Segun Odegbami: 1980 AFCON winner recommends next Super Eagles coach

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

After the expiration of the contract of former coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national team, former Nigeria forward, Segun Odegbami has opened up on the choice of the next coach for the Super Eagles.

Jose Peseiro guided the Super Eagles to the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations where the team lost 2-1 to hosts, Cote d’Ivoire.

Odegbami who was part of the Nigerian side that won the 1980 AFCON is also thinking along this path for the three-time African champions.

“Unless we want to be enslaved forever in our colonial mentality where we think that only the white person can coach us to success whereas all around us we hear of stories of Nigerians who are excelling in all spheres of human endeavors and are moving abroad to go and help the other countries to develop,” Odegbami told journalists during Sportsville award in Lagos on Friday.

“Football is not rocket science but a small simple game. We have lots of Nigerians who have all the qualifications to take us to any level.

“I won’t suffer from colonial mentality again. Enough of foreign coaches. Now is the time for Nigeria coaches to handle the team.”

Under Peseiro, the team struggled for results ahead of the last AFCON and only had two points after two games in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

“Peseiro did not resign. His contract ended and it was not renewed,” he continued.

“It is as simple as that. End of contract when the ovation is loud. If the occasion was not loud they wouldn’t have given him rewards that nobody could ever imagined.

“Rewards that have never been given to any coach in the world. Not because he won but because he came second.

“The man should take that reward, rush back to his country, rest, and enjoy for the rest of his life and leave Nigeria alone for us to face that future where we need a coach who will take us to win something. We are tired of coaches who can’t win us anything.”

The home-based coaches in recent times have not taken the team near the glory line.

Austine Eguavoen led the team to the Round of 16 at the 2021 AFCON before a consortium of Eguavoen, Emmanuel Amunike, and other Nigeria coaches couldn’t qualify the team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

It is now left for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to decide on appointing a home-based or foreign coach for the team as they prepare for the next round of games in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.