The former head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has once again defended his decision not to cap a competitive cap to a single player from the Nigeria Professional Football Federation, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Peseiro was in charge of the Super Eagles for 20 months and during his time not even a single player from the domestic league in Nigeria got the chance to play in a competitive game for the Super Eagles.
He left following the expiration of his contract as coach, a few weeks after guiding the team to a second place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire. They were beaten 1-2 by the host in the final.
Back at his base in Portugal, the coach was asked about his time as the coach of the Super Eagles and what was his biggest challenge, while managing in Africa for the first time in his coaching career.
” There was pressure to pick players from the Nigeria Professional League. I get asked all the time about them but I came at a time when the team just missed out of the world cup, so I have to go for the best players. I saw a lot of games and none of the players is as good as the ones playing abroad. You can’t call players for the sake of it”, he said.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
