Jose Peseiro has slammed the door on making a u-turn on his decision not to renew his contract as coach of the senior national team of Nigeria following the expiration of his deal, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Peseiro was given a target of getting to at least the semi final of the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and he went a step further by taking the team to the final, where they were beaten by the eventual winners and host Cote d’Ivoire.

He was offered an extension but he turned it down, largely due to disparity in what is proposed to him as his monthly salary. Many thought both parties will find an agreement for the coach to continue in his role, but that is looking like it is never going to happen.

Sources close Peseiro exclusively confirmed that he has disengaged any thoughts of returning as Super Eagles coach, and has entered into full blown negotiations with Cameroon to replace sacked Rigobert Song.

Peseiro who led the Super Eagles to a 1-0 defeat over Cameroon in the round of 16 of the AFCON has already held talks with president of FECAFOOT Samuel Eto’o on replacing Song. The talks per what we gathered went well.

However, Eto’o still needs approval from the country’s minister for sports for the deal to happen as they are expected to pay some part of the monthly wages to the coach, which we are made to believe will be at around $100,000 a month.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The decision on who will be the substantive coach of the senior national team of Nigeria has been moved to the end of April by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Super Eagles will prosecute the upcoming friendly games against Ghana and Mali respectively with Finidi George, who was one of the assistants to former coach Jose Peseiro on the touchline as the interim head coach.

After the game, we are made to understand that a decision will be made on who will be the coach of the team in permanent capacity with Finidi expected to keep his position as one of the assistants of the expected coach. He is likely to be handed more responsibility with the CHAN Eagles as head coach.

A chieftain of the NFF who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity said around 500 coaches applied for the post of the head coach of the team after they made it open for interested candidates to apply.

When pressed on who is the favourite he said , a Portuguese is likely going to be replacing fellow Portuguese Peseiro as the coach, and explained why it is so at least for now. ” António Conceição is the leading candidate for the job because he meets all the criteria but the most important thing is reaching a compromise on what he will earn”, a chieftain of the NFF said.

” He has African experience, boast of the highest qualification and more experienced than the rest in the queue for the job. Two years ago he had a chance but wasn’t favored. We wait to see by next month”, he concluded on the Portuguese.

” For Emmanuel Amuneke, his case is strong thanks to you guys in the media but his desperation is what we are wary about, particularly how he got the job to assist Austine Eguavoen. More like using powers at the top to join the crew and he may even muddle up the NFF and blackmail them while on the job with his media if he is not getting his way. That’s a high risk to start with.

” Finidi George will work with whoever gets the nod to handle the team because he will act s the link between the new coach and the team. He has been around for almost two years but with all due respect not quite sure he can step up to the head coach role now. Yes he won the league with Enyimba last season but this is the Super Eagles, it goes beyond coaching the players”, he concluded.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Following the failure of the Nigeria football federation to renew the contract of Jose Peseiro, who then decided to move on, after the expiration of his two year deal, the NFF immediately advertised the vacant position of chief coach of the senior national team and since then, over fifty individuals, from home and abroad, have signified their intention to lead the three times African champions.

Till this day, Thursday March 14, 2024, interested applicants are still sending in their Curriculum Vitae for the plum job and it is not looking like a coach will be appointed before Friday March 22, when the AFCON 2023 runners-up will engage the Black Stars of Ghana in a friendly encounter planned for the beautiful city of Marrakech in Morocco.

Chieftains of the NFF Technical committee and technical department are taking their time to seriously scrutinize the CVs of all interested coaches who have since applied for the Super Eagles job and that of the Under-17 National team, just to be sure they are getting the very best for Nigeria football.

Information reaching NSM Media, has it that a few individuals have started using their contacts and connections in high places, with the hope that the man-know-man factor could also go a long way in influencing the decision of the selectors as Nigerians wait patiently for the anointed coach.

Putting all these into consideration, NSM Media took time to dig deep and have now compiled the top three favorites for the Super Eagles job.

1. Antonio Conceicao

Portuguese born, former Cameroon National team coach who was sacked by Fecafoot in 2022, is the top name on the list of those who still feel that Nigeria must employ a foreign coach to replace Jose Peseiro. The 63 year old, lost the chance to coach Nigeria two years ago as the NFF chose another Portuguese in Jose Peseiro for the plum job.

Information reaching this reporter has it that, if Conceicao agrees to the terms of the contract being proposed, he could just be the chosen one. The NFF is not ready to stress themselves by paying any foreign coach huge salary when it has become more obvious that local coaches can do a better job if given the needed support. For this reason, they are offering forty to fifty thousand dollars to all interested foreign coaches and there are not many out there willing to accept that amount.

2. Micheal Nsien

He is currently head coach of the US Under 16 and Under 19 national football teams. He comes well equipped with a rich CV and has been getting a lot of publicity both locally and internationally. He seem to have an edge because he fits in perfectly as both a foreign and local coach and has agreed to work with Nigerian coaches if given the job.

That seem to be the joker for him because Conceicao wants to come with his own assistants. Nsien will be in Morocco to watch the Super Eagles friendlies against Ghana and Mali and could use that opportunity to pass a message across. The good thing with him is that, he is very passionate, understands the terrain very well and will be willing to live and work in Nigeria if the terms are right.

3. Emmanuel Amunike

He seem more like the fans favourite. On social media, two out of every three football fan wants Amunike. He was assistant coach to Augustine Eguaveon when Nigeria lost to Ghana in their bid to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Before then, he had made history, as the first coach to qualify Tanzania for the Nations Cup after over thirty years of patient wait. Added to that, Emma, is a member of that famous Nigeria World Cup team of 1994 and scored the winning goal as the Super Eagles defeated Zambia to win a second AFCON trophy in 1994.

He also coached the likes of Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze in the Under 17 National team that won Gold for Nigeria at the FIFA Under 17 World Cup in Chile. The fact that he knows a few members of the present Super Eagles team speaks volume. Like Nsien, he also flaunts a UEFA A’ Coaching license among other certificates. The key factors in his favour is the fact that he is indigenous, has the backing of most of his former national team mates and will not cost as much as the other two coaches listed above.

By Adewale Ajayi

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The hierarchy of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has finally settled for an interim coach for the senior national team of Nigeria ahead of their upcoming international friendly games against Ghana and Mali respectively.

Super Eagles are without a substantive coach since the exit of Jose Peseiro as coach following the expiration of his deal, which was tied to the AFCON where the team went all the way to the final before eventually losing 1-2 to the host Cote d’Ivoire.

Despite the team not having a coach, the NFF released a list of 26 players for the friendly games against Ghana and Mali on the 22nd and 26th of March respectively. Both games will be prosecuted by an interim coach before a decision will be taken on who will be the coach on a permanent contract.

Already the NFF have received a record 115 applications for the job since it was declared vacant and interested individuals were told to apply for the position alongside that of the U17 team of Nigeria.

In the interim, Finidi George, who was an assistant to Peseiro for the entire duration of his deal will be in charge of the team for the friendly games just like we exclusively reported yesterday.

Ahead of the games, players of the team have voiced their opinion over the vacant managerial position and have made it known whom they will want to take over as coach, particularly if the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) insist on hiring amd indigenous coach for the team.

Six of them who spoke to OwnGoalNigeria.com on the condition of anonymity backed the present assistant coach of the team Finidi George to be elevated to the role of the head coach of the team.

In their words Finidi has been a part of the setup with Peseiro and understands the players and the conditions around, hence won’t need much time to get used to them considering that they have just one window to work with whoever comes in as coach, before the resumption of the qualifiers for the 2026 world cup in June.

The NFF has now bow to their demand and will reevaluate the situation and also the need for a permanent coach after the games.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The list of players called up to the senior national team of Nigeria for the upcoming international friendly games against Ghana and Mali respectively was made public by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) three days ago.

The game against Ghana will be played on Friday, 22nd March while the game against Mali will be played on the from 9pm on Tuesday, 26th March at the same venue in the city of Marrakech.

Ahead of the games, the Super Eagles who are still without a substantive coach following the expiration of the contract of head coach Jose Peseiro have a list of 26 players called up to the team for both games made public by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Two new players in Benjamin Tanimu of Tanzanian side Ihefu SC and Gabriel Osho of newly promoted English Premier League side Luton were handed a first time call up to the team. Both of them are defenders by trade.

However it appears Osho who was born in England to Nigerian parents and have been a revelation this season with two goals in 16 games will likely not be available according to the coach of the team Rob Edwards, who said the 24 year old is still out injured ahead of their game against Bournemouth tomorrow.

The 25 year old went off injured with nine minutes left to play in their 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace on Saturday. According to Edwards he hasn’t recovered enough to be fit for tomorrow’s game casting doubts on his availability for the senior national team of Nigeria next week.

Ade Emmanuel

The former head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has lamented the absence of one player, who he felt would have made the difference for his team at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.

Nigeria were beaten 1-3 by the host in the final denying them the chance of lifting the title for the third time in the history of the tournament. The defeat is still fresh in the heart of Peseiro.

Peseiro who announced the expiration of his deal as coach of the Nigerian team at the end of last month will not keep his post after rejecting the contract extension deal offered to him by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Reflecting on his time as the coach of the team with the AFCON, which was the only tournament he led the team to, the Portuguese coach said his options became limited in attack when he lost the chance to unleash Victor Boniface at the tournament.

Boniface made his debut for the team after an extra ordinary start to life in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen, the team he joined in the summer from Belgium side Union Saint-Gilloise. His ten goals and seven assists is largely why they currently have a ten points lead over league champions Bayern Munich.

However an adductor injury stopped him from transferring his form to the African continent, much to the disappointment of Peseiro who said he had him in mind as his joker in the build up to the tournament.

” I will say Boniface would have made the difference if not for injury. He was high on confidence and can play in our two man attack style comfortably. He can also play on either side of the forwards and that would have made him our unseen bow at the tournament. Our options to tweak our style was limited in his absence”, the coach said in a TV interview in Portugal.

Osas Mahawi

The father of highly rated Wolverhampton Wanderers 15 year old defender Wesley Okoduwa has voiced out his preferred senior national team for his son, who recently made the bench of the senior side in their English Premier League game against Newcastle United.

Born in the United States, Wesley inherited the passion his father Emmanuel has for the game and hasn’t looked out of place so far in the academy set up of Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he made the step up to the U21s at the age of 15.

Although he has been capped by England at U16 level, his father who played for Nigeria at U23 level and also had one cap at senior level during his playing days says he prefers his son to play for the Super Eagles in the future.

Okoduwa who was famed for his exploits in Ukraine made this known in an interview with Andrew Randa published on Afrik-Foot ng.

“If you ask me if I want him to represent Nigeria then I’d definitely say yes but ultimately the choice is with him.

“When the time comes he will pick where his international future lies but as a father, I want him to play for Nigeria just like I did.

“Wes has done well for himself, and I am proud of him. His call-up by England made me particularly happy, considering my own international career with Nigeria.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The recently released list of players called up to the senior national team of Nigeria for their upcoming international friendly games against Ghana and Mali respectively has led to questions about who was responsible for the players called up, considering that the team is presently without a substantive coach.

26 players largely made up of players who were at the Africa Cup of Nations, where the team finished as runners up losing 1-2 to the host Cote d’Ivoire in the final, and players who have been a part of the team.

Only two new players were called up in Benjamin Tanimu and Gabriel Osho. It has left many wondering on who picked the players with Jose Peseiro no longer at the helm following the expiration of his contract as coach of the team last month.

OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal that the list was compiled by Peseiro for the friendly game against Argentina, which was later cancelled due to logistics. He submitted the list while talks were ongoing about extending his deal.

A deadlock in the talks coincided with the deadline in informing the clubs of the invited players, leaving the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) with no option but to stick with the list for the games, which was made public on Saturday.

In Peseiro’s absence there is still no clarity on who will lead the team with three coaches namely Austine Eguavoen, who is the technical director of the team or Emmanuel Amuneke who is the leading candidate for the role.

However, Peseiro’s assistant Finidi has emerged as the most likeliest to lead the team with many of the senior players in the team throwing their weight behind the coach of Enyimba.

In their words Finidi has been a part of the setup with Peseiro and understands the players and the conditions around, hence won’t need much time to get used to them considering that they have just one window to work with whoever comes in as coach, before the resumption of the qualifiers for the 2026 world cup in June.

Their opinion has already been made known to the president of the NFF Ibrahim Musa Gusau, who is under pressure to name another person as coach of the team, but still somehow favours a foreign coach ahead of any indigenous coach.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman