Nigeria is looking for a new head coach following the dismissal of Gernot Rohr. Their president, Amaju Pinnick, has set his sights on the AFCON trophy for the next year.
:focal(1188x441:1190x439)/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2021/12/04/3266064-66838548-2560-1440.jpg?w=750&ssl=1)
He claims to have spoken with Jose Mourinho, the current manager of Roma. Pinnick is looking for a coach that is focused and eager to win.
According to rumors from Nigeria, Jose Mourinho has already held negotiations about taking the Nigerian position, despite the fact that he has only been with Roma for six months.
After parting ways with Gernot Rohr ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations next year, the Super Eagles are on the hunt for a new coach, with president Amaju Pinnick looking for a manager who can bring the title home once more.
In statements obtained by Nigerian site the Daily Trust, Pinnick claims he has already had a talk with the former Real Madrid, Chelsea, and Tottenham manager about assuming the job.
‘Of course, Mourinho – I’m not going to tell you we didn’t speak to him because we did, and the (sports) minister also spoke to him, and there’s nothing wrong with that.’
‘If the coach agrees to give us the Nations Cup, he will be called up right now.’ I’m not going to warn you it’ll be later because what is the point of recruiting? What are we waiting for if the executive committee says yes and we are prepared?
Mourinho has only recently signed a three-year contract with Roma, which he will begin in May, and has stated his desire to develop a “winning project” over the following few years.
Despite the fact that his team is currently sixth in Serie A, 14 points behind leaders Inter Milan, it seems doubtful that he will abandon ship this early in his tenure.
Former Porto and Sporting Lisbon manager Jose Peseiro was one among the candidates, according to Pinnick, who also spoke with Mladen Krstajic before he joined Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.
‘We spoke with three elite coaches, and one of them is Peseiro, whose name has been floating around, and I can assure you he is a good coach.’
‘We also spoke with Krstajic, but after speaking with him, he accepted a position with Maccabi Tel Aviv, a top Israeli team.’ You can see that these are coaches who are hungry and ready to make Nigeria their home; these are people who we know are up to the task of dealing with Nigeria’s 200 million people.
‘They are coaches who the players cannot be bigger than, and I believe we are doing everything we can, which is why we work with the ministry on a daily basis.’
‘On Tuesday, when I spoke with one of the coaches, he was already scouting our players and telling me stuff about them that I didn’t know.’ It was pretty remarkable, and he surprised me by telling me about each player’s strength. We’re not going to do anything new, and if he can win the Nations Cup, that’ll be OK.
‘We know interim coach, Augustine Eguavoen can do it, but we want someone better.’ We will work with the present club if we are unable to sign him shortly. But I won’t tell you that if we sign him today, he won’t be able to lead the squad to the AFCON.’
