The head coach of South Africa Hugo Broos says the Super Eagles of Nigeria now have a new style of play following the appointment of Finidi George as the replacement for Jose Peseiro, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.
Peseiro led the team to a second spot finish at the Africa Cup of Nations losing 1-2 to the host Cote d’Ivoire in the final, but left after the expiration of his deal as contract in February.
Finidi who handled the team in interim capacity in two friendly games against Ghana and Mali respectively was named as the substantive coach of the team last month. His first assignment will be the game against South Africa on Friday.
Broos who saw his side lost to Nigeria at the AFCON via spot kicks after a 1-1 draw said he has seen enough from Finidi to draw a conclusion on the difference between how he wants the team to play, and how they played under Peseiro at the AFCON.
“We will try to shock them again. It’s a little bit different than the team of AFCON.
“With Finidi George they have a coach who thinks more offensively. Peseiro, he was a little bit more defensively and I saw that certainly in the game against us, he was always telling the team to go back.
“Also in the final they didn’t really play offensively, they just tried to be good defensively and then hoping on a counterattack or a situation in front of the goal where they could score.
“I saw two games against Mali and Ghana, it’s different. They take a little bit more initiative. It’s not the team anymore who went back and wait.
“They also try to make pressure early in the game and close to the goal of the opponent, so we have to look for something now that we can shock them again like we did for the game in Ivory Coast.”
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
