20100712
allafrica

Barring last minute hitches, the new leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation will announce the appointment of a new coach for the senior national team, the Super Eagles and the lucky man is no other person than the former U-23 chief coach, Samson Siasia.

Trustsports gathered exclusively yesterday that the former international was picked ahead of other coaches who showed interest in taking over from Lars Lagerback because he is the man Nigerians want for the job.

According to the NFF technical committee member who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Nigeria Football Federation is not bigger than the whole country and so if it is Siasia that the country wants for Eagles job, then the wish of Nigerians must be obeyed.

He said beside the wishes of Nigerians, the technical committee settled for Siasia because he has demonstrated the requisite ability to identify good players as he showed his stuff when he was in charge of the U-23 and later U20 national teams.

"We have settled for Siasia because he is the one that Nigerians want and since we are not bigger than the whole country, we have decided to do the wish of Nigerians. It is not a hidden fact that Siasia is loved by Nigerian football fans and there is no iota of doubt that he has what is needed to do this job.

"Moreover, we are embarking on a re-building process and the best man for the job is Siasia. He is known for discovering talent and this is the most reason why we have settled for him", he stated.

In addition, the NFF bigwig disclosed that Siasia has been contacted and is pleased with the offer as he has already expressed readiness to accept the offer.

He said: "We have been discussing with Siasia and he has agreed to coach Eagles. This is a rare opportunity and I am sure he will not have any reason to think twice before taking this offer. He is patriotic and this is a national call which he will surely be glad with".

In a related development, he revealed that Austin Eguaveon will be appointed the chief coach of the national U-23 team.

He said the former international has accepted the offer and is certainly pleased with it.

The member of NFF Executive Committee said a meeting will be held today between the technical committee and the two coaches to finalize discussions after which their appointments will be made public.