The Super Eagles of Nigeria are under heavy criticism by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Peace, Allen Onyema.
The Air Peace boss Onyema, lamented the Eagles performance under coach Jose Peseiro, stating that secondary school teams of his time will beat the Super Eagles under the Portuguese tactician.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, Has Decried The Performance Of The Super Eagles Under Jose Peseiro, Saying Secondary School Teams Of His Time Will Beat Them.
Super Eagles Have Only Claimed Four Victories Of Their Nine Matches Under Their Manager… pic.twitter.com/PMIzDXwkkV
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Super Eagles have only registered four wins out of nine matches under the Portuguese gaffer, Peseiro. The three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners have lost five games, which means more losses than wins, and have scored 18 goals and conceded 15 times under this stretch.
In an interview, Onyema said from his observation the current Nigeria's team cannot withstand the enduring strength of the secondary school football teams of the 70s and 80s.
These are his exact words: “Those days used to be very tough. In fact, secondary school games In those days used to be tough. I remember when I played for Government College, Ughelli, they even killed one of our school boys in Agbarho (Delta State). It used to be tough in those days”.
He continued “Let me tell you, secondary school teams in the 70s will beat our national team of today. The present national team will be nowhere near the secondary school teams of yesteryear. I’m not talking about clubs, those days, secondary school teams were unlike these days”
The 59-year-old business guru also decried the state of sporting facilities in the schools of today, adding that parents are only interested in their children's education and not their sporting activities.
To be fair, the Air Peace chairman is not the only Nigerian who have given their verdict on the Super Eagles team led by Jose Peseiro. Some have been of the opinion that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) relieve the Portuguese off his duty as coach of the national team.
Before Peseiro’s appointment as the coach, the Super Eagles under Eguavoen had failed to secure the Qatar 2022 World Cup ticket. As failure to participate in the World Cup raised concerns over the competence of the handlers of the Super Eagles then.
In a bid to fill the vacuum left after Austin Eguavoen resigned, the NFF shortlisted a handful of coaches for the vacant position. Among those shortlisted, Peseiro was chosen as coach of the Super Eagles on May 15, 2022.
Since then, Peseiro has been given time to assert his football philosophy on the team, but it is yet to be seen what his best lineup and tactics are, and what positive changes have been achieved one year after his appointment.
Granted, Nigeria have qualified for AFCON 2023 under Jose Peseiro, but the team have not really convinced. It is yet to be seen how they'll beat the big teams in Africa and even the world.
Let's take a look at Poseiro's detailed records as manager of the Super Eagles after one year.
Jose Peseiro's detailed record as coach of the Super Eagles
Jose Peseiro kick-started his job as coach of the Super Eagles with a 2-1 loss to Mexico in a friendly match, in Texas, on May 29, 2022.
But after five days, Nigeria squared off with Ecuador in Peseiro's second match and just like the first game, the Super Eagles lost to Ecuador 1-0.
The following month, precisely on 9 June 2022, Peseiro recorded his first win against Sierra Leone, 2-1, in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match.
In his second AFCON qualifying match days later, Jose Peseiro picked up his second win as manager of the Eagles against Sao Tome in a goal fest for the Super Eagles as they thrashed Sao Tome and Principe 10-0 to give Nigeria its highest win in history.
In his third friendly match played on September 27, 2022, the Super Eagles could not string their third win on the bounce, losing 2-1 to Algeria.
On November 10, 2022, the Super Eagles suffered another defeat under Peseiro as they lost 2-0 in a friendly match against Costa Rica.
Again, on November 17, 2022, Portugal thrashed the Super Eagles 4-0 in another friendly match.
On March 24, 2023, the Peseiro-led Super Eagles suffered a shocking defeat – losing to Guinea-Bissau by a lone goal at the Abuja National Stadium in an AFCON qualifying match.
Interestingly, Guinea-Bissau were ranked 118th on the FIFA rankings at that time and is one of the minnows amongst African teams.
But the Super Eagles redeemed themselves in the return leg in Bissau, edging out a 1-0 win to put themselves within brink of qualification, on March 27, 2023.
And on June 18, 2023, Peseiro's Eagles picked up the AFCON 2023 ticket after defeating Sierra Leone 3-2 in a fixture staged in Liberia, Victor Osimhen scored twice on the day.
Jose Peseiro's stay with the Super Eagles looks likely to continue until the AFCON tournament in Cote D'Ivoire early next year, but is yet to be given a new contract. Nevertheless, failure to go far in the next Africa Cup of Nations competition will seal his fate as coach of Nigeria's senior team.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago
