24 year old who has three clean sheets this season did enough to earn praises from Marchegiani, who was in the commentary box during the game.

Capped 16 times by the senior national team of Nigeria, the last of which came in 2021 in the round of 16 0-1 loss to Tunisia, Marchegiani believes he is in the right place for further development on some rough edges in his game.

“He has room for improvement, he is a goalkeeper who can also grow from a technical point of view and the Italian school can help him from this point of view. He has extraordinary physical qualities and is also brave”, he said.

” I like how he plays the role. If he improves on the reading of high trajectories he can truly become a goalkeeper of the highest level, given his height and speed”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The coach of the senior national team of Italy Luciano Spalletti is confident that Fiorentina highly rated teen Michael Kayode won’t switch his nationality to Nigeria after snubbing him in his squad for the last round of the international games, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

In what is the final set of games before camping will begin for the European championship, Kayode wasn’t called up to the Italian side, who were 2-0 winners over Ecuador and 2-1 winners over Venezuela respectively.

So far he has been talked about as one of the best prospects in the Italian top flight as he has been ever present for Fiorentina. This season which is his first in the top flight he has played in 21 league games, six conference league games, three Italian cup games and one in the Italian Super Cup.

He has a goal and four assists to his name from 31 games in all competitions. A return which has put top teams on red alert over his talent.

Kayode who has represented Italy at various youth levels is still eligible for the senior national team of Nigeria, a country he qualifies for through his parents who are from the West African country. His non invitation sparked concerns on if the 19 year old who was contacted by former Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro will be open to discussing the option of switching to Nigeria.

” No chance. Spalletti has already assured everyone around European football that Kayode won’t consider any other country except Italy, and that is factual because it is what the player wants. No one is worried over losing him to Nigeria because that isn’t an issue at the moment”, a member of his representative told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

A cross section of players of the senior national team of Nigeria have voiced their concerns over the delay in naming a substantive coach for the senior national team of Nigeria, following the exit of head coach Jose Peseiro, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria is without a coach since the exit of the Portuguese who led them to a second place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations. In his absence one of his assistants Finidi George handled the team in interim capacity.

Finidi handled the team in the two games they played during the international break. They defeated Ghana 2-1 before losing 0-2 to Mali in the second game. Both games were played in the Moroccan city of Marrakech.

Ahead of the resumption of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, the NFF has made it clear that a substantive coach will likely be in place by the end of this month, but the players are worried over the pace at which the entire process is going.

” I can tell you we know nothing about the process. If they want to give it to Finidi George it should be made public as soon as possible”, a player who was a part of the team to the AFCON said.

” It’s really going slowly and not making it comfortable for us to plan, because you don’t know who will be the next coach. We should be discussing tactics for the game against South Africa now not who is the coach. It’s worrisome”, another player said via social media when we sought his opinion on the delay.

” Maybe they already have a coach lined up hence the delay. I missed the AFCON and my hope of getting into the team lies on who is the next coach, but for now I can’t even think about it”, one other player said.

Meanwhile all six players that we spoke with agreed that a foreign coach is best for the team, because of the cultural diversity of Nigeria and also the lack of faith in indigenous coaches.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Former president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and FIFA executive council member Amaju Pinnick says the job of the senior national team of Nigeria should be handed to caretaker coach Finidi George on a permanent basis, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The job of the head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria was declared vacant by the NFF following the departure of Jose Peseiro upon the expiration of his contract after the AFCON, where he led the team to a second place finish.

A permanent replacement is expected to be named soon but in the absence of that , on of Peseiro’s assistant Finidi George has been put in temporary charge until at least the end of this month, when a coach is expected to be announced.

Pinnick who was at the helm as the president of the NFF and also employed Finidi as an assistant said, the former Nigeria international has what it takes to lead the team owing to the football education that he has working under some of the best coaches during his playing days.

