The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has named Jose Peseiro, a Portuguese tactician, as the new coach of the Super Eagles. He takes over from Gernot Rohr, who was fired ahead of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
This was announced by the NFF in a memo sent out on Wednesday evening, which said in part:
“After careful consideration of a memo presented by Chairman of the Technical and Development Sub-Committee Ahmed Yusuf Fresh, the Executive Committee endorsed a proposal for the appointment of Mr Jose Peseiro as the new Head Coach of the Super Eagles.
“However, the Committee resolved that Mr Augustine Eguavoen, named the interim Head Coach, will lead the Super Eagles to the AFCON 2021 in Cameroon with Mr Peseiro only playing the role of Observer.
It was unanimously agreed that the AFCON is a good avenue for Mr Peseiro to launch a working relationship with Mr Eguavoen, who will revert to his role as Technical Director (hence Mr Peseiro’s immediate boss) after the AFCON.”
Eguavoen was designated interim coach and has already named a 28-man squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off in Cameroon on January 9.
However, according to the NFF document, the former Gent defender would leave his position after the competition, with Peseiro gaining complete command.
Even though he will be with the team at the AFCON, Peseiro’s first task as Super Eagles coach is to ensure the team qualifies for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The Portuguese tactician takes over as Nigeria’s coach after his last position as coach of the Venezuelan national team which he left due to unpaid salaries.
His coaching career began at Unio Santarém, followed by stops at Unio Montemor, Oriental, and Nacional. Between 2003 and 2004, the 61-year-old worked as Carlos Quieroz’s assistant at Real Madrid.
Peseiro has also had the privilege of managing three of Portugal’s most prestigious clubs: Porto, Sporting Lisbon (twice), and Braga (2x).
