Finidi George: Has He Blighted Home-grown Coaches’ Chances?

After erstwhile Eagles Manager, Jose Peseiro’s unimpressive run at the 2026 World Cup qualifier matches against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in which the Portuguese could only muster two points out of a possible six, the voices of advocates of home-grown coaches managing the Nigeria senior team grew louder than ever. With the NFF not able to iron out the contract issues of the former Al Ahly Manager, the Sunday Dankaro House decided to settle for Finidi George, who worked with Peseiro  as an assistant,  with some senior Eagles players backing the former Ajax Amsterdam winger to take the team to the promised land. His first assignment as an interim manager before his confirmation was a double-header friendly against Ghana and Mali in which he won the first and lost the latter 2-1, and all eyes were set for the must-win crunchy encounters against South Africa and Benin Republic. With just three points from a possible 12 , he has put the three-time African champions in a precarious position of missing the Mundial for the second time in succession, Kunle Adewale asks if Finidi’s performance has not succeeded in dimming the chances of home-grown coaches’ for  the Super Eagles job?

n his 22 months stint as Nigeria’s senior football team Manager, erstwhile Coach, Jose Peseiro, led the Super Eagles in 23 matches winning 11, with seven losses and four draws, which obviously was not too good a record for a team of the three-time African champions’ stature.

The Portuguese tactician however made up for his previous underperformances by qualifying Nigeria to the final of 2023 AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire against all odds but lost 2-1 to the host in the final to win the silver. However, there was no hiding place for the former Sporting CP chief coach, after his two draws in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against minnows-Lesotho on home soil and Zimbabwe on a neutral ground culminating in the emergence of former international, Finidi George to the delight of those that have been advocating for home-grown coaches to manage the senior national team rather than being handed to a half-baked white coloured man.

Finidi emerged after beating compatriot and more popular candidate, Emmanuel Amuneke to the job, with the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, citing continuity for the choice of the erstwhile Enyimba of Aba sweat merchant.

Former Nigeria international and a member of the Technical Committee that recommended Finidi George for the job, Victor Ikpeba, giving the main reason why the NFF settled for Finidi ahead of people’s favourite, Amuneke and other candidates that showed interest in the Super Eagles job said the Nigeria football body settled for the Rivers-born player because of financial constraint.

“We settled for Finidi because of the finances involved in the hiring of a foreign coach. It’s not like we don’t have confidence in our own coaches back home. We thought there should be continuity in the way Peseiro took the team to the final of the 2023 AFCON,” the former Borussia Dortmund forward had hinted.

Continuing, he said, “We were guided by the NFF President to look inward. It’s not that we can’t afford a foreign manager, but Nigerians back home want a Nigerian coach, and that is what we have now.”

In his reaction, NFF Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, had claimed Finidi was the obvious candidate for the position due to his exceptional coaching resume and prior experience as an assistant coach with the Super Eagles.

Olajire said, “Finidi George was not only a great football player, he has prepared himself very well and done himself no harm with the laurels he has been able to acquire in his short period as a coach.

“He had the option of remaining in Spain and taking up an appointment with a second tier club but he chose to come back to Nigeria and start with an NPFL club.

“He started with Enyimba. In his second season, he won the league title. It is not easy to win the league title so we must praise him for that and looking at the log now, this is his third season with the team and with four matches to go he’s well on the way to retaining the title.

“That is no mean feat and it shows that this is a man who knows what he’s doing. Pertaining to the Super Eagles, he worked for 20 months as an assistant with Jose Peseiro, that gives him head start over anybody.

“He worked closely with the team, was with the team when they qualified for the AFCON and came second at the AFCON.

“It’s natural that someone of this stature, someone who has accomplished these things and who has been very close to the team gets the nod, with the fact that we have only five weeks to to very important matches.”

Finidi as and interim manager, his first assignment as Super Eagles was the double-header friendly against Ghana and Mali. After pulling a 2-1 win in the battle of the jollof rice, he lost 2-1 in the contest against the Eagles, as it was the Eagles of Mali that had the last smile. But as always the case, those who backed the defunct Calabar Rovers attacker said it was too early in the day to judge him. One of the Super Eagles senior players that backed Finidi for the Super Eagles  job,  Wilfred Ndidi, in an interview with THISDAY before the South Africa and Benin Republic  encounters was indeed counting on Finidi to take the team very far.

“I think he’s going  well with the support from everyone. The previous two international friendly games the Super Eagles played against Ghana and Mali in Morocco were very difficult for him because he was alone. “There was no assistant, he did everything alone- the tactics and analysis. Now he has gotten more support and I look forward to working with him. We’ve worked together before, he is an amazing personality, his tactics are really interesting. Going forward, I think he’s going to do well for the team,” Ndidi had told THISDAY.

Backed by most of the senior players that won silver medal at the last AFCON, Finidi penultimate Friday set for perhaps the biggest test of his coaching career, a must-win World Cup qualifier match against South Africa at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, it however took a second half equaliser for Nigeria to get a point from the encounter.

Having bungled the match against Bafana Bafana, there was still room for amendments against Benin Republic, coached by former Super Eagles Manager, Gernot Rohr.

The Cheetahs came from 1-0 down to beat the visitors 2-1, leaving the three-time African champions languishing in fifth place of the six-team table, with Nigeria’s chances of hoisting their flag at the 2026 Mundial hanging by a thread.

Meanwhile, the NFF has concluded plans to hire a foreign technical adviser to support Super Eagles quests to qualify for 2026 World Cup in Canada, USA and Mexico.

The board of the NFF, rose from a hybrid executive committee meeting last Wednesday with a communique that spells out its desire to hire an expatriate Technical Adviser for the Super Eagles in the coming weeks, ahead of the AFCON 2025 qualifiers and the remaining FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. “The Executive Committee resolved to employ an expatriate Technical Adviser for the Super Eagles in the coming weeks, ahead of the AFCON qualifiers and the remaining FIFA World Cup qualifying matches,” stressed the NFF on Wednesday.

President of the NFF, Ibrahim Gusau, revealed at the weekend that  it was working on new measures to ensure that Super Eagles qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Finidi was appointed as Super Eagles coach in April, and he was expected to produce the results despite his dearth of experience in handling a big job. Unfortunately, for him, the results did not go his way, as Nigeria drew 1-1 with South Africa, and lost to Benin.

Following the results, the NFF held an emergency meeting with the Sports Minister, John Owan Enoh in Abuja on Thursday.

After the meeting, the NFF President revealed the federation was planning on making some big decisions.

“It’s a very sad moment for Nigerian football, we can’t run away from that. But we are working tirelessly in connection with the minister to see that we come out with some holistic measures that will change the face of the entire system so that we can move forward,” Gusau said.

With Finidi’s poor performances in the World Cup qualifiers, it remains to be seen if the former Real Betis winger has not succeeded in silencing the voices of advocates of home-grown coaches managing the Super Eagles.