Emmanuel Amuneke may be a popular choice to be named the next Super Eagles coach, but a top official has told SCORENigeria that several factors may work against him including what happened in his last stint with the national team.
It was alleged that the former FC Barcelona winger worked in cross purposes with Augustine Eguavoen when he was drafted to the Super Eagles to assist for Nigeria to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
“Rather than help Eguavoen, he practically sabotaged him and as they say, the rest is history as Nigeria failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar,” the top official told SCORENigeria
“Those who will decide his fate were very much part of the system even then and they have not forgotten.”
Those who support Amuneke as the next Super Eagles coach have also advanced the argument that he will bring out the best of Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze, two players who he first gave their international breakthroughs at U17 level.
“Who says Osimhen and Chukwueze still want to work with Amuneke?” the official asked.
“A lot of things have happened between the time they played for him in the Golden Eaglets and now when they are grown men.”
It would also be recalled that the former Tanzania coach was embroiled in controversy over the dominance of fellow Igbo players in his team when he led Nigeria to win a record fifth U17 World Cup in Chile in 2015.
A section of the media even dubbed the Golden Eaglets under his watch then as “Biafra FC”.
Mr. Score Nigeria Editor, if you can’t disclose your source of information, please don’t write. Thank you.
Whatever needs to be done must be done, the SE coaching job should never been given to Amuneke. He’s a desperate wannabe. Imagine you sabotaging as an assistant coach. NFF should never give the SE team to this man with the most abysmal coaching career among the applicants. Failed everywhere as a senior team coach. And some unserious people are still campaigning for him based on his U17 success as if he’s the only coach to have done that. We don’t want a desperate!
PlsHow did he sabotage tye coach who is in charge and calls tye shot Hhow dis Amuneme
You are such a useless sports journalist, tribalism will take nowhere bro
This is the major problem we have in Nigeria, Tribalism and nepotism.
The useless so-called journalist who wrote this thrash against a tested and trusted coach like Emmanuel Amunike is only doing this out of jealousy and hatred for Igbos.
He even decided to further degenerate into the garbage by by dragging in “Biafra” instead of applauding the coach for winning the coveted U-17 world Cup for Nigeria.
Whosoever thinks that this country will ever be one is hallucinating.
Amuneke Emmanuel is the right way forward, even if he has offended or stepped on some important people tows but he has a sound UEFA PRO LICENSE QUALIFICATION and he is a fellow Nigerian… getting a white man now is and will be a disaster because of lack of time to bed in and before he knows all our players and their names first then Nigeria will lose or draw some games to be out of contention. So amuneke whether they like it or not… Eguavoen was dubiously given the job after rohr ill advise and stupid decision sacking close to a major tournament and amuneke should have been choosen instead of Eguavoen but Nff stupidly mess up right decision as usually as they do.. now can or will they learn? Amuneke time is now.. there is no time again. Meanwhile we have a very useless and corrupt Nff technical incompetent committee..
We should leave tribalism and politics when we want to do something for the country.We all know that Amuneke was the right man and you gave it to Eguavon.let’s call a stepede a stepede,we all are humans. If it is you,you will sabotage more than him.Why not give him and make Eguavon his assistant?
You people are not serious.Even if it is the Igbo is playing the game and winning for Nigeria is it a bad things.You should emulate England who sacked Huston who was not doing well with the national team and appoint Southgate who was the then under 21 national coach.And since then, England has been doing well and are now among the top 5 teams in the world.So this trial you people gave to George should have been given to Amuneke.He is a super man.
Amunike cannot be trusted as far as one Nigeria is concerns. He will Biafralise Super Eagles. He failed woefully when he led Flying Eagles after the Golden Eaglet outings. Very greedy and a typical Ibo man to the core.
Your comment shows that the ethnic bigot is you. Not Amuneke, but YOU! So you’re jealous because the core of that U17 team was Igbo, yet you’ve forgotten that the star of that team (Victor Osimhen) is an Edo man and not Igbo. You’ve probably also forgotten that 9 out of the 18 players that won the Atlanta 1996 football gold medal were Igbos, but NO ONE CARED about that because they WERE NOT representing Biafra or the Igbo tribe, but were representing Nigeria! This is why Nigeria can never move forward: people like you prioritize tribalism and tribal sentiments instead of the overall good of the country. I’m also sure you’re one of those who voted against Peter Obi for no other reason than he’s an Ọmọ Igbo (as Yoruba bigots like to say) instead of seeing his vision for a better Nigeria. So sad!
Can someone possibly help us with exactly how he sabotaged the team.? Using the word loosely like this is evil.
Lets know so it can guide discussion
I am surprised with what some people are saying here about Amuneneke. What’s important here is getting the best man to do the job and is not about the tribe. After all, we used a white man that selected most of his boys from the south. Please, let’s support anyone that gets the job regardless of the tribe.
How did Amuneke sabotage Austin Eguavoen, who was the coach and in charge and calls the shot . Can you throw more light on how the sabotage happened. Amuneke, Nsian and findi won’t be bad
The way the social media is awash with call for Amunike, you will think he achieved 100% in his short spell as a coach, while I want the best of the best coach for SE , I will caution that sentiment should be put aside and let the system throw up the most suited for the job irrespective of nationality.
The writer of this piece should prove to us that this story was not just cooked up.
All these argument for and against is near useless.
If I were to go for a local coach despite his controversial nature, I’d go for Sunday Oliseh because of his knowledge of football,barring his temperament he js better fit to any local coach we have at present.
But, If it’s based on statistics as per performance at international level I will go for Ndubisi Egbo and may, consider Amuneke as a second choice.
My preferred choice above all is ex-Pep’s assistant Dominic Torrent.
Why do I prefer Torrent?My preference for him stems from the fact that he has worked with arguably one best club football managers in the history of football for many years, and I believe pep’s attacking and all around style will have definitely rubbed off on him.
So, I would prefer a manger who knows a thing or two managing top stars in the world and infusing a possession filled attacking style of football which benefit our average players in the long run.
It’s quite unfortunate that an acclaimed sports journalist could put up such a hate statement and call it an editorial piece.
Eguavoen was the SE coach and not Amuneke.
Eguavoen today, is the NFF technical director, so I can see where all these are coming from.
I wonder how he sabotaged his principal who was calling the shots.
A Senegalese local coach won the previous AFCON and an Ivorian local coach won the current AFCON.
The last AFCON we won was by a local coach (Keshi).
Amunike remains the best option but if they go by the way this reporter is going, drawing in unnecessary ethnic and regional sentiments, then we are doomed and shall return back to this same spot after wasting some years.
How could this country work when there’s tribalism and ethnicity in just everything?
I wonder how much this imbecile of a half baked journalist was paid to embark on such self destruction.
Amuneke remains a million times netter off than your miserable self, with or without the SE job.
He has carved a niche for himself and his blossoming coaching career.
Shame unto you Mr ‘sports copywriter’. Idiot.