“Finidi George was one of the best wingers in the world at a point. A player that had a formal internship as a player under one of the best coaches in the world Louis Van Gaal. A player that was excellent at Real Betis”, he said during an interview on Arise TV.

” In Ajax if you know Ajax, you should know they believe in developmental football, where they reach you how to chest, trap and play the ball again. He has all the virtues, so what do we need. This is my strong personal opinion is to encourage him”, he concluded.

When asked about the performance of the team in ten two games Findi handled as interim coach which was against Ghana and Mali during the last international break, he said the results were mixed but he still believed in him as the best option ahead of any domestic or foreign coach.

” He played two friendly games, he lost one and made negative history, because Mali haven’t beaten us in over 40 years, and won one and made positive history, we have not beaten Ghana in over 30 years. Now what do we need to do. To me in my opinion, very strong opinion, personal opinion it doesn’t have to be reckoned with but it’s my strong personal opinion and I am sure Finidi George will be surprised I am saying this.

*I believe I have seen him, I worked with him, I brought him on board as one of the assistant coaches when I was the president, he has some virtues that we need as a coach leadership. He has dexterity and most importantly humility. He has come unscathed, three is no encumbrances. If you pick Finidi and wind him round. You will not see any encumbrance around him”, he further stated.

” I know why I am saying this. There so many information that I have that you don’t have. There are so many things that I know that you don’t know, so we need somebody like Finidi who played under some of the best coaches in the world and also played at that level and also coached one of our indigenous and most successful teams in Africa. What’d do we do with him, we can build capacity around him”, he rounded up saying.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

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The president of the Cameroon FA Samuel Eto’o is battle ready to tackle the country’s sports minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi on the choice of who will be the new coach of the senior national team of Cameroon, following the exit of Rigobert Song as coach after a poor showing at the AFCON.

Kombi shunned the FA and appointed Marc Brys as the new coach, an appointment which has been largely contested by the FA saying he doesn’t have the right to appoint a coach for the senior national team. Terming it as interference by government which could lead to a ban by FIFA.

“The Cameroonian football federation learned, at the same time as all Cameroonians, the appointment to positions of responsibility within the national men’s senior football team,” read a statement on Facebook.

The federation, known as Fecafoot, expressed its “great surprise” at the move which it said goes against a presidential decree relating to the organisation of Cameroon’s national football teams.

Meanwhile, we can exclusively reveal that an agreement has been reached with former Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro to take over as the new coach of the team by the Eto’o led FA.  A decision which is sure going to spark a new wave of controversy in the running of football in the country.

Peseiro failed to reach an agreement for the extension of his deal as coach of the senior national team of Nigeria after leading them to a second place finish at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations, beating Cameroon in the round of 16.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

One of the candidates for the job of the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Toni Conceição turned down the chance to be the new coach of the senior national team of Cameroon, OwnGoalNigeria.comcan exclusively reveal.

Conceição coached the indomitable lions of Cameroon for two years, but he left in a cloud after a disagreement with Samuel Eto’o who was then elected as the new FA president of the country’s football association, and decided to bring an indigenous coach in Rigobert Song, who left his role after the AFCON.

The country’s sports minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi held talks with Conceição on returning to his post as coach, but he turned it down citing his desire to coach Nigeria as a factor plus a case with FIFA where he is seeking compensation for the manner which he was axed as coach of Cameroon.

” He (Conceição ) held talks with the minister for sports as many as six times. However there are so many reasons why he isn’t interested in going back as coach of Cameroon. Top of it is his desire to be the coach of the Super Eagles and secondly not to Jeopardize his case with FIFA on his claims of breach of contract when he was unjustly sacked two years ago”, a source told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Kombi went ahead to appoint Marc Brys as the coach, an appointment which has been largely contested by the FA saying he doesn’t have the right to appoint a coach for the senior national team. Terming it as interference by government which could lead to a ban by FIFA.

