As the debate on whether to hire an indigenous coach for the Super Eagles job or not continues, a member of the Tunisia ’94 AFCON winning squad, Edema Fuludu, has urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to change its attitude towards local coaches.
“Will the ÑFF be willing to treat our indigenous coaches professionally? This is very important,” Fuludu asked in a chat with The Guardian, yesterday. “No indigenous coach has been treated positively by half what we do to foreign or expatriate coaches.
“Will an indigenous coach be allowed to call players of his choice without undue interference and vetting of his list? I do not think so,” he said. Fuludu, who was part of Coach Clemens Westerhof’s squad that beat the continent in 1994, asked; “Will an indigenous coach ask for 30 balls and be given the same for training?
“I have always been an advocate of a homegrown coach with the right credentials or qualifications.
“Many of us in the public, as fans and lovers of the Super Eagles, do not understand what an indigenous coach faces when on assignment at the national team level. If you dig deep, you will understand why Eguavoen’s experience is not a bad one.
“It does not matter who is ripe for the Super Eagles’ job between George Finidi and Emmanuel Amunike. To me, what matters is: Do they have the requisite qualifications to handle the senior national team?
“Yes, they are both former international players, who won the AFCON for Nigeria. They played in prestigious clubs in Europe and made a considerable impact.
“Have they had any stint at the national team even as assistant coaches? Yes, which means they have a semblance of experience on how things work in management as against when they were players. It counts.
“Will they be patriotic in decision-making in team selection for the best interest of the team and country? Yes. There will always be pressure to do well, especially as homegrown coaches. So why will they not want to do what is right?
“But will the NFF give them the right treatment as it did to foreign coaches? I recall between 1992/93 when Christian Chukwu asked for 10 balls in our training camp and how many he got compared to Westerhof the same week with the same team, who got 30 balls in 24 hours.”
Fuludu, a former Delta FA boss continues: “I just advocate for an indigenous coach willing to be patriotic if given the resources and right tools to work without undue interference.
“A coach that the ÑFF must be willing to allow time to grow with the job and not to be given a three-match test and no contract attached. Yes, Finidi or Amunike are capable hands and will succeed if supported adequately,” he stated.
