By Amaechi Agbo
France 1998 FIFA World Cup winning coach Laurent Blanc, is reportedly top on the list of four foreign coaches recommended to the board of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF as the next manager of the Super Eagles.
Blanc led France to win the 1998 World Cup in home soil.
According to sources, Blanc, is one of the foreign football coaches who applied for the Eagles job which have been vacant after the federation fired Augustine Eguavoen-led technical crew.
Eguavoen and his bench were shown the exit door after they failed to qualify the team for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Super Eagles on March 29th, 2022 drew 1-1 with Black Stars of Ghana in Abuja in the second leg World Cup play-off. Ghana qualified for the global football showpiece on away goal’s rule
Apart managing the French team twice, Blanc also coached Bordeaux and Paris Saint German in the French top flight league and for now he is top on the list of those aspiring to take the Super Eagles job.
Ernesto Valverde, Philip Cocu and Jose Persseiro are the other coaches on the cards for the vacant Eagles job.
Ernesto Valverde was a former Barcelona coach who also managed Valencia, Olypiacos, Espanyol and Athletico Bilbao while Cocu, an assistant manager with Holland between 2008 and 2012, is also a former coach of PSV, Fernabache and Derby County.
Peseiro, a former coach of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela is also a former manager of Sporting CP, Braga, Al Ahly, Al Hital and an assistant coach in Real Madrid.
The NFF Executive Board on Monday last week mandated the Technical and Development Committee to, within 5 days, recommend coaches for all the national teams.
“The Executive Committee mandated its Technical and Development Sub-Committee to, within the next 5 days, make recommendations to the Executive Committee on coaching crews for the Super Eagles, the CHAN team, the U20 Boys (Flying Eagles) and the U17 Boys (Golden Eaglets) ahead of upcoming assignments. This is to ensure preparations for the next qualifying tournaments and championships commence in earnest.” the directive read.
However, with the deadline elapsing on Sunday, April 10, the NFF is yet to make public list of appointed coaches for the various male national teams.
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