The coach of English Premier League champions Manchester City Pep Guardiola has thrown his weight behind one of his longest serving assistant Domenec Torrent to be made the new coach of the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Torrent was among the over 40 foreign coaches who applied for the role of the coach of the Super Eagles following the exit of Jose Peseiro upon the expiration of his contract at the end of last month.

61 year old Torrent worked with Guardiola at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City winning the Spanish LaLiga title, the UEFA Champions League, the English Premier League, The Bundesliga and lot of domestic titles.

As a matter of fact in the 11 years he spent working with Pep. The teams they managed won a combined 24 trophies much more than any pair of coaches in the period under review.

He had a short spell coaching New York City in the MLS and Brazilian side Flamengo. As at 2022 he was the head coach of Turkish side Galatasaray, and he fancies his chances of getting the Nigerian job using his time with Pep who once described him as a very clever and detailed coach.

As first called by ScoreNigeria, the CV of the coach which has the Manchester City boss as one of his referees is weighing a lot in his favour, although the technical committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are wary of his little or no knowledge of managing national teams, particularly an African side.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The interim coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Finidi George has told players of the team that Friday’s game against Ghana is much more than a friendly game due to the rivalry that exist between both teams, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Finidi has been given the mantle to lead the team in the friendly games against Ghana and Mali on the 22nd and 26th of March respectively.  The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is expected to announce a new permanent coach to replace Jose Peseiro after these games.

Peseiro who led the team to a second place finish at the AFCON left his role after the expiration of his contract, making the NFF to declare the post vacant and called for interested individuals to apply for the job.

In the meantime Finidi who was with Peseiro as his assistant for 18 months will take charge of the team, before a coach who will prepare the team for the resumption of the World Cup 2026 qualifiers in June will be appointed.

“We finished in second place at the Africa Cup of Nations and everyone expects us to maintain that high rating and be even better in a short while. Our objective is to get good results in these two matches and stay positive ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.

“They call it friendly matches but there is really nothing friendly when you play, especially Ghana. I have been involved in matches against Ghana since the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal. Matches between our countries are serious duels and always seen as battles by our peoples. The Black Stars did not perform that well at the recent Africa Cup of Nations and they will be keen to banish that memory.”

“Flying Eagles” are not only powerful and majestic predators but also the name of the youth football team that took part in the African Games for the first time. The Eagles took to the field with lightning speed, demonstrating not only their football skills but also their willingness to overcome any obstacle.

However, the defeat of the Flying Eagles in the 2023 African Games men’s football tournament in Ghana was an unexpected turn of events for many fans and experts. Playing at a high level and demonstrating impressive skills, the team still could not overcome the confrontation with the Senegalese national team.

The Flying Eagles have flown away

In an exciting and exciting football match, Nigeria’s Flying Eagles put on a stunning performance at the Accra Sports Stadium in Ghana. The team started the match brimming with ambition and determination, claiming their first goal after just two minutes through Charles Agade. However, the Senegalese team was not going to give up, and Idrissa Traore managed to equalize in the 21st minute of the match.

Chibuzor Izuogu then brought Nigeria back into the game with a superb free-kick to level the score at 2-2. The match was incredibly tense until the final minutes, when Pape Diouf scored the winning goal for Senegal, sending them into the semi-finals.

The result was a heavy blow for the Flying Eagles, who finished their tournament campaign with just one win over South Sudan, having failed to win matches against Uganda and Senegal.

The team’s head coach expressed disappointment with the result and stated poor preparation for the performance. He noted that he could not find athletes who would meet his requirements and emphasized attracting young talent.

The crushing failure was especially disappointing after the silver medal won two years ago at the previous African Games in Rabat, Morocco.

The lost match and the subsequent performance of the Nigerian team became the subject of heated discussions in the football fan community, raising questions about proper preparation, selection of athletes, development of smart strategies and the future of the team as a whole.

Many of the team’s loyal fans placed bets on their favorite players and were also upset by the outcome. Just during the African sports games, many bookmakers gave profitable bonuses on bets, and casinos, as www.topcadcasinos.net reports, offered no deposit free spins for registration. So Flying Eagles fans suffered a bit of bad bets.

The battle for who will lead the attack of the senior national team of Nigeria when they take on Ghana and Mali respectively in two high profile friendly games in the Morrocan city of Marrakesh, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria will take on Ghana on the 22nd before facing Mali four days later. They will prosecute both games without the duo of Victor Osimhen and Taiwo Awoniyi, who are both ruled out of the games due to knocks picked up while on club duty.

In their absence the battle for who will lead the line is now between the duo of Sadiq Umar and Cyriel Dessers. Two players making their way back into the squad after missing out on a spot in the team for the AFCON.

Dessers who have been in red hot form for Scottish side Rangers is hoping to be get the nod of coaches to lead the line ahead of Sadiq, who currently plays for Spanish LaLiga side Real Sociedad and has more caps.

This season Dessers has found the back of the net 16 times with 12 coming in the league, 1 in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, one in the UEFA Europa League, One in the Scottish Cup and one more in the League Cup.

” I am a very ambitious person and I won’t lie I felt really hurt when I missed out on a spot in the team for the AFCON, but now that I am here making the best of it is what matters most. It’s not easy getting to play for Nigeria because of the options available but when an opening like this happens then you have to be ready to take it. It’s my turn to prove a point”, the 29 year old who has four caps and one goal for Nigeria said.

The race for who will be the next coach of the senior national team of Nigeria has turn the decision makers in Nigerian football against themselves as the date for the announcement of a new coach draws near, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Top decision makers of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have been looking at the options for the job , which was made vacant following the exit of Jose Peseiro as coach upon the expiration of his contract last month.

Coaches have applied for the job but there is a disagreement on if the football body should go for an indigenous coach or a foreign coach. That indecision has brought about division among members of the technical committee of the NFF.

A section of the committee is backing the idea of Emmanuel Amunike as coach of the team with Finidi George as his assistant. A combo that has the blessings of some influential people in Nigeria.

However, those responsible for approving the choice of the technical committee are against the idea saying with the calibre of coaches, who applied for the job there are options way better than the duo.

Their idea is that an accomplished foreign coach who will command the respect of the players can be employed within their budget, which is in the region of $50,000. The same amount that Peseiro earned in the last days of his contract.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

A total of ten players are presently in the camp of the senior national team of Nigeria in preparation for their engagement during the international break, which they will be up against Ghana and Mali respectively in the Moroccan city of Marrakech.

Nigeria who were runners up at the last AFCON will take on Ghana on the 22nd of March before squaring up against Mali four days later at the same venue. Ahead of the games 26 players were called by the Nigeria Football Federation to honour the game.

They started arriving at the team’s camp yesterday and as at the time of this report, ten players were confirmed by the NFF as the early birds in camp ahead of their first training session later today.

The players in camp are led by the team’s vice captain Moses Simon, alongside other players who were at the recently concluded AFCON in Semi Ajayi, Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, Stanley Nwabali and Bruno Onyemaechi.

Below is the list of players in the camp as at the time of this report.

CYRIEL DESSERS, NATHAN TELLA, SIMON MOSES, NWABALI STANLEY, FISAYO BASHIRU, CALVIN BASSEY, IWOBI ALEX, SEMI AJAYI, JAMILU COLLINS, BRUNO ONYEMAECHI.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has officially confirmed that Finidi George will be in charge of the senior national team of Nigeria when they take on Ghana and Mali respectively in two high profile international friendly games in Morocco, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

As we first reported, the coach of Enyimba will handle the team in caretaker capacity in the absence of a substantive coach following the departure of Jose Peseiro, whose contract expired at the end of last month.

Although they are still in the hunt for a permanent coach to replace the Portuguese, the football house in a post on their various social media handles confirmed that Finidi will be in charge of the team for the games on the 22nd and 26th of March respectively.

“Coach George Finidi has held a meeting with Super Eagles team officials as he leads the Super Eagles in international friendlies against Ghana and Mali”, the team’s media posted on all social media handles of the team.

It is expected that a new coach will be in place before the qualifiers for the world cup 2026 resumes in July, where they will take on South Africa. The caretaker coach is among the many applicants for the job.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

As the search for a permanent coach for the senior national team of Nigeria gathers pace, reports emerged yesterday that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has settled for Emmanuel Amunike as the new coach of the team.

Amunike according to some reports got the nod to replace Jose Peseiro and will work in tandem with Finidi George, who was the assistant of the Portuguese coach during his 18 months stay as coach of the team.

Reacting to the news, a member of the technical committee of the NFF who spoke with the online version of Nigerian newspaper Thisday poured cold water on the news, stating that the football house will likely go out of the list of shortlisted candidates for the job and get a world class coach.

“I have read reports about those people believe will step into the Super Eagles Head Coach job. Most are speculations. If you want to hear the truth from me, we are taking the search  beyond all the coaches that are being speculated so far. We are looking towards hiring of another expatriate tactician,” observed the  top football personality who did not want his name in print.

He insisted that while they are not totally opposed to the idea of having an indigenous coach, they believe that a capable replacement for Peseiro will be a foreign coach with a proven track record of success.

“The only problem we have now is that we want to hire a world-classed coach. I have nothing against indigenous coaches. The person we need at the moment is a foreign coach with the prerequisite experience to handle the Super Eagles. He must be the type of coach who will come and support in the overall development of our football.

“The Super Eagles as presently constituted are too big for the indigenous coaches that Nigerians are  clamouring for. They are not bad coaches, but they are not yet at the level that they can effectively handle the senior national team.

“If you talk to most of my colleagues in the committee, they will tell you the samething. Most of us are for a foreign coach for the Super Eagles. I believe the NFF will see reason with some of us on this matter,” observed this influential  member of the NFF Technical Committee.

Second division Turkish side Gençlerbirliği have announced the departure of 30 year old Nigerian striker Olarewaju Kayode after agreeing to mutually terminate his contract, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.

Kayode joined the team on a free transfer in September last year in his bid to get his career back on track after failing to make the best of his move to Manchester City in 2018. He was later sold to Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donestk two years later without a single appearance for the club.

A statement made by the Capital team read thus, “It has been agreed that the contract between Kayode, who requested to leave the team due to family reasons, and our club will be terminated by mutual agreement.”

“We thanked Kayode for his efforts and services and wished him success in his career”.

A junior international for Nigeria from U17 to U23, he progressed to the senior national team but didn’t stamp his authority in the team leading to him having just four caps. All coming in 2017.

Daniel Martins

In a bid to beat the drop to the second division Romanian side Utad have strengthened their attack with the acquisition of 30 year old Nigerian Imoh Ezekiel, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ezekiel joins the team on a free transfer following his departure from Nepali side Lalitpur City FC, he is expected to help the team maintain their top flight status via the relegation play off, which is ongoing.

Once viewed as the next big thing to likely happen to Nigerian football, Ezekiel stunned lot of admirers when he decided to join Qatari side Al Arabi after a two – and – a – half year stay at Standard Liege, where he netted 32 goals in 91 appearances in all competitions.

He shunned a host of top teams around Europe in favour of the big money move to the Middle East, but he was back in Belgium six months later on a loan deal to Anderlecht citing loneliness as the reason behind his exit.

Since making that move, things haven’t worked out for good for the striker, who is also comfortable playing from the wings. He was a member of the Nigerian men’s football team that won bronze at the 2016 Olympic games.

In 2014, Ezekiel earned his first and only senior cap till date on the 6th of March, in the 0–0 draw with Mexico in a friendly match after coming on as a second-half substitute for Victor Moses.

Daniel Martins