DO WE NEED A FOREIGN MANAGER?

Ever since the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Amaju Pinnick told the whole world in far away USA that the football house would no longer employ indigenous coaches to manage the country’s national football team, the race to become the next Super Eagles manager is already on. Never mind the fact that Samson Siasia is presently occupying the hot seat, albeit temporarily, a thousand and one people have already signaled their interest to lead the national team of the world’s most populous black nation.

Jo Bonfere: I Want Eagles Job Again.

 

Former Super Eagles manager Jo Bonfere set the ball rolling last week when he granted an interview to the BBC stating he is “the right man to return Nigeria to glory days in Africa and the world". Before that interview came out, I had a chat with a high ranking member of the Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) who told me over 40 coaches had either called him, sent their CV’s or made enquiries about the availability of the job. He specifically mentioned former coaches Philip Troussier, Clemens Westerhof, Jo Bonfere as some of the foreign managers who were willing to take over as Super Eagles manager. If I had any doubts about that claim, Bonfere’s interview days later has now confirmed this.

One may want to ask, what is so special about the job that is attracting this kind of interest? Apart from winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013, Nigeria’s Super Eagles haven’t really been that fantastic. They are languishing somewhere in the 63^rd position in the world and 11^th on the continent in the latest edition of the FIFA rankings for the month of March. Truth of the matter remains that despite these low rankings, the Super Eagles job still remains one of the most lucrative at least this side of the Sahara.

Oliseh: 8th Highest African Earner.

According to a report by Ghanaian blog gazettaghana.com, Frenchman Christian Gourcuff who manages the Algeria National Team reportedly earns $70,000 monthly and is the highest paid in Africa.  Michel Dussuyer of the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire earns $58,000 monthly in second place while Black Stars of Ghana coach Avram Grant reportedly earns $50,000 monthly. Former Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh was the 8^th highest paid manager on the continent with his 5 million naira salary or approximately $26,500 monthly. For a country where the average person reportedly lives on less than $1 a day, that is an outrageous amount and one anyone would want to jump on.

1994 AFCON Winning Squad

More so, ever since the golden age of Nigerian footballers won the AFCON in 1994 and subsequently dazzled the world at the World Cup in the United States, Nigeria has gained the respect of many football fans. Even if 22 years after, the Super Eagles are not as strong as they were, people still accord the team some form of respect. And that I think is what still attracts these coaches.

1980 AFCON Winning Team

Question however is, do we really need a foreign manager? Apart from Otto Gloria and Clemens Westerhorf who managed The Green Eagles (as they were called then) and the Super Eagles to AFCON titles in 1980 and 1994 respectively, the closest Nigeria has had to a successful foreign coach is Jo Bonfere who managed Nigeria’s Olympic team to a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. According to the Dutchman, others have been unsuccessful “because they come with the arrogant attitude of being a world class coach and a big name to perform magic there, and that wrong notion meant they had no passion, desire and the required knowledge to succeed on the job.” Former managers Lars Lagerback, Philip Troussier, Berti Vogts to mention a few, seem to be ones Bonfere was referring to I guess. Bottom line is, can we really get a manager who would not make these mistakes? I know someone out there is saying, hey, why not take one of Jo Bonfere or Clemens Westerhorf since they have managed the Super Eagles. But then again, what have they done since they left the Super Eagles job?

More so, in this day when our economy is going through tough times and the clamour for

Scenes From National Stadium, Lagos In 1980

#BuyingNaijaToGrowNaira is at an all time high, will it economically wise to employ a foreign manager who most likely would demand more than the $26,500 Sunday Oliseh was paid? We all know the back and forth the NFF has had with erstwhile coach Oliseh and others before him over payment of his salaries. What foreign coach would want to undergo the same treatment?

I have consistently said that I will only support the call for a foreign manager if we go all out to get a world class coach. When I mean world class, I mean coaches in the same grade as Jose Mourinho, Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola or Arsene Wenger. Yes, I agree that these coaches may find it difficult working in our terrain because of the too many bottlenecks we have administratively, but if we really want to go for anyone, then, it has to be the VERY BEST!

It does seem some at the Glass House may not totally be in agreement with Amaju Pinnick’s decision to go foreign. I have spoken to at least two members of the Executive Committee of the NFF who confided in me they are not totally in support of a foreign manager despite not been happy with the way former manager Sunday Oliseh left. One Executive Member actually told me, “We are doing everything in our power to ensure Samson Siasia gets a great result in the double header against Egypt. Trust me, if that happens, he will get the job on a permanent basis.”

We are waiting!

CREDITS

Jo Bonfere's Pic courtesy Complete Sports

Sunday Oliseh's Pic courtesy theherald.ng

1994 AFCON Squad Pic courtesy goal.com

1980 AFCON Squad Pic courtesy footballlive.ng

1980 AFCON Win Scene Pic courtesy dailymail.co.uk 

This piece first appeared last week on Sixth Sense- my column for Port Harcourt based newspaper Independent Monitor. Sixth Sense comes your way every Thursday.

-Ufuoma