THE Nigeria Football Federation has formally presented Finidi George as the head coach of the Super Eagles, with his former teammate Daniel Amokachi as one of his assistants.
Finidi’s provisional appointment was announced just over two weeks ago and the former Enyimba head coach can now begin work after details of his contract were finalised.
Along with Amokachi, the NFF has also appointed Olatunji Baruwa as the goalkeeper trainer to work with Finidi, who steered Enyimba to the Nigeria Premier Football League title last year.
It is also believed that Finidi, 53, will add two assistants from Europe to join his backroom staff as well as a fitness trainer.
Amokachi and Finidi go back a long way, having been in the ‘golden generation’ of the Super Eagles at the same time.
They both played key roles as the Super Eagles won the Africa Cup of Nations title in 1994 and qualified for Nigeria’s first senior World Cup the same year.
Finidi and Amokachi were both regular starters under Clemens Westerhof at the USA ’94 World Cup and they both scored as the Super Eagles reached the second round before losing to eventual finalists Italy.
They also had successful careers in Europe, with Finidi winning the 1995 UEFA Champions League title and Dutch league trophies with Ajax and reaching the Copa del Rey final with Real Betis, while Amokachi starred for Club Brugge, Besiktas and Everton, where he won the 1995 FA Cup.
Finidi worked as one of Jose Peseiro’s assistants for 20 months and was part of the crew that led the Super Eagles to the Africa Cup of Nations final in Cote d’Ivoire in February.
