Samson Siasia, the former Super Eagles player and coach, has urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) not to waste its resources on hiring a foreign coach. Instead, he suggests focusing on the numerous talented local coaches available in Nigeria and abroad.
“We should not waste our time and money hiring a foreign coach when we have qualified Nigerian coaches in the diaspora and domestic football scene.”
According to Siasia, it would be a mistake to spend time and money on a foreign coach when there are qualified Nigerian coaches both in the diaspora and within the domestic football scene. He points out that neither of the two previous foreign coaches brought the national team to its peak, whereas Jose Peseiro, who left his position a few weeks ago, led the team to the 2023 AFCON final. As well as German coach Genort Rohr who guided the national team to a third place finish in the 2019 AFCON.
“The NFF should not make the mistake again, as the last two foreign coaches who handled the Super Eagles did not help develop the team.”
Siasia emphasized that the NFF should not repeat the same mistake and should carefully evaluate all applicants for the coaching position. He believes the federation should select a coach with a proven track record and the ability to manage the egos of foreign-based players:
“The NFF should look critically at all the coaches who applied for the job and pick the one with the best results and who could manage the egos of our foreign-based players.
Furthermore, Siasia suggests considering former Super Eagles players such as Finidi George, Emmanuel Amunike, and Salisu Yusuf for the coaching job, as he believes they could perform better than Peseiro and Rohr.
Siasia, known for his remarkable performance as a striker from 1984 to 1999 for the Nigeria Super Eagles, scored an impressive 16 goals in his 56 appearances for the team. He was a valuable member of the Super Eagles squad that clinched victory in the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations and represented Nigeria in their inaugural World Cup appearance that same year.
Following the resignation of Sunday Oliseh, Siasia was appointed as the Chief Coach of the Super Eagles by the NFF on February 26, 2016.
