Julius OkorieSuper Eagles new coach Eric Chelle was officially unveiled on Monday in Abuja, thus ending the search for foreign coach since the departure of Portuguese coach Jose Pesseiro.
The search had led to ill-fated engagement of German coach Bruno Labbadia whose case could best be described as a bad bill, dead on arrival.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe former Stuttgart coach rejected the offer even as debate then over his suitability for the job in the first place raged on. The bungled contract for many was good riddance.
In that state of uncertainty Head of Technical Department Austin Eguavoen was called upon as usual to step in and steady the sail.
It will not of course be the first time the former international has been called upon to step in having done so a record four times.
The 59 year old former Enyimba and Black Leopards of South Africa coach marked that fourth intervention period by qualifying Super Eagles for the 2025 AFCON billed for Morocco. What a way to step aside you would say.
After that photo finish many had thought that Cerezo as he was fondly called during his playing days would be given an extended mandate to lead the Eagles on from there, but the NFF eventually named Ivory coast born former Mali coach Eric Chelle as new coach, it became apparent that the Glass House resolve to settle for a foreign coach was cast on stone.
Caretaker And Interim Nomenclature:
It is true Eguavoen may not have led the Eagles to title win like late Stephen Keshi did in 2013 in South Africa, but the question would be if he were not good and impactful enough will he be a recurring decimal coming and going whether as caretaker or interim coach of the national team?
Aside from handling the nation’s U-20 and 23 teams in between, Eguavoen stepped in to take charge of the Eagles first, between 2005 to 2007, then 2010 when he replaced Swedish coach Lars Lagerbäck. He returned again as interim coach between 2021 and 2022 and finally in 2024 following the departure of Jose Peseiro on one hand and the sacking of Finidi George on the other.
Between Eric Chelle And Austin Eguavoen:
That both men paid their dues as players is not in doubt. Playing as defenders for their various clubs both men made combined 574 appearances for 12 different clubs scoring combined 30 goals. While Eguavoen who played for Belgian side Gent among others made 239 appearances for seven different clubs with 19 goals to his credit, Chelle made 275 appearances for five clubs including French side Lens scoring 11 goals.
Managerial Careers:
Aside from managing the national team several times, Eguavoen has managed over nine clubs including Maltese club side Sliema Wanderers, Enyimba, Bendel Insurance and Gombe United just to mention a few. Eric Chelle on his part managed five clubs including Algerian club side MC Oran.
READ ALSO:Udeze To NFF: Chelle Is wrong Number, Eguavoen Better
After coaching Mali he was sacked over poor run in the world cup qualifiers, Nigeria will be the second national team he will be handling.
It is thus safe to say that Chelle only has national coaching experience with Mali leading the side to the quarterfinal of the last AFCON in Cote d Ivoire.
Returning to the national team every now and then like Eguavoen has been doing, means having to manage different players for different occasions and experiences that can be garnered from this cannot be underrated.
Eguavoen’s Advantage:
Having been working every now and then with Nigerian players both home and abroad by virtue of coaching not just the national team the super Eagles, but also premier league sides in the country, Eguavoen certainly is in a better position to assess the capabilities of the players and how best to deploy them.
Unfortunately he has not really been given free hand in the course of his caretaker and interim periods, as talk about possible engagement of foreign coach remains a recurring decimal. No coach is ever at his best when talk about getting his replacement overshadows every other discussion.
NFF appears comfortable having Eguavoen in his present position as Head of Technical Department. His availability to come to the rescue at short moments is to the advantage of the Glass House and so even if he is technically better than coaches being engaged, his stand by status tickles the fancy of his employers.
And perhaps this stand point is also boosted by thinking in some quarters that the players tend to respect foreign coach better than local ones.
Taste of the Pudding:
By engaging Eric Chelle at this time, the NFF is saying he is the best man for the job. Whether soccer fans and indeed analysts agree or not, the did, has been done and like they say, the rest is now history.
The only way Eric Chelle can prove that he is better than Eguavoen or indeed and prove NFF right is to do the following.
- Lead Super Eagles to victory at the Next African Nations Championship (CHAN) in August and thus become the first coach to lead Eagles to win that tournament since inception in 2009.
- Qualify Super Eagles for the 2026 World Cup in USA and Canada after the country failed to feature at the last one in Qatar.
Time indeed will tell whether he can achieve this dual mandate.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
