Sports
Finidi Lists Three Foreign Assistants For Eagles
Newly appointed Super Eagles coach, Finidi George, has listed three foreigners in a five-man technical crew that will include former Nigeria International Daniel Amokachi and current goalkeepers trainer, Abideen Baruwa.
George and chieftains of the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) have been meeting over the last few days to iron out the final details of a contract for the former Ajax Amsterdam winger who was recently announced as the substantive manager of the national team following the departure of Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro after the silver-medal finish at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
The issue of others that would work with George has dominated discussions in sports circles but sources at the NFF has now hinted that the 52-year-old coach has tabled a proposal of five technical crew with words rife that a German-Nigerian has been listed as first assistant with Amokachi to be a second assistant.
While Baruwa would maintain his status as the goalkeepers trainer, there are places for two more foreign assistants who would serve as physical trainer and match analyst respectively.
Yet, it was gathered that a one-year contact will be signed by George with an extension clause should the Super Eagles reach the semi-final stages of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations(AFCON) to be hosted in Morocco.
Tidesports gathered that the NFF is yet at sea on how funds would be sourced for the foreign assistants with many said to be worried that George is making things rather difficult as regards the listing of three foreign assistants.
But former Nigeria international and a member of the Technical & Development Committee of the NFF Dr. Felix Owolabi insists that George is duty-bound to pick his own assistants in order to enjoy a good working environment.
“He (George) should be allowed to pick his assistants because that is the right thing to do,” Owolabi who won the AFCON with the Green Eagles in 1980 said recently. “ The NFF cannot choose for him; it has to be the prerogative of the coach to determine those who are to work with him.”
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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