How Far Can Finidi George Soar With The Super Eagles?

Two weeks ago the Nigerian Football Federation finally announced Finidi George as the replacement to erstwhile coach Jose Peseiro, whose contract was not renewed when it elapsed in February, after the 2024 African Nations Cup Competition, where Nigeria took the silver medal.

The Nigerian Super Eagles have for some time now endured some wobbly and flailing performance, especially in their style of play. Their inability to qualify for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup caused great frustration for Nigerian football fans, especially knowing that their then-foe for the ticket did not possess a better team to overwhelm the Nigerian team.

Finidi George is a much-known name in Nigerian football. He played as a right winger for a long time in the Nigerian local league for Sharks of Port-Harcourt, Calabar Rovers FC, and Iwuanyanwu Nationale FC, Owerri, then got into the Super Eagles, under Clemence Westerhof and soon joined the legendary Ajax Amsterdam that had some wonderful crop of players such as Captain Danny Blind, Goalkeeper Edward van der Sar, Kluivert, Mark Overmars et al, but he instantly got into the first eleven. With Ajax he won the European Champions League amongst several other titles, and also was part of the team that qualified Nigeria for its maiden World Cup in 1994, the same year they also won the African Nations Cup. Finidi, as he’s popularly called went further to ply his trade in Spain, with Real Betis and Mallorca FC, and in England with Ipswich Town FC.

Finidi is a fully certified coach and has bagged the highest coaching grades in the volatile European League, serving as a youth coach in Spain before his return to Nigeria. He returned from Europe to take a coaching job with Enyimba FC of Aba, a little over three years ago and has excelled twice by winning the Nigerian Professional Football League. This likely must have counted in his favor when he was chosen to serve as assistant to Peseiro during his two-year tenure. He would definitely know the team and the workings of his employer, the Nigerian Football Federation, very well to make it easy for him to settle down in his new job.

THE TASK BEFORE FINIDI GEORGE

With less than two months to the resumption of hostilities for the FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket, Finidi needs to hit the ground with blistering speed that would enable the Super Eagles to soar beyond its current position. He’s yet to appoint his assistants and has not publicly articulated his vision for Nigerian football. One expects that his experience as a youth team coach during his coaching exploits in Spain would also count greatly for him, but he still needs to be specific and deliberate on how he intends to transform Nigerian football beyond its present level. The talent pool of the Super Eagles is overwhelming and Nigerians don’t need to suffer watching the team, neither do we need to have our citizens dying of heart attacks watching the Super Eagles struggling against less endowed teams like we witnessed in Cote D’Ivoire. The team needs to play organized football that would make the players perform at their optimal level, rather than turning them to mediocre talents. Our star player, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen virtually used his willpower rather than the team cohesion to make an impression during the Cote D’Ivoire ANC 2024 and he paid dearly on his return to Italy. He got fatigued playing for a Nigerian team that had no style and this, Finidi, needs to change. It was during his era in the Super Eagles that Nigeria reached the apogee of its relevance in World Football and their creativity and style remain unrivaled by any Super Eagles team, thirty years after!

Whilst welcoming Finidi George to the Super Eagles job with open arms, it’s expected that he’d get the best support from his employers, build the best team right for his football philosophy which we expect to be fluid and progressive, and also the Nigerian Football Federation must set the right targets for him to serve as the veritable yardstick to judge his performances. Good luck Finidi!