Former Super Eagles player, Mutiu Adepoju has voiced his opinion on the coaching issues facing the Super eagles of Nigeria.
When asked about the possibility of having a home based coach, the former Real Sociedad player told Sports247 that the issue is a very sensitive one as there are so many qualified home base coaches and there are others who are really not qualified.
“the issue about foreign coach or home coach is a very sensitive one. For example we have so many ex-internationals with coaching badges and all that. Let’s look at where they have coached and what they have done.”
Nigeria has experienced a chain of home based coaches many of which have done exceptionally well. And that has given rise to the issue of if we need a foreign handler of the Super eagles. Adepoju fondly called headmaster, X-rays the possibility of having an indigenous coach that is qualified to handle the national team. He also hammered on the equality of treatment between the foreigner and the local coaches.
“Then let’s look at if our coaches will have the same thing they give to the foreign coaches. I mean everything in the contract. We have Nigerian coaches that have done very well. Examples are late Keshi, amodu, Siasia, Egwavoen. Looking at the way things are, home coaches are not given enough support as the foreign coaches.”
There have also been some claims somewhere else if Rohr should be allowed to go. In Adepoju’s view, Rohr should be allowed to stay because he has unfinished business with the Super Eagles.
“If you ask me weather Rohr should go, I will say we should allow him to stay for now because he has done well, although he has not done an extraordinary, what a Nigerian coach has not done before. But the way things are, the players know him and are doing well. He has done something and we should allow him to finish it.” Adepoju concludes.
Mutiu Adepoju, the headmaster, was a member of the Nigeria team that played in the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship. He was also part of the Nigerian squads for the FIFA Senior Men’s World Cups in USA 1994 and France 1998. He also went on to attain 48 caps for the national team, with a total of six goals to his credit.
