By John Essien
Jose Peseiro has revealed how excited he is to be appointed Coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria as preparation for the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier gets underway.
The Portuguese had been tipped for the role late last year and was due to take charge after the last Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon ended in February, but his appointment was delayed due to contract disagreement.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) appointed the former Venezuela gaffer on a one-year deal last week.
Aware of the size of the task awaiting him, the 62-year-old Portuguese tactician took to his official twitter account to reveal that his ambition is to lead Nigeria to win her fourth continental glory in Ivory Coast next year.
“Pride! It is with great pride and joy that I am the coach of one of the greatest football nations in the world,” Peseiro wrote
“Commanding the Super Eagles starts with knowing how to respect history, value it and be inspired by its roots.
“Over 200 million Nigerians, from all states and ethnicities, want the same thing: success.
“We will work with great ambition, so that in the end we can finally call Nigeria the “four-time African champions”!
Peseiro was first announced as the permanent replacement for Gernot Rohr in December 2021.
He was expected to take over the team after the African Nations Cup in Cameroon, but the NFF made a U-turn on the decision and appointed Austin Eguavoen instead.
However, failure to qualify for Qatar 2022 World Cup forced the resignation of Eguavoen and the revamping of the entire technical crew in March 2022.
It is believed the NFF had hired Peseiro based on a recommendation from fellow Portuguese Jose Mourinho.
President of the NFF, Amaju Pinnick, had already admitted they consulted Mourinho while scouting for Rohr’s replacement.
Peseiro will have to hit the ground running with friendlies against Mexico (May 28) and Ecuador (June 2) before the Super Eagles face Sierra Leone (June 9) and Mauritius (June 13) for their AFCON qualifying clash.
