Appointing a foreign coach for Eagles may cost Nigeria 2018 World Cup – Izilein

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Appointing a foreign coach for Eagles may cost Nigeria 2018 World Cup – Izilein

A former coach of the Super Falcons, Godwin Izilein, on Wednesday in Benin warned against appointing a foreign coach for the Super Eagles now.
Izilein told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the senior national male football team may not qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia as a result of this.

“This is because the foreign handler will not have quality time to know the players and their mentality,’’ he said.


Izilein, also a former coach of the Golden Eaglets, said appointing a foreign coach was equally an unnecessary waste of fund and shows lack of respect for Nigerian coaches.

“I don’t know what this rush for a foreign coach is all about, when we do not have time on our hands for the qualification games for Russia 2018.

“The national football authorities must understand that a coach who knows his onions needs not less than a year to know the players and their mentality.

“He will then need also another year to put a good team in place.


“And, again, I consider the amount that will be wasted on hiring a foreign coach as unnecessary, especially against the background of the consistent lamentation of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) of paucity of funds.

“It also shows lack of respect for Nigerian coaches because I believe that we have quality coaches with high technical ability to manage the Eagles well and even ensure their qualification for the 2018 World Cup.

“Should they (NFF) be in doubt of the abilities of a particular coach, I will suggest that NFF engages the best three to four indigenous coaches to handle affairs of the team.

“This suggestion is based on the fact that the three coaches cannot all make mistakes at the same time. Where one is deficient, the other will come in handy,’’ he said.

Izilein added that what the indigenous coaches needed to perform optimally was an environment devoid of any undue interference and the right motivation.

“If you provide for the indigenous coach the same environment and motivation provided for the foreign one, he will definitely perform,’’ he said.

NAN recalls that Nigeria’s Super Eagles have been placed in Group B of the Africa Zone Qualifiers alongside Zambia, Algeria and Cameroon for the 2018 World Cup.(NAN)