Finidi George was officially confirmed as Nigeria’s new coach on Monday — becoming the 10th indigenous coach to manage the Super Eagles in two decades.
The former Ajax and Real Betis player has agreed to take over the team currently third in Group C of the African World Cup qualifiers having missed out on the last edition in Qatar.
Finidi will face a significant upheaval at the helms as he must manage the players ego, restore confidence and hope in the Nigerian fans and motivate players to give their best.
Daniel Amokachi (First assistant coach)
Amokachi was a former teammate of Finidi and a key member of the Eagles class of 1994, who won the AFCON title that year and reached the round of 16 in their debut appearance at the World Cup.
The Bull, as he’s fondly called by his admirers, just concluded his CAF A coaching licence in Morocco. He was an assistant coach to the late Stephen Keshi when Nigeria last won the AFCON in 2013 in South Africa, before cameo as the team’s head coach in 2014. Amokachi also previously handled the country’s U-23s as well as the CHAN Eagles.
The former Nasarawa United coach is expected to bring in his wealth of knowledge to help Finidi and the achieve their goals.
Benjamin James (Second assistant coach)
James grew up in Ajegunle, Lagos. The Bayelsa native was a ruthless defender during his playing days and was nicknamed ‘Police of Senegal’.
Capped 11 times by Nigeria, James played for Plateau United, Shooting Stars and the defunct Stationary Stores before he moved to Italy where he starred for Catania. After a season there, he joined Carl Zeiss Jena in Germany in 1997. He also played for VFR Mannheim and SV Weingarten before he retired in 2003. James has for over a decade been at German Bundesliga club Hoffenheim as an assistant coach of the youth team.
Olatunji Baruwa (Goalkeepers’ trainer)
Baruwa is one of the surviving backroom staff of Jose Peseiro. He was drafted into the Eagles Peseiro to replace Ike Shoronmu. Currently, the goalkeeper trainer for Nasarawa United as well as the national U-20 team, Baruwa has been with the team since then.
Chima Onyeike (Fitness trainer)
Onyeike, 48, was born in Zeist, Holland to a Nigerian father. The 48-year-old holds a degree in sports science and professionally played for several Dutch clubs (Dordrecht, Haarlem, Excelsior, VVV Venlo, TOP Oss, Cambuur, Spakenburg) before retiring.
He began work as a personal trainer and his impressive client list includes renowned footballers like Roy Makaay and Aleksandr Kerzhakov. As a club fitness trainer, Onyeike has worked with clubs like Anzhi Makhachkala, PAOK, VFB Stuttgart and Willem 11.
Mehmet Ozturk (Analyst)
Not much is known about him but George’s match reader/analyst, Ozturk, is an expert in prototype match analysis software.
