Peseiro explains why he shunned NPFL players
The former head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria, Jose Peseiro, has once again defended his decision not to hand a single competitive cap to a single player from the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) as he said they weren’t better than foreign based players. Peseiro was in charge of the Super eagles […]
super eagles coach, jose peseiro during a pre match conference
The former head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria, Jose Peseiro, has once again defended his decision not to hand a single competitive cap to a single player from the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) as he said they weren’t better than foreign based players.
Peseiro was in charge of the Super eagles for 20 months and during his time, not even a single player from the domestic league in Nigeria got the chance to play in a competitive game for the team.
He left following the expiration of his contract as coach, a few weeks after guiding the team to a second place finish at the African Cup of nations in Cote d’ Ivoire. They were beaten 1-2 by the host in the final.
Back at his base in Portugal, the coach was asked about his time as the coach of the Super eagles and what was his biggest challenge, while managing in Africa for the first time in his coaching career.
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“There was pressure to pick players from the Nigeria Professional League. I get asked all the time when about them but I came at a time when the team just missed out of the World Cup, so I have to go for the best players.
“I saw a lot of the games and none of the players is as good as the ones playing abroad. You can’t call players for the sake of it,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a related development, a former Super Eagles player, Moses Kpakor, has tasked Peseiro’s replacement, Finidi George, to give opportunities to home based players to fight for shirts in the team.
Speaking to Daily Trust, the former BCC Lions and Abiola Babes star player said some of them played for the Super Eagles as local players so no one should deny the present generation the chance to compete for places in the senior national team.
“I hope Finidi who is a coach in the NPFL will deem it necessary to give opportunities to the best legs in the league to play for the Super Eagles,” said the former ‘Policeman’ of Nigerian football.