The decision to employ Jose Peseiro as coach of the senior national team of Nigeria is one that hasn’t paid off in the minds of football loving Nigerians.
Since his appointment almost a year ago, the team hasn’t been at it’s best with a run of just three wins in nine games. The losses include a heavy 0-4 friendly loss to Portugal and am embarrassing 0-1 loss at home to Guinea Bissau in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
His contract is set to run out next month and there are whispers that he might not be getting an extension on his $70,000 a month pay, although fears still abound that he has a clause that says he can only be denied an extension if he fails to win the AFCON next year.
A member of the technical committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) exclusively told OGN that the hiring of the Portuguese was the agenda of former president of the NFF Amaju Pinnick, who ensured that he was given the job despite others who did remarkably well during the interview and were open to lesser pay.
” The coach of Lyon Laurent Blanc and Dutchman Philip Cocu were better during the interview by a country mile. We wanted Blanc because of his experience with the national team of France but Pinnick has already made up his mind on Peseiro”, he told OGN.
” They were both open to working on a salary lesser than what Peseiro is earning but Pinnick said since Peseiro has been promised the job post AFCON and it didn’t work, he should be considered ahead of them all. Now see where we are”, he stated.
Mohammed Mowiz
