What does Finidi George bring to the table?

On Monday evening, April 29th, the NFF confirmed, through its communication secretary, Ademola Olajire, that Finidi George had been chosen as the Super Eagles’ substantive coach.

Furthermore, the mail added that the 53-year-old Finidi had been tasked with assuring the Eagles’ qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

While the new job of the former assistant of Jose Peserio has welcomed congratulatory messages from all corners of the world, Finidi George isn’t in frivolous times, as the tasks ahead can make or mar his coaching career. 

The dream began for Finidi George seven years ago 

Finidi was shortlisted for the national team post seven years ago, alongside 58 other coaches, including Fidelis Ilechukwu; nevertheless, he was not chosen for any position.

Meanwhile, in 2021, the journey to become a national team coach began when he joined Nigerian giant Enyimba as the head coach after the departure of Fatai Osho. 

Finidi George’s first assignment was the CAF Confederations Cup, but the People’s Elephant missed out on Al Ittihad of Tunisia. His first season was the worst so far in his career, where he registered just 38% wins of the 39 games played in the 2021–2022 season. He won 15 games and lost 17 games with seven draws. His first season at Enyimba was the worst for the Aba Landlords since 2016, when they finished 10th. 

Afterward, Enyimba shrugged off their shaky form, and they won the league, catching many people’s surprise as the least expected team to qualify for the Super Six playoff. 

And now, Finidi Goerge and his boys are league contenders in the present season, which is his third season.

Finidi’s coaching career demonstrates that he is a persistent worker rather than an early riser; which seems perfect for a national team job. 

But with the precarious moment in which the Eagles are currently lying, Finidi George doesn’t seem to have all day or time to set precedence or make a significant move.As things stand, the Eagles will need to make a significant improvement to secure automatic World Cup qualification.

So what does Finidi George bring to the table? 

Finidi doesn’t have a rich CV besides his club management, so his appointment is a leap of faith from the football body 10 years after the last indigenous coach, Stephen Keshi, led them to the World Cup. 

While friendlies don’t wholly stand as a testament to a good futuristic endeavour, as we have seen in past manager Jose Peseiro, Finidi’s two friendly games were a “give one, take one” situation. He won one and lost one, respectively. 

Meanwhile, his appointment will only stand based on continuity from where Jose Peseiro stopped, seeing that he assisted the Portuguese for 20 months, understanding the structure and management of the team during those periods. 

Aside from that, Finidi’s wealth of experience as a player will count, especially playing under top coaches like Loius Van Gaal at Ajax. 

And hinges 

Not all players would want Finidi as the coach, although a large number of the team members have pledged loyalty to him as the head coach. Aside from this, what Finidi should focus on is the bulk number of talents and how he can service them properly. 

His mode of selection raised an eyebrow during the friendlies, where some players sat on the bench throughout the two games played.