“I don’t want to be goalkeeper trainer” — Vincent Enyeama on possible Eagles return

By Monsurah Olatunji 

Former Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama has expressed his preference for coaching an entire team rather than serving solely as a goalkeeper trainer.

Since Enyeama’s retirement, the Super Eagles have had several goalkeepers, with only Carl Ikeme coming close to the former Lille shot-stopper in terms of quality. The goalkeeping position has been unsettled, with no clear first choice, and in the past five years, no fewer than six different goalkeepers have manned the posts for the team.

Recently, the goalkeeping situation has garnered attention, with Francis Uzoho failing to inspire confidence among fans, while his competition, Maduka Nwabali, has sparked hope with his performance at the AFCON, citing Enyeama as his role model.

Following Jose Peseiro’s departure as the Super Eagles head coach after the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in February, fans have called for the ex-goalkeeper to take on the role of goalkeeper trainer. However, the Super Eagles legend has explained his reasons for not pursuing the position.

“Whatever I am doing now is how to become a full coach of a team, and not just a goalkeeper trainer,” he told Afrik-Foot.

“If I have to be a goalkeeper trainer, then it has to be with very young ones in junior teams because they are the ones you can teach. They are still growing and open to learning new things; with them, you can easily transmit what you want.

“Some of the established goalkeepers are not so easy to manage because they already have fixed mindsets. When you are called into the national team, you don’t really coach them but manage them.

“That’s why most trainers usually introduce exercises that would keep the goalkeepers very fit, as they are already well-formed in other areas.

“It would be nice to manage the full team because, as a goalkeeper, you always have a full view of the field and what everyone is doing at any given time. That’s why most goalkeepers make good coaches, and most midfielders do well too, as we can see with (Pep) Guardiola, (Xabi) Alonso, and Xavi. They were all midfielders.”