Former Nigeria player George Finidi
The former Nigeria international player George Finidi has revealed that he is stunned by the choice of Belgian tactician Tom Saintfiet to be Nigeria’s Football Federation (NFF) technical director.
“They may have their reasons but I thought we had gone beyond the stage where we could employ somebody like that as our technical director,” he told Nigerian newspaper Vanguard.
The NFF have signed a four-year deal with Saintfiet worth $20,000 per month last March.
Finidi pointed to the fact that the 39-year-old tactician has no experience in handling high-profiles teams as he only had spells in Namibia, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia.
“We have Nigerians who played top football in Europe who could do that job. If they gave the job to a senior foreign coach or retired coach with great pedigree then one can understand," Finidi said.
“I am even older than he is and I played for big clubs in different parts of Europe. I don’t know his track record."
Finidi added that "If it was in the 70s and 80s when we were still learning the basics and we hired such a person one would have understood. But not now. We have guys now who have gone to places and played big football, people with experience. We could have done better,” the former Ajax, Real Betis and Real Mallorca player concluded.
Nigeria are seen as one of Africa’s powerhouses with a huge mine of talents but the lack of organisation has repeatedly hampered their teams’ progress.
The NFF are seeking to make a big overhaul after the Super Eagles' dip in form over the past few years that saw them ousted from the last Africa Cup of Nations 2012.
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