By Taofeek Lawal
The sack of erstwhile Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi on Thursday by the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) could earn recall for the duo of out-of-favour strikers, Obafemi Martins and Ikechukwu Uche who were shut of the national team by Keshi for most part of his reign as the national team handler. Making this known is the NFF President, Amaju Pinnick who said that Martins and Uche are the best strikers that Nigeria can boast of and rely on now based on current form for their clubs in the United States and Spain respectively. Pinnick added that the twosome can deliver the needed result for Nigeria if they are called upon. “The most lethal Nigerian striker today is Obafemi Martins and he can always deliver for us. He’s been doing that for Sounders (in the US Football League), Uche is in Villarreal and Ezekiel Imoh is there with Standard Liege in Belgium. And of course there are so many other players let them come and prove their mettle. Because they are doing for their clubs and we expect them to do it here, “he said.
On the hiring of another coach for the Eagles, Pinnick stated that the NFF would organize interviews for best coaches around the world and come out with the best. The football chief added that the NFF is looking for a coach who will reenact the Clemens Westerhof and Bonfrere Jo era in Nigerian football. “We are going to bring coaches for interviews. We look at their resume. We look at their recent records; we look at their past and present records. We streamline it and come out with the best. We are not going to be melodramatic. We are going to get at a coach and Nigerians will see and appreciate. A coach that will go to our local leagues and pick out players and develop them…we are looking at Westerhof and Bonfrere days where a lot of our players were taken abroad, exposed and all came back to play in A leagues. No Nigerian right now is playing 90 minutes in A leagues going by our statistics. Like I said, our approach is going to be scientific, scientific based on the fact that we look at current form, “he stated.
Peoples Daily Sport had on Friday October 3rd reported that Keshi job could be on the line following the election of Pinnick as NFF President on September 30 in Warri Delta State.
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