“The Cameroonian football federation learned, at the same time as all Cameroonians, the appointment to positions of responsibility within the national men’s senior football team,” read a statement on Facebook.

The federation, known as Fecafoot, expressed its “great surprise” at the move which it said goes against a presidential decree relating to the organisation of Cameroon’s national football teams.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nigeria international striker Victor Osimhen scored his 12th goal in the ongoing Italian Serie A to power Napoli to a 4-2 win over hard fighting Monza over the weekend, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The 25 year old rose highest to powerfully nod home the leveller for his team landing awkwardly, which put him at risk of a serious neck injury but he cared less as it helped his team to fight their way back into the game.

His goal has sparked a lot of discussion with many praising his bravery for not minding getting injured with his jump measured at 2.23 metres. One person who has lent his voice to the discussion is legendary Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, who happens to be the idol of the Nigerian.

Drogba who was famed for scoring headed goals during his playing days said if he was in that position, he wouldn’t have gone for the header saying Osimhen could have hurt himself in the process of trying to score.

The former Chelsea striker gave his reaction to Fox Sports on the Napoli number 9’s goal against Monza: “I saw Victor score that goal against Monza. Oh God! He hurt himself, I thought. I wouldn’t have gone for that ball, it’s crazy. An absurd goal!”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

A decision on who will lead the senior national team of Nigeria following the exit of Jose Peseiro as coach is expected to be made later this month, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Top chiefs of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are expected to hold an interview session with shortlisted candidates for the job in London in the coming days. Their idea is to get a foreign coach for the team.

Speaking on who should lead the team Clemens Westerhof, who was coach of the team from 1989 to 1994, and also led them to AFCON glory in 1994 says the job should be handed to his former player Samson Siasia, who has twice handled the team in the past.

” My preference is Samson Siasia. He should be given the job and preferably get him a Dutch assistant. The Super Eagles style is very similar to the way the Dutch team plays. That’s the identity and Siasia can make them play that way”, the soon to be 84 year old said.

However Siasia cannot be in the running for the job, because of his five years suspension by FIFA, which is still on till August 2024, and Nigeria need a coach to be at the helm in July when the qualifiers for the 2026 world cup qualifiers resumes.

Siasia was banned after being found guilty of accepting an offer to receive bribes to alter the outcome of matches.

Westerhof went further to lament the team’s style of play at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations, where they finished second losing 1-2 to Cote d’Ivoire in the final of the tournament in February.

” I didn’t like recognize my team anymore. That’s not how the Super Eagles play so it’s a blessing that the coach (Peseiro) is no longer at the helm. That was ultra defensive and shameful for Nigeria to play like that”, he said.

The international future of on loan Atalanta defender Caleb Okoli is still not clear as he is yet to decide on representing either Italy or Nigeria at senior level, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

22 year old Okoli is eligible for Nigeria through his parents even though he has represented Italy at various youth levels starting from the U19 to U21, making  a total of 25 appearances.

His last involvement came in 2021 and with no sign of a breakthrough into the senior national team, the former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro last year said he will convince the defender who is shining bright at Frosinone in the Serie A, where he is on loan to switch nationality to Nigeria.

“Yes, we will try. After this friendly match against Portugal, there will be time to talk to him and to understand his decision, ” Peseiro told Tuttomercatoweb in November 2022.

“Whether he wants to play with us or not. I will talk to him through Lookman: I will present my model to him. , what do I think of him, the project we can have together with Nigeria “.

We can exclusively report that despite openly courting the defender who has made 27 appearances this season, Peseiro didn’t at any point in time hold any discussion with the player or his representative on playing for the Super Eagles.

” Peseiro didn’t speak with Okoli. When I saw the statement credited to Peseiro I had to ask him if any contact has taken place and he said none at all. Even before the AFCON we had the same discussion and he said at no point was he contacted. A decision can only be made when there is contact. So fingers crossed for now”, his representative told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman