New Super Eagles Head Coach: Is Finidi George's Appointment Based On Merit Or Sentiment?

 

Why I think Finidi George Was Not Chosen By Merit

This write up may not be popular now, but it is my honest opinion. You do not need a magnifying glass to see that Finidi George was the least experienced or skilled among the candidates jostling for the head coach Job of Nigeria Senior National team aka Super Eagles? So how did Finidi eventually get the job? 

Well, we all know how Nigeria politics play out. It is in the DNA of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to make wrong decisions. I can categorically tell you that there was no technical input in this selection. Even an ordinary football fan out there knows this. 

Over the past weeks, Nigeria fans have been calling out NFF on the social media to announce Emmanuel Amunike as the substantial head coach, but for some reasons NFF mafians doesn't want him in there. There have been some grapevine of a divided house, but the mafians will always prevail and can only allow Amunike to be a technical assistant to Finidi just the same way they forced him to assist an unwilling Austin Eguaven in 2021. That decision cost us the 2022 World Cup qualification. 

No doubt, Finidi George is a great player and have served the national team just like Amunike, Oliseh, Amokachi etc, but when it comes to coaching, Finidi is a rookie. But the people pushing him say "let's give him a chance" the way Stephen Keshi, Austin Eguaven, Samson Siasia, Sunday Oliseh and Daniel Amokachi were given a chance at some point. THIS IS FINIDI'S TURN! 

The reason Finidi was chosen was more of his playing achievement and the coaches he played under, than his coaching dexterity. You can deduce all these from Amaju Pinnick's reasons why he thinks Finidi is the right man for the job,  as published on LindaIkeji's blog. 

Let's Give Finidi A Chance! 

Finidi was one of the assistants to former handler of the Super Eagles, Jose Peseiro.Pinnick, stated that 52 years old has all the right attributes to lead the Super Eagles

"Under his internship was a player that was once regarded as one of the best wingers in the world- Finidi George- one of the best wingers at a point- a player that had a formal or informal internship as a player under one of the best coaches in the world Luis Van Gaal- a player that at Real Betis, he was excellent. He(Finidi) was at Ajax, and if you know Ajax, they believe in developmental football, where they teach you how to chest, trap, and play the ball again. So he has those virtues, and my opinion is that we encourage him."

“He played two friendly games, he lost one and made negative history because Mali have not beaten Nigeria in over 40 years, and positive history because Nigeria has not beaten Ghana in over 30 years.

“In my opinion, I’ve seen him, I’ve worked with him, I brought him on when I was president as one of the assistant coaches. He has some virtues that we need as a coach. He has leadership, dexterity, and most importantly, humility.

“There’s no encumbrance, if you wave Finidi round, you will not see any encumbrance around him. There are many information and many things I know.

“So what do we do with someone like Finidi that played under some of the best coaches in the world, that also played at that level, and coached one of our indigenous and one most successful teams in Africa? We build capacity around him.”

NFF is Not Looking for A Substantial Coach, But A Deal Man

The fact is, we also know these candidates. When it comes to leadership and thinking out of the box and making sacrifices in times of serious difficulties, you can't compare Finidi to someone like Sunday Oliseh, Emmanuel Amunike or Daniel Amokachi. 

Second, Finidi only has a UEFA A license and he was not even qualified to sit at Enyimba bench during the CAF champions League encounter between Enyimba and Al Ahly. Although, Enyimba won the Super 8 and league title, but they struggled in their continental assignment under his tutelage. He hasn't made such impact in the Enyimba play, despite his playing experience. We all know that being a great player doesn't necessarily transcend into being a good coach. 

Perhaps, one thing they are right about is Finidi's 'humility.'  He is a "Yes Man" and would rather keep quiet to the whims and caprices of his employers. Amunike will not do that! Oliseh will not tolerate injustice and corruption. Perhaps, this may be the reason they will never be NFF preferred candidates.