The appointment of former Super Eagles handler, Augustine Eguavoen, as the interim coach of the national team, came as a surprise. Before his appointment, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) had announced the German tactician, Bruno Labbadia, as the substantive coach of the team. But Nigerian football fans were shocked when the German tactician called it quits just some days after his appointment. The NFF struggled to explain that unfavourable German tax law scuttled the deal.
On the botched deal, the NFF President Ibrahim Gusau explained: “There was no way the NFF would agree to offset the concomitant tax percentage on his salary that will be demanded by German tax authorities. It is not possible for us to shoulder the responsibility of shelling out another sum, between 32-40 per cent of his salary, after paying the agreed monthly wage.”
“The NFF and Labbadia reached an agreement in principle before we announced that he would become the Head Coach of the Super Eagles. The tax details were never part of our discussions, and he had personally agreed to all terms before the tax issue came up. We were doing our best to be flexible in the discussions, but he was adamant that the NFF had to pay the full tax amount as well. We simply cannot do that,” the NFF boss further stated.
Labaddia’s appointment followed the resignation of Finidi George after a disastrous World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the much fancied Super leagues marooned in the 5th position after three matches. Though Labbadia was not the world-class coach many Nigerians clamoured for, it was believed that, given the track records of German coaches that had handled the Super Eagles in the past, like Otto Gloria, Manfred Hoener and Gernot Rohr, Labbadia would excel.
The recent appointment of Eguaveon, the hitherto technical director of the NFF, in an interim capacity, was to prosecute two Super Eagles’ African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying matches in Uyo on September 7 and in Kigali, Rwanda, on September 10, pending the appointment of a substantive coach to handle the team. The team’s first performance under the interim coach, who secured three points and three goals over the Cheetahs of Benin Republic, was impressive. The Cheetahs, handled by the former Super Eagles coach, Rohr, had earlier defeated the Super Eagles in a World Cup qualifying match played in their adopted home venue of Abidjan. This victory has demonstrated that the post-AFCON lethargic performance of the team under Finidi George was due to tactical blunders.
However, Nigerians should not be carried away by Eguavoen’s spectacular early days as an interim coach of the national team. His previous spells at either the Super Eagles coach or interim coach produced mixed fortunes. Under him, the Super Eagles failed to wriggle out of the last sixteen stage of the 2021 AFCON tournament held in Cameroon after Gernot Rohr was relieved of his duties. Also, under Eguaveon, the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after two draws with Ghana, which saw the Black Stars of Ghana advanced to the Qatar Mundial on away goal rule. Eguaveon’s most memorable stint as the Super Eagles coach was when he won bronze as a caretaker coach at the 2006 AFCON, beating Senegal in the 3rd place playoff.
Already, some Nigerians have made a call for him to be made the substantive coach of the Super Eagles on the strength of his flying start. Similar calls were made in the past. But he was harshly criticized when he failed. It is better to watch and see subsequent performances of the team under his watch. Consistency is important in the resume of a good coach. This will determine whether Eguaveon is the right man for the job or not. Nigerian fans are very critical and will not hesitate to call for the sack of national team coach if he flounders.
The botched contract between the NFF and Labbadia is very disgraceful. There is no doubt that the NFF has disappointed Nigerians over the debacle. What is the big deal in hiring a coach? Why must the NFF be involved in that show of shame? The NFF and the ministry of sports should stop playing politics with our football in particular and sports in general. Our shameful outing at the Paris Olympics and below average performance at the Para Olympics showed that all is not well with our sports.
The NFF is sick and must be quickly overhauled. Let heads roll in the agency before it is too late. We cannot continue to have a bunch of unserious people in the NFF. Doing so will quickly kill our football and our sports. The football body is notorious of racketeering with coaches’ appointments and imposition of players on the team managers. The ugly narrative must change now. The selfishness of those running the football house is fast killing our football.