FORMER Super Eagles of Nigeria midfielder Mutiu Adepoju has called for support and expressed confidence in his former teammate Finidi George succeeding as the team’s head coach.
Finidi was named as the head coach of the Super Eagles yesterday to officially replace Jose Peseiro, who left the post after leading them to the AFCON 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final in Cote d’Ivoire in February.
The 53-year-old Finidi, who led Enyimba to the Nigeria Premier Football League title last season, will face his first real challenge in June when the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign resumes, with the Super Eagles facing South Africa and Benin Republic.
Adepoju, who was a member of the 1994 AFCON-winning Super Eagles ‘golden generation’ along with Finidi, believes with the right support his old colleague will produce excellent results.
“I want to congratulate my brother, my colleague, ex-teammate Finidi George on his appointment as Super Eagles head coach,” Adepoju said in a video he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I believe this is the beginning of good things to come to Nigerian football and I want to wish him all the best.
“I want to solicit support from every quarter, from everybody for him so that he can succeed.
“Success for him is success for the Super Eagles and Nigeria, so I want to call on everybody to get behind him. I believe that his tenure will bring success for the Super Eagles.”
Finidi worked as one of Peseiro’s assistants for close to two years and was on the bench with the Portuguese coach during AFCON 2023 as the Super Eagles reached the final, where they lost 2-1 to hosts Cote d’Ivoire.
The former Ajax winger, who was once described as the best crosser of the ball in the world, took temporary charge of the Super Eagles in March for friendly matches against Ghana and Mali, winning the first and losing the second.
The Nigeria Football Federation did not indicate the length of Finidi’s contract and did not name his assistants while announcing his appointment yesterday.
