Siasia Eyes Super Eagles Job, Odegbami Cautions

Nigerian football icon Segun Odegbami advises former national team player Samson Siasia to hold off on pursuing the Super Eagles head coach role.

This comes after Siasia expressed interest in the position following the end of his FIFA ban.

The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) is yet to name a permanent coach, with Finidi George leaving the post two months ago. However, Odegbami, a 1980 AFCON champion, is concerned that Siasia’s reputation could be tarnished.

Specifically, Odegbami worries about Siasia joining a temporary coaching team for Nigeria’s upcoming games against Rwanda and Benin.

Odegbami said Siasia’s past achievements include leading Nigeria’s youth teams to World Cup and Olympic success, maybe marred.

He led Nigeria’s Under-20 to the finals of the World Youth Championship in 2005, the under-23 national team to the finals of the Olympics in 2008, and a third place at the Olympics in 2016.

“In 2019, Samson Siasia was suspended by FIFA for 5 years following unsubstantiated charges of corruption against him.

“Having served the suspension, he is now free to return to football. He may have been pencilled down as part of an interim consortium of coaches headed by the Director of the Technical Department of the NFF, Austin Eguavoen, to handle the Super Eagles should a foreign coach not be hired in the next week.

“That arrangement is laden with danger for Samson.

“Should the team fail to win, his name will be added to those of other ‘failed’ Nigerian coaches, and the door to a future as head of the Super Eagles will be slammed in his face,” Odegbami warned.