Rivers United of Port Harcourt coach, Stanley Eguma has added his voice to the raging debate over the Super Eagles’ next coach and posited that the team needs an indigenous gaffer.
He argued that only an indigenous coach will give home-based players the opportunities that they deserve in the squad.
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Eguma added that if the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) top shots are serious about winning the next Africa Cup of Nations, then they should pick an indigenous coach.
The vastly experienced tactician cited the example of Clemens Westerhof, who won AFCON in 1994 with home-based players in his squad, while Jose Paseiro fell short this year despite relying wholly on those plying their trade abroad.
The Garden City outfit’s gaffer also chipped in a word for 1994 African Player of The Year, Emmanuel Amuneke as a plausible choice for the Eagles’ job, but quickly interjected that there are equally other good Nigerian coaches that can do the job better than Paseiro did.
Eguma began with his verdict about Amuneke and stated at length: “I think he has some good qualities. He has the wherewithal to handle the Super Eagles. Likewise other coaches in the country.
“We have good indigenous coaches, but the issue is with the NFF. They should just take their time and select the suitable one. It does not have to be Eguma, but whoever is going to get the job should have what it takes.
“He should also be given a free hand to do the job. That’s another problem with this job. It needs a level environment and a free hand to do a good job, not with interference there.
“When Paseiro was here, he did not see anything good in our indigenous players. He was relying on foreign-based players, but I want to let you know we have indigenous players that could have been in the team.
“When Westerhof was in charge of the team, he picked some players like Finidi George, who were playing at home here. He took them to the Nations Cup, and they won. So, what stops our indigenous players from being in the national team?
“That was Paseiro’s style, and we give it to him, but I believe, if we support our indigenous coaches, they can also do well with the Super Eagles.“
