The newly appointed head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Finidi George took a lot of people by surprise when he named the backroom staff he will work with upon his unveiling as coach of the team, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Finidi who was given a one year deal with the option of a further year if the team makes it to the semi final of the next Africa Cup of Nations will officially begin his reign in June, when they take on South Africa and Benin Republic In the 2026 world cup qualifiers.
He will be expected to lead the team out alongside his assistants and the next to him is the U15 coach of German Bundesliga side Hoffenheim Benjamin James. He will serve as the first assistants to the former Ajax winger.
James has been in the youth team setup of Hoffenheim for 15 years and has won a total of 13 trophies. He worked with the current coach of the senior national team of Germany Julian Nagelsmann at the club as coach of U15 while Nagelsmann handled the U19.
In 2013 , they both guided their respective teams to victory in youth tournaments. When Nagelsmann stepped up to the first team he praised the works of James at the U15 as largely responsible for the growth and development of players coming through the youth system.
He has since moved up to coaching RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich before his recent role as coach of the senior national team of Nigeria. His first assignment will be the upcoming European championship.
” Here we have a culture which we set from youth teams to the top here. James has done a wonderful job there and he is one of the best we have around at that level and the same goes for the rest of the coaches in our youth team setup. It’s a collective thing”, the coach said in 2017.
