Super Eagles: Jalla drums support for indigenous coach
By Babatunde Ogunrinde
Harrison Jalla, the Chairman, Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN), has urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to look inwards in choosing the head coach for the Super Eagles.
Jalla, who said this while addressing newsmen on Tuesday in Lagos, said it was time an indigenous coach took over as the head coach of the Super Eagles.
He said that the NFF had engaged foreign coaches for more than eight years without substantial results to show for it.
“With more than five unproductive years with Gernot Rohr and almost two years of Jose Paseiro, with Coach Austine Eguavoen making a brief stint in-between.
“It is time to engage our indigenous coaches with the same terms and conditions given to Gernot Rohr and Jose Paseiro.
“Any attempt to treat indigenous coaches differently will be resisted,” Jalla said.
“The performance of indigenous coaches in the last three editions of AFCON is a clear indicator that African coaches are better than their European counterparts.
“Nigeria must take a cue from Morocco, Senegal and Cote d`Ivoire who won the three last editions of the AFCON with indigenous coaches,” he said.
He said that the last two foreign coaches, Rohr and Paseiro left no legacy other than destroying the Super Eagles traditional pattern of free flow football.
“None of these foreign coaches could attain Coach Stephen Keshi ’s 2013 AFCON record.
Jalla urged the NFF to invest in the development of indigenous coaches from the annual technical grants from FIFA and CAF for the benefit of our football.
According to Jalla, the nucleus of the team that won the 2013 AFCON are home based players.
“We have a legion of ex-internationals that are qualified to handle the Super Eagles, Emmanuel Amuneke, Sunday Oliseh, Finidi George, Emeka Ezeugo among others.
“Nigeria was once at the 5th position in FIFA rankings, but clueless football administrators have pulled us to where we are today by recycling visionless leaders.
“The time to break that monopoly is now and it will certainly happen in a matter of weeks,”he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
BAO/GOM/JPE
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Edited by Gregg Mmaduakolam/Joseph Edeh
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