Peseiro reveals why Nigeria contract talks broke down
Coach Jose Peseiro has disclosed why his ambition to become the next Nigeria handler faded into thin air.
Following the sacking of Gernot Rohr, the Nigeria Football Federation confirmed that the Portuguese manager will take charge of the Super Eagles after the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
However, the possibility of Peseiro taking charge as the West Africans’ permanent boss came to an end on Monday as the NFF announced that Augustine Eguavoen will remain as interim coach.
“The Nigeria Football Federation on Monday announced the reconstitution of the technical crew of the senior men national team, Super Eagles, with Augustine Eguavoen staying as interim technical adviser while former Nigeria World Cup star and former U20 coach, Emmanuel Amuneke is drafted in as immediate assistant to Eguavoen,” a statement from the country’s football ruling body read.
In a post on social media, Peseiro revealed that talks to handle the three-time African champions collapsed due to financial questions and clauses in the proposed contract.
“After several weeks of negotiations, during which there was news from the Nigerian Football Federation, that I would be the coach of their team, from the end of Afcon 2021, a fact that I never confirmed, and these did not materialize due to disagreement regarding contrarian clauses and financial matters,” the 61-year-old wrote on Instagram.
Peseiro previously worked at Panathinaikos, Real Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, Al Ahly, Braga and most recently as the Venezuela national team coach – a position he left in August 2021 over unpaid salary.
For the NFF, the decision to retain Eguavoen was because of the Super Eagles’ “positive performance” in Cameroon despite their failure to get past the Round of 16.
“We acknowledge and appreciate the interest that Mr Jose Peseiro has shown in Nigeria Football during our very cordial discussions and have absolutely no doubt about his capacity,” general secretary Mohammed Sanusi told the media.
“However, in view of the positive performance of the Super Eagles at the just-concluded Africa Cup of Nations which has given hope to Nigerians and boosted our confidence in the present coaching crew to qualify us for the World Cup in Qatar, we have decided to accept the recommendation of the Technical and Development Committee to retain the Eguavoen-led coaching crew and strengthen it with the addition of Emmanuel Amuneke.”
Nigeria are aspiring to qualify for the global showpiece for the seventh time, but they must negotiate their way past eternal rivals Ghana in a two-legged qualifier.
