Jose Peseiro’s future as Super Eagles head coach under cloudy

The fate of Jose Peseiro as head coach of the Nigerian Super Eagles remains cloudy.

This is in spite of the national team pulling a 1-0 win over Guinea-Bissau in Bissau on Monday.

This was three days after the Djurtus had shocked the Super Eagles by the same scoreline at the Abuja National Stadium.

That result in the nation’s capital led to calls for Peseiro to be dismissed.

But one fact that was lost in the outrage is that the Portuguese’s current contract expires in June.

This means senior officials at the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, have a decision to make very soon.

There are a lot to be considered regarding Peseiro’s results in charge of the Super Eagles, who had been three-time African champions. Nigeria have won only three and lost five of eight games played under Peseiro’s leadership.

However, it is instructive to note Peseiro has not had a full year in charge of the Super Eagles, as he was employed midway through 2022.

Secondly, Peseiro isn’t popular among the fans and media. This is an important factor to consider in a football-crazy country like Nigeria, where fans’ support and media coverage can greatly influence a team’s perceived success.

Also, Peseiro’s salary is also a sticky issue. At over $70,000, the 62-year-old earns almost twice that of his predecessor, Gernot Rohr.

Thus, opinions differ on Peseiro’s future with the Super Eagles.
While some Nigerians believe the coach should not be judged during qualifying games, others insist that the immediate past NFF president, Amaju Pinnick, who oversaw Peseiro’s recruitment should be blamed for any lapses.

“The NFF’s recruitment process of Pinnick’s era was just handled by Pinnick. There is a board. He made a lot of decisions unilaterally. That was not right.

“This is a new Board with a new president so we just need to give them time to do their own things,” one football topshot said.