The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) appointed Jose Peseiro as the head coach of the Super Eagles earlier this month. The new Super Eagles head coach, 62, will have himself tested against Mexico on Sunday and Ecuador four days later.
Who is Jose Peseiro?
Peseiro started his coaching in the third and fourth tier of Portugese league before taking charge of Nacional in 1999, guiding them into the Portuguese top flight in 2002. He spent 1460 days at the club before going to Real Madrid in 2003 to work as assistant coach under Carlos Queiroz’s returning home after a season to manage Sporting CP.
What will he meet?
Nigeria were knocked out of the African Cup of Nations by Tunisia. The Super Eagles went to the tournament as favourites and played some exciting football till they me the Tunisians and couldn’t find a way past them.
The Super Eagles also lost their World Cup qualifying playoffs to their noisy neighbours, Ghana. It was another heartbreaking moment for fans and players.
Peseiro will meet a side low on confidence considering how they lost out on two tournaments this year. He must lift the mood and make the players believe again.
Super Eagles team will be playing friendly games against Mexico and Ecuador and will also be anticipating AFCON qualifiers. He will need the team to get used to his philosophy and style.
What impact will he have?
Jose Peseiro must restore confidence to his squad. He will need time to implement his ideas, but Peseiro teams are generally known for playing a vibrant brand of football, as was the case during his spells at Sporting and Braga.
However, he can also be a little dynamic in his style of play with a defensive set up as this was the case in Venezuela.
The style of play depends on the qualities of players he has and the strength of the team. It is evident that with the quality of the Nigerian team, he should be able to implement this eye catching football.
Players like Iwobi, Aribo, Tyronne, Lookman and Osimhen will help in this implementation of this vibrant football.
Who are his foreign assistants?
Acacio Santos, 41, is his first assistant coach started his coaching career at Uniao Leira in 2010 and last coached a 3rd nacional division team, Uniao Desportiva. He never used more than a year in a team.
Victor Hugo, 38, will work hand in hand with Eboboritse Uwejamomere as match analysts. This is his first senior managerial job.
Lastly, Maykel Moreira, 34, will be Nigerian team fitness coach, having worked at Gil Vicente, Leixoes, CD Cova and Al Hazam.
The other Nigerian Assistant Coaches are Finidi George, Salisu Yusuf, Usman Abdallah and Ike Shorumu.
Will he be successful?
Peseiro’s only major trophy as manager is the 2012/13 League Cup with SC Braga. Peseiro has not being a major achiever with some of his sides always losing crucial games and missing important tournaments like Saudi Arabia missing 2010 World Cup.
With the quality and quantity of players at his disposal, players who can really bring out the beautiful style of play he wants to implement, it’s only a matter of time for the team to start doing well.
Jose Peseiro is well recommended by Jose Mourinho and he is expected to play a vibrant and winning football.
However, Jose Peseiro is not a manager who coaches a team for long before parting ways with the club or country. He hasn’t used more than 2 years in a team since he coached Nacional.
OJB SPORT 