Five prominent players from what used to be known as Nigeria’s Golden Generation of the 1990s that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations(AFCON) in Tunisia en route to a maiden FIFA World Cup appearance at USA’ 94 , are in the frame to lead the Super Eagles.
The quintet of Emmanuel Amuneke, Daniel Amokachi as well as Sunday Oliseh , Samson Siasia and Finidi George are the notable candidates that reportedly beat yesterday’s deadline for submission of application for the vacant managerial position of the senior men’s national team of Nigeria.
Last week, the NFF announced that interested and qualified coaches should apply for head coach of the country’s team following the expiration of the contract of the Portuguese Jose Peseiro, who led the Super Eagles to the final of the recent AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire.
Apart from the USA ’94 motley crew , sources at the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) , hinted that former Super Eagles caretaker coach Salisu Yusuf, American-Nigerian coach Michael Nsien , ex-Super Eagles assistant coach under late Stephen Keshi , Sylvanus Okpala, as well as ex-international goalkeeper, Ndubuisi Egbo and a former head coach of Indomitable Lions of Cameroon¸ António Conceicao da Silva Oliveira have duly turned in their applications for the plum job.
In a related development, former Nigeria international , Edema Fuludu believes it’s about time an indigenous coach is handed the reins of the Super Eagles yet again, adding that there’s nothing exceptional that an expatriate can offer that a qualified Nigerian cannot achieve if given the necessary support.
“ If you don’t develop your own, there is no way they can compete with the outside world and now we have a plethora of ex- internationals who are trained and enlightened coaches as such, they should be giving the chance to handle the Super Eagles,” noted Fuludu who incidentally was part of the 1994 AFCON-winning team.
“We should hire a Nigerian to coach our team ; after all the recent AFCON was won by an Ivorian coach and I think we have capable Nigerians who can handle the national team
