Super Eagles coach: Shun former internationals, Gaiya warns NFF

Former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Sports, Godfrey Ali Gaiya, has urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to look beyond Nigerian coaches, especially the former internationals, in its search for a new manager to replace the sacked Stephen Keshi.

Gaiya, who spoke at the end of the football tournament organised by the Four Square Gospel Church in Abuja at the weekend, argued that Nigerian coaches were not good enough to transform the current Super Eagles’ players into championship-winning stars, adding that the penchant to monitor players of Nigerian descent on television is a sign of failure of the country’s coaches.

He posited that the Super Eagles need an exposed tactical coach, who can read games, as well as discover talents from the domestic leagues.

“I was not surprise by his sack. I rather think that it was long overdue. NFF had no reason to renew Keshi’s contract in the first place.

“Don’t forget that when my committee felt that the NFF were foot-dragging and not bold to tell Keshi to go, we volunteered to help them to tell him to go. It was the general belief of all Nigerians that he was not the best and cannot be the best we have in this country.

“Having failed to qualify for the 2015 African Nations Cup, we felt that what happened to bad coaches should happen to Keshi because a coach is as good as his last match. It is good that he is gone now and I can tell you that Nigerians are happy and we in the sporting world are also happy. It is time the NFF went all out to give Nigerians a good coach. It is not time for them to go back to ex-internationals just to please them,” he warned.

Asked if he would prefer a foreign coach, he replied: “Whatever your colour, whatever race and language, only the very best will be good enough for Nigeria. Personally, I won’t mind where the coach is coming from. It would be wrong to think that we don’t have quality coaches in the country.”

On the calibre of coaches that could be considered for the job, Gaiya said, “I am not convinced that there is one good enough to deliver or improve our game to the next level. If we must call a spade by its name, I am convinced that for now, we don’t have that coach that can give us that magic wand to turn our football around.”

“They lack the technical knowhow because football has gone scientific. They need to go a step further than where we are now. We need coaches that are exposed, that have tactics, that can read a game, discover talents from our domestic leagues and polish them into stars.”