By Taiwo Ibrahim
The Nigeria Football Federation has appointed Finidi George as the new head coach of the Super Eagles on Monday, Sportivationng.com reports.
The NFF Technical and Development Committee recommended the Finidi George for the role following an extended search for a substantive coach for the team.
Finidi pipped another former Super Eagles player, Emmanuel Amunike to the job.
George, who spent 20 months as assistant to José Santos Peseiro before the Portuguese voluntarily left the post following the accomplishment of Africa Cup of Nations runner-up position at Cote d’Ivoire 2023, took charge of the squad in interim capacity during two friendly matches in Morocco last month.
His squad edged Ghana 2-1 in the first match, ending an 18-year winless streak against the Black Stars, but then lost 0-2 to Mali in the second game.
George was a member of the Super Eagles ‘Golden Generation’ that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Tunisia. He won 62 caps for Nigeria, including featuring at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals.
He also won gold, silver and bronze medals from the 1992, 1994, 2000 and 2002 AFCON tournaments.
The 52-year-old former Ajax Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and Real Betis (Spain) forward, who made a scoring debut for fatherland in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Burkina Faso at the National Stadium, Lagos on 27th July 1991, also featured for Calabar Rovers and Sharks FC in the domestic scene before heading to Europe.
George’s immediate task will be to guide the Super Eagles to victory in two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Africa and Benin Republic in Uyo and Abidjan respectively, in a little over five weeks.
The matches are must-win encounters, with the Super Eagles lagging behind in third place in Group C of the African campaign behind Rwanda and South Africa.
