The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will go ahead with their plans to engage Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro as the new head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.
Peseiro was picked as the coach of the team from a four man shortlist which includes ex Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde, ex France, Bordeaux and PSG coach Laurent Blanc as well as former PSV Eindhoven coach Philip Cocu.
The decision to settle for the Portuguese didn’t go down well with the minister of sports Sunday Dare, who wrote a letter to the NFF rejecting the idea insisting on all shortlisted candidates to be given equal chance to stake a claim for the job.
Valverde’s financial demands is believed to be above what the NFF can afford same as Blanc but Cocu wasn’t given enough consideration despite coming highly recommended by a former Super Eagles player and captain.
Feelers from the camp of the minister suggest he is of the opinion that Peseiro isn’t the best option among the coaches shortlisted for the job with his preference being Cocu.
Cocu is seen by the camp of the minister as a young manager who is eager to work his socks off in order to make a name. They also feel he is more in tune with modern demands of the game than the other coaches shortlisted.
In a chat with OwnGoalNigeria.com, a board member of the NFF explained that the decision to hire Peseiro is borne out of the fact that he is a less a financial burden, and he has already started work on the team before the initial plan to engage him was scuttled in favour of Austine Eguavoen staying on after the AFCON.
They see the Portuguese as a coach who will also adapt a lot faster to the African terrain as he has managed Al Ahly in Egypt before. All these they have already communicated to the minister in their defence of the choice of Peseiro.