The future of coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has been heavily debated since the 0-4 loss to Portugal in an international friendly game against Thursday.
Since his appointment six months ago, the Portuguese coach has only two wins to boast of and it came against Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principe. Two teams Nigeria were expected to beat.
In four friendly games as coach, the team has lost in all and the 0-4 defeat is the heaviest they have suffered the past ten years. More worrying is the fact that they don’t appear to be playing with the style promised by the coach when he was appointed.
Speaking on what led to his appointment as coach, a former member of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said when they interviewed coaches for the job, Peseiro came third in the interview but was given the job because his salary demand falls within the budget of the football house.
” He (Peseiro) wasn’t the best after the interview where we had Laurent Blanc, Philip Cocu and Ernesto Valverde under serious consideration but his demand was the one that suits our budget. I must admit we know he isn’t the best but he is the most affordable plus we already have an agreement with him which we didn’t honour previously. All those played a part in his appointment”, he told Owngoalnigeria.com in an exclusive chat.