Why Le Guen Turned Down Super Eagles + The Way Forward — NFF President, Amaju Pinnick

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has revealed that Frenchman, Paul Le Guen, may have opted out of coaching the Super Eagles because the NFF wanted a resident coach.

Pinnick, in reaction to media reports that Le Guen was offered the job clarified that the Frenchman was only a recommendation for the job by the NFF Technical and Development Committee to the Executive Board for ratification, subject to an agreement on personal terms.

He denied Le Guen, a former coach of Cameroun’s Indomitable Lions, was ever offered the technical adviser job of the Super Eagles job as widely reported by the local media Tuesday.

“The NFF had never offered him the job. Le Guen was only a recommendation of the Technical and Development Committee subject to agreement of the NFF Executive Committee,” Pinnick said.

“Le Guen wanted to stay in France to be coming from time to time to take up the team on specific assignments. We are insisting on a Super Eagles coach that would reside in Nigeria.

“We want a coach that will be more embracing in terms of football development in Nigeria. He didn’t like targets. In the past we set targets for Siasia, for late Keshi and even Oliseh, why not him?

“We do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past where people were employed with so much expectations and they ended up disastrously.”

Also, Chairman of the NFF Technical and Development Committee, Barrister Chris Green said the NFF would “look at the next door” if Le Guen refuses to accept their offer.

“The announcement made on Monday (by the NFF’s technical committee) was quite clear. Le Guen was offered the job subject to contract terms being agreed,” Green stated in an interview with an online medium.

“We had to look at the best interest of the country before offering anyone the job (to manage the Super Eagles) and one of such conditions was that the new technical adviser would reside in Nigeria.

“We want a coach who will not just take the Super Eagles to the next level but will develop Nigerian football as a whole and if he does not reside in Nigeria, it may not be feasible.
“We will look at the next door if Le Guen decides not to accept the terms we offered him.

“A situation where Nigeria will be the loser will never be accommodated by the NFF. A lot of top coaches applied to coach Nigeria and even more (who did not officially apply) are desirous of coaching Nigeria.

“The options are open and we want to assure Nigerians that we will contract a coach that will befit the status of one of the best national teams on the African continent. We are working assiduously to make Nigerians happy and will not relent till we achieve set objectives.”