It would have been music to the ears of Finidi George, the interim head coach of the Super Eagles, that Amaju Pinnick, one of the most influential figures in the Nigerian footballing space has backed calls for his substantive appointment to the role.
“A player that was once regarded as one of the best wingers in the world, a player that played and interned under one of the best coaches in the world, Louis van Gaal,” Pinnick, speaking to Arise TV, said of Finidi's career, the places it took him, and the expert tutelage he enjoyed.
“At Ajax — if you know Ajax — you should know that they believe in developmental football. So, he has all the qualities [for the Nigeria coaching role]… this is my strong personal opinion,” Pinnick added.
And, no, the 53-year-old wasn't quite done singing Finidi's praises, going on to hail his character and attributes.
“He doesn’t have to be reckoned with, but he is a strong personality. And I’m sure Finidi will surprise us. I’ve seen it, I’ve worked with him. As president, I brought him up as one of assistant coaches. He has qualities like leadership, dexterity and, most importantly, humility.
“So, if we have someone who has played under some of the best coaches in the world and also coached at that level — also coaching the most successful club in Nigeria — I think we should build capacity around him.”
Amaju Pinnick an unlikely ally for Super Eagles job?
Pinnick, Finidi would tell you, isn't the likeliest ally he might have expected to back his claim for the top job.
Not many years ago, when Pinnick — then president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) — went globe-trotting to persuade footballers of Nigerian extraction overseas to choose the fatherland over any other countries they may have been eligible for, Finidi came out sternly to criticise that approach to shoring up the national team and urge Pinnick — short of actually mentioning him by name — to prioritise improving Nigeria's domestic game instead.
“Now we are running after players that were born in Europe to come back and play for Nigeria. Who will train them for you? You want others to train players, and you wait to convert them to change their nationality so they can come and play for Nigeria? Why don’t you train your own here in Nigeria?” the former Real Mallorca man called out in an interview with The Vanguard.
“All we need to do is work on our home-bred players; maybe when you find one or two good ones from outside there, they can come and join the team.
“Not when you read about one player in the UK, and you will want to speak with the father to have him come and play for Nigeria. If you train your team very well, it is they who are born in Europe that will run to identify with the Super Eagles. Put your house in order and they would, on their own, come. Let them be fighting to come.”
Apparently, though, that clash of perspectives didn't generate enough bad blood for Pinnick to deny Finidi the chance to be assistant manager of the national team not long thereafter.
And now he's wholeheartedly backing him for something even greater, albeit without having any real authority to get Finidi through this particular door.
Or does he?
Amaju Pinnick's opinion still carries some weight
Pinnick is the most eminent personality yet to endorse Finidi's credentials for the vacant office.
And while he no longer holds as much sway as he did when calling the shots, the Nigerian footballing fraternity does pay attention when Pinnick speaks — even if it is only a “personal opinion” being expressed by the 53-year-old.
Pinnick's relationship with the administration that succeeded his, led by Ibrahim Musa Gusau, the incumbent, seems very cordial. That could potentially ensure that his voice — specifically what he has to say about the direction in which the Super Eagles' should go, technically — echoes deep through the corridors of power that he vacated two years ago.
Adding extra heft to that opinion is the fact that Pinnick has a lot to say regarding the matter, considering his inclinations when the power to decide who managed the team actually rested in his bosom.
Amaju Pinnick's taste for local coaches
Despite Pinnick's preference for the foreign-born/bred/based player over the domestic breed, he does rate indigenous coaching talent highly.
His eight-year reign at the helm of Nigerian football, which ended in October 2022, saw the longest sequence of Nigerian trainers in charge of the team — the NFF burned through natives Shaibu Amodu, Stephen Keshi, Sunday Oliseh, Samson Siasia, and Salisu Yusuf, before turning to expatriates Gernot Rohr and Jose Peseiro (of Germany and Portugal, respectively); sandwiched by the spells of that duo was a brief stint for former Nigeria full-back Augustine Eguavoen.
That could explain, perhaps, why Pinnick prefers that the next Nigeria manager be someone familiar with the warp and weft of the country's football.
And not just anyone, but the very best of the lot — which is exactly what Finidi, coach of reigning Nigerian league champions Enyimba, is.
Following an audition during March's international break that proved bittersweet at best — beating Ghana and losing to Mali — Pinnick's endorsement may just be the biggest boost Finidi George could possibly wish for.
