By Bowie Attamah
When a country’s Football Association appoints a head coach for its national football team the reason is usually so that the new helmsman would improve the team.
He is expected to develop a team that would be better than what he met on the ground – a team that would not only be competitive but actually win matches and give a good account of themselves in competitions.
Sadly it would seem that the current Nigeria coach sought the job simply so that the Nigerian national team would enhance his CV.
It could not possibly be any other way.
As things stand now, another FIFA World Cup without the Super Eagles in attendance seems to be looming with only two match-days of the scheduled ten gone.
The 2026 showpiece will be staged in 16 cities in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
For the African section of the qualifying battle, there will be ten match days to decide the automatic qualifiers.
The next World Cup will feature 48 teams as against the former 32, and Africa will therefore have nine representatives, instead of the five, hitherto.
This has led to nine groups of six teams each – except for the group containing Eritrea which will have five teams, following their withdrawal of the East African nation from the race.
Nigeria has been drawn in group C alongside (with their current FIFA Rankings) Benin Republic(93), Lesotho(153), Rwanda(140), South Africa(64) and Zimbabwe(125).
Nigeria is ranked 40th in the world!
Nigeria’s first fixture was against Lesotho on 1 November in Uyo and the visiting Crocodiles took the lead before Nigeria huffed and puffed before they equalised to salvage a one – all draw and earn a point.
Three days later on Sunday, Nigeria were at the Huye stadium in Butare, Rwanda to confront the Warriors of Zimbabwe at what was effectively a neutral ground for both sides (since FIFA exiled Warriors there because there was no FIFA standard stadium in Zimbabwe to host the game.
Once again Nigeria’s array of world renowned stars made heavy weather of it, one more time falling behind their little fancied opponents before Kelechi Iheanacho rifled home the equaliser to earn his side another one point, to make it a grand total of TWO points from a possible SIX, to launch our 2026 qualification campaign.
Remember, Nigeria’s flag was not hoisted at the last World Cup in Qatar because of the little matter of Ghana edging us on the away goals rule.
So now we are confronted by this conundrum.
Is Nigeria going to miss two World Cups on the bounce? And how did we get to this sorry pass?
When Nigeria missed out on Qatar the Nigeria Football Federation pledged to do everything possible to ensure that we berthed at the 2026 edition. I guess they did (everything in their powers), in their own fashion.
They landed us with a certain Portuguese journey man called Jose Peseiro.
Questions were asked then, and sadly are still being asked – who is Jose Peseiro.
Lets learn a little bit about him.
His name is Jose Vitor dos Santos Peseiro.
He was born on 4 April 1960 in a place called Caruche in the Santarem District of Portugal.
One published profile described him as having had an unassuming football career…but let’s leave that aside…
What sort of managerial career has he had?
He managed a few clubs whose names I will spare you simply because, just like me, you have never heard them.
Let’s start with the familiar names.
- Real Madrid: (Assistant) 2003 – 2004
- Sporting CP: (Portugal) 2004 – 2005
- Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia Club) 2006 – 2007
- Panathinaikos (Greek club) 2007 – 2008
- Rapid Bucuresti ( Romania) 2008 -2009
- Saudi (National Team) 2009 – 2011
- Sporting Braga (Portugal) 2012 – 2013
- Al Wahda (UAE Club) 2013 – 2015
- Al Ahli (Egyptian Cub) 2015 – 2016
- Porto ( Portugal) 2016
- Braga (Portugal) 2016
- Shariah (UAE) 2017
- Vitoria Guimares (Portugal) 2018
- Sporting CP (Portugal) 2018
- Venezuela (National Team) 2020 – 2021
- Nigeria ( National Team) 2022 –
So, fellow football-loving Nigerians -go figure!
The natural question this situation throws up is: who inflicted this man on Nigerians?
Peseiro’s record with our national team since he landed what must be for him a personal bonanza has been abysmal, having lost more than 60% of the matches he has prosecuted. Never mind his win percentage.
We are told that he was recommended to Nigeria by the effervescent namesake, Jose Maurinho, but I find that difficult to believe.
Maurinho couldn’t have hated Nigeria so much.
The records show that as early as six months into his new job Peseiro had led Nigeria to four friendly internationals – and lost every one of them – the fourth being the four – nil thumping at the hands of Portugal, where Portugal were rated 7.2, and Nigeria, 5.4.
You will observe that in the course of this write-up I have preferred to ‘national team’, or simply ‘Nigeria’.
It would surely sound like a misnomer to say, SUPER Eagles.
Nigerians are divided over what to do with what now looks like a veritable albatross hung on us
Fire him and pay the obviously hefty penalty?
Is it even wise to send him packing and appoint a new man so close the upcoming AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire etc etc.
But my take is this: if we can let him go, let us do so without further delay – AFCON or no AFCON.
Truth is, no new coach (including those in the NPFL) can do worse that this man has done – even if the new man wanted to.
It is obvious that the man did not take the Nigeria job to improve the Eagles, but to improve his CV.
And to add insult to injury, the man has been putting the Nigerian taxpayer to the sword to the tune of $70,000 (approximately N70 million naira, every month.
That is until it was blessedly negotiated down to a ‘paltry’ $50,000 month.
I understand that he is in talks with Zamalek to go back to Egypt, and that he wants to be paid $100,000 monthly!
The cheek of the man!
Anyway, why not?
He has coached Nigeria, hasn’t he?
