The former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro isn’t interested in returning as coach of the team following the exit of Finidi George, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Peseiro led the team to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations where they were beaten 1-2 by the host Cote d’Ivoire. It was their best run since winning the trophy in 2013, he however left following the expiration of his contract in February.
His assistant Finidi George was appointed as the substantive coach of the team after a two game spell as caretaker coach. He left his role few weeks ago in the wake of an announcement by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) that they will be hiring an expatriate coach for the team.
The NFF made the decision after the team’s poor showing in the world cup qualifiers, where they drew 1-1 with South Africa before losing 1-2 to Benin Republic in Cote d’Ivoire. It means they are now 5th in their group.
Some reports has it that there are moves to bring back the Portuguese coach, but we exclusively gathered that he has made it clear that he is not interested in returning to his post owing to several factors.
One of the factors includes what the poor relationship he endured with some top men at the NFF who tried to impose players on him. He also felt he was disrespected a lot to times by the president of the football body Ibrahim Musa Gusau.
The coach would have continued in his role after meeting the target of reaching the semi final of the AFCON but the above mentioned reasons tops why he turned down the extension, and not the fact that he was to be paid the same salary like he earned at the AFCON.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
