Without doubt, one of the most topical issues in Nigerian football at the moment is the continuous decline of the men’s senior national team, the Super Eagles under Technical Adviser Jose Vitor dos Santos Peseiro and whether or not the Portuguese should be handed a fresh contract in May.
Following the termination of Gernot Rohr’s contract by the former board of the NFF in 2021, a former captain of the Super Eagles, Austin Eguavoen, held sway briefly before the appointment of Peseiro as the substantive Technical Adviser on May 15, 2022.
However, the reign of the former Sporting CP of Portugal, SC Braga, Panathinaikos, Rapid Bucuresti, Al Ahly of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela coach has failed to impact positively on the Super Eagles as the former African champions have moved from one defeat to another under the Portuguese.
It is also on record that in nine matches played so far by the team under the tutelage of Peseiro, the Super Eagles have lost six and managed to win only three against less endowed oppositions. The Super Eagles’ first match with Peseiro in charge of the team ended in a 1-2 loss to Mexico in an international friendly. The team went on to lose 0-1 to Ecuador, 1-2 to Algeria, 0-2 to Costa Rica, 0-4 to Portugal, and the most recent 0-1 loss on home soil to Guinea Bissau.
Although the Super Eagles managed to take back their pound of flesh in the 1-0 defeat of the Wild Dogs of Guinea Bissau in the return leg of the 2023 AFCON Qualifiers in Bissau, most Nigerian football stakeholders have had enough of Peseiro already
Consequently, most football stakeholders were unanimous in their opinion that Peseiro who is reportedly earning as much as $70,000 a month has not done enough to be offered another contract by the NFF.
A former Chairman of Gombe State Football Association and Special Assistant to the Governor of Gombe State on Information Management and Strategy, Alhaji Ahmed Shaibu Gara-Gombe said employing Peseiro was a huge mistake which shouldn’t be repeated by any right thinking person.
“In the first place, employing him was wrong, not to talk of giving him another contract. His past was characterised by failure and he has maintained his tradition with the Super Eagles.
“The best thing is to invoke the termination clause of the contract and sack him. NFF shouldn’t wait until he does more damage. Under Peseiro, the Super Eagles are without philosophy, character, pattern or purpose.
“To whom much is given much is expected. We have given so much to him but we are getting less. Instead we are losing matches all the time,” said Gara-Gombe.
On his part, the chairman of the FCT Football Association, Alhaji Adam Mouktar Mohammed said “Well, I still think we are cautiously optimistic to make judgments about the coach and the team as a lot of new players and experiments are ongoing.
“Peseiro’s present record with the Super Eagles is three wins and six losses. I don’t feel he has had the impact to meet the huge expectations. His body language doesn’t suggest he is confident he will be offered a new contract but we wait to see.
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