Finidi George has been appointed new coach of the Nigeria Super Eagles but his familiarity with the NFF leaves fans debating if he is a good boy or the right choice.
One question that is never left behind when a local coach is appointed to takecharge of the national team is whether or not they are a pawn of the NFF.
The recent appointment of former Super Eagles winger, Finidi George has not been let off this question, as football enthusiasts in the country ponder on what fate awaits the three time African champions in the coming years.
Not at all new to the job but surely fresh to the more prominent position, the Enyimba international coach was the interim manager after the departure of Jose Peseiro in March.
53-year-old Finidi was also part of the coaching staff of the Portuguese in his two year reign. He was also there when Nigeria reached the final of the African Cup of Nations earlier in the year, where they lost 2-1 to host nation Ivory Coast in the Alessane Ouattarra stadium.
The highlight of his coaching career is his time at Enyimba, where he turned a team in crisis to winners of the Nigeria Premier League title in few years following his appointment.
However, a host of fans in the country do not see him become the main man for the Super Eagles so soon, even so as news had emerged that Emmanuel Amunike was to be handed the role.
The news of Finidi George’s appointment came as a shock to journalists, pundits and fans alike.
Managerial style, stats and numbers
Finidi George started his coaching journey when he landed the job with Enyimba international more than two-and-a-half year ago. Since then, he has overseen 88 games across all competitions for the club.
With a record of 39 wins, 19 draws and 30 losses, he has been able deliver a league title and also in the run to make it a double this season.
His Enyimba team is placed second on the log, two points behind leaders Enugu Rangers, with six more games to go.
Finidi George took charge of two games as the interim manager of Super Eagles. In his first, Nigeria beat Ghana thanks to a Lookman Ademola’s winner in a 2-1 victory, ending a winless run against their noisy neighbors since 2006.
His second game however brought a big blow to the team as they were well outclassed by Mali in a 2-0 defeat, bringing an end to their 39 year unbeaten run against The Eagles of Mali.
Fans and pundits criticized the former Ajax man following the defeat in stade de Marrakech, faulting his tactics and formation. Albeit before that, his win over Ghana was not without questioning.
The Black Stars went a man down just ten minutes after the interval, whilst Nigeria was already leading 1-0. The final result being just 2-1 is not much of a reason to celebrate, according to many.
Despite having much of the possession, Super Eagles were reluctant to take the ball out of their own half, leading to only few chances created and overall an unimpressive attacking display.
Due to his favour of the 4-4-2 formation, it is a characteristics of a side managed by Finidi George to sometimes be overly defensive, which is why he requires his attackers to be very energetic, when catching the opposition on the break.
This works for him very well in the Nigerian Premier League, as Enyimba is unaguably the biggest club. Though they experienced fall from grace sometimes, but they are never too far from glory.
They are able to pounce on the weakness and less in experience of the other teams and grind out results. Unfortunately in a more standard setting, where the environment is more even, players tend to struggle to cover so much grounds.
Against Ghana, he approached the game with a 3-5-2 formation with no natural wingers, leaving on the bench Moses Simon and others.
This put off some fans, who only took respite in the fact that he will only be here for a short period. Making him the manager on a permanent basis was not expected, given his experience has only been limited to Enyimba international.
His attitude towards players was also questioned. Finidi George failed to optimize the usage of the available players. The likes of Nathan Tella, Dele Bashiru, Alhassan Yusuf, and Sadiq Umar got zero minute in the two games and fans’ attention was quickly drawn to this.
It led to an awkward situation between himself and Real Sociedad striker Umar Sadiq, who refused to shake hands with the former Real Betis man at full-time.
Finidi George : The good boy or the right choice ?
Given the close relationship between himself and the federation, it is easy to conclude that Finidi George is a man of the Nigerian Football Federation and will only act as commanded.
The feeling amongst fans is that selection of players will be a shared responsibility between the Federation and the coach, though his appointment births an atom of hope for top home-based players with a dream of playing for the national team.
A fan named Chukwuemeka said; “My fear is the Nigerian factor – will NFF give him free hand to lead the team? If this is done, he will do well.”
“Also, how will he manage the ego of the players, most of who earn more than he does?” He continued.
Finidi George has already disclosed plans to open camp for the next international break much earlier, so that the home-based stars will be assessed before the arrival of the foreign based players.
For a manager who had been and still plying his trade in the country in the last two to three years, Finidi George would know the best players in the country and can help integrate them into the national team.
However, it is also to be expected that many of his decision will be influenced by the NFF, something that has happened in the past and has not gone down well.
Segun Agunbiade, a sport journalist said Finidi’s appointment again showed that former NFF president Amaju Pinnick still calls the shots.
In his words; “The point I picked from this appointment so far is that the immediate past president of the NFF recommended Finidi George and the present board followed suit,” he said.
“Of what purpose is the so-called technical committee? What roles are the technical department of the Nigeria Football Federation playing on this appointment?“
“I think it’s good we continue to recognise Amaju Melvin Pinnick as the President of the NFF as whatever he says binds on the Federation” Agunbiade concluded.
As well-wishers of the Super Eagles hope George will have a good time managing the team, there are certain realities that are bound to bring us down to earth, but is will all be forgiven and forgotten if the 53-year-old can gets it right.
Nigeria play host to South Africa in continuation of the CAF World Cup qualifiers in the June international break, and after that travel to Benin Republic to play The Cheetahs.
Finidi George will hope to make a good impression, better than the last international break when he was the interim boss, so that he can win the fans over, and silence his critics.
Is Finidi George just the good boy of the NFF or the right choice ? Only time will tell.
2 Comments
Pingback: November 4, 2024
Pingback: May 4, 2024