The selection of Jose Peseiro as Eagles’ gaffer just 8 days to the commencement of AFCON in Cameroon could end up as a blunder by NFF
By Kehinde Okeowo
Former Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, was sacked on Sunday, December 12, 2022, by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) following the unimpressive performance during the World Cup qualifiers.
Amaju Pinnick’s led NFF has now appointed José Peseiro as the replacement 19 days after his sack and just 8 days to the commencement of AFCON in Cameroon on January 6, 2022.
The NFF had appointed ex-Nigerian international, Augustine Eguavoen, as the interim coach, before announcing the hiring of Jose Peseiro yesterday.
A communique by the NFF on Wednesday evening, which was obtained by TheNiche, read: “After careful consideration of a memo presented by Chairman of the Technical and Development Sub-Committee, the Executive Committee endorsed a proposal for the appointment of Mr Jose Peseiro as the new Head Coach of the Super Eagles, following the end to the relationship with Mr Gernot Rohr.
“However, the Committee resolved that Mr Augustine Eguavoen named the interim Head Coach, will lead the Super Eagles to the AFCON 2021 in Cameroon with Mr Peseiro only playing the role of Observer.
“It was unanimously agreed that the AFCON is a good avenue for Mr Peseiro to launch a working relationship with Mr Eguavoen, who will revert to his role as Technical Director (hence Mr Peseiro’s immediate boss) after the AFCON.”
ALSO READ: NFF appoints Portuguese Jose Peseiro as Super Eagles Head Coach
Portuguese football manager, José Peseiro was born on 4 April 1960 and played football professionally as a striker for 15 years.
After an unassuming career as a player, he ventured into coaching and tutored several clubs in his country, including Porto and Sporting CP, – which he took to the 2005 UEFA Cup Final.
He also had a stint in the Arab nations, being in charge of the Saudi Arabian national team and a few other Asian club sides.
He last coached the Venezuelan national team before he was confirmed as Nigeria’s national football team coach by NFF. He is expected to resume the position officially after the AFCON 2021 in Cameroon.
Career as a football
Peseiro never played in higher than the Segunda Liga, the second-highest division of Portuguese football as a professional, starting out at Sport Lisboa e Cartaxo in 1979.
He later played for Amora FC, Clube Oriental de Lisboa, GD Samora Correia, and S.C.U. Torreense, for a total of five seasons.
The 62-year-old retired aged 34 at the end of the 1993–94 season in the fourth division, with a local club, União de Santarém.
Venturing into Management
He spent his first eight years as a manager in the third and fourth tiers of Portuguese football, starting out as player-coach at his last team.
In summer 1999 he was appointed at C.D. Nacional, which he helped promote to the top professional association football division ( Primeira Liga) in just three seasons. In 2002–03, he led the team to a final 11th position.
In 2003–04, Peseiro assisted Carlos Queiroz at Real Madrid, at the end of the campaign, after the team finished below Valencia CF, FC Barcelona, and Deportivo de La Coruña, the pair got sacked.
Sporting CP
Peseiro signed with Sporting CP for the 2004–05 season, after collecting three losses and two draws in his first nine games in charge, the side eventually finished in third place with 61 points, four behind champions Benfica.
He also led the team to a runner-up run in the UEFA Cup after disposing of the likes of Feyenoord, Middlesbrough, and Newcastle United. The final was played at the Estádio José Alvalade, and after leading 1–0 lead at half-time, he lost 3-1to CSKA Moscow.
At the start of the 2005–06 season, the Lions were ousted from the UEFA Champions League by Udinese, and after being relegated to the UEFA Cup they were immediately knocked out by Halmstads BK.
On 16 October 2005, following a 0–1 home defeat to Académica de Coimbra that saw Sporting sink to the seventh position, he resigned.
Return to Portugal
On 3 June 2012, Peseiro was appointed at S.C. Braga, after managing a few clubs and Saudi Arabia’s national team in Eastern Europe and Asia. He qualified the club to the group stage of the Champions League for the second time in its history, after ousting Udinese on penalties.
At the end of the campaign, despite winning the Taça da Liga and ranking fourth in the league, Braga and Peseiro reached an agreement to terminate the manager’s contract.
Eastern Europe
In the 2007 off-season, Peseiro was named manager of Panathinaikos FC. After failing to win the Super League Greece and also losing 0–4 to neighbouring Olympiacos F.C. in the domestic cup, he was forced to step down.
In June 2008, he signed a three-year contract with Romanian club FC Rapid București. On 2 October, after being eliminated from the UEFA Cup by VfL Wolfsburg, he was initially sacked only to be reinstated a few days later.
He eventually resigned on 12 January 2009, after failing to agree on a new deal with the club.
Asia
Saudi Arabia
Peseiro succeeded Nasser Al-Johar at the helm of the Saudi Arabian national team in 2009, during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. His first game occurred on 28 March, and it ended with a 2–1 away win over Iran which was the former’s first ever victory in that country and the latter’s first loss in nearly 40 home games.
Saudi Arabia eventually failed to reach the finals in South Africa, and on 10 January 2011, he was relieved of his duties after losing the first game in the AFC Asian Cup against Syria.
Al-Wahda
From 11 November 2013 to 11 January 2015, Peseiro worked with Al Wahda FC in the UAE Pro League.
Journey of Africa
Al-Ahly
On 9 October 2015, Al Ahly SC announced his signing; upon hearing the news, fans of the latter protested against the decision based on his weak résumé.
Second Return to Portugal
On 18 January 2016, after cutting ties with the Egyptian side, Peseiro replaced Julen Lopetegui at FC Porto, even though the third position the team occupied at the time of the Spaniard’s dismissal was still secured, he collected more losses than his predecessor and also lost the final of the Taça de Portugal to former team Braga, on penalties.
On 6 June 2016, Peseiro once again signed a two-year deal with Braga On 14 December, following consecutive home defeats that resulted in elimination from the Europa League and the Portuguese Cup, respectively at the hands of FC Shakhtar Donetsk (2–4) and S.C. Covilhã (1–2), he was fired.
Return to Asian
Peseiro returned to the UAE in January 2017 with Sharah FC and was sacked nine months later after a poor start to the new season.
Third turn to Portugal
In February 2017, he returned home for the third time to sign a contract at Vitória S.C. until June 2019, which he rescinded by mutual agreement a year early.
In July 2018, Peseiro returned to Sporting after 13 years away, assuming the reins at a club that had lost several key players following fan violence and whose previous manager Siniša Mihajlović lasted nine days in the job.
On 1 November, following poor overall performances and a 1–2 home loss against G.D. Estoril Praia for the group stage of the Taça da Liga, he was relieved of his duties.
South America
Venezuela
Peseiro returned to national team duties on 4 February 2020, being appointed by Venezuela after the resignation of Rafael Dudamel. He made his debut on 9 October in a 3–0 loss away to Colombia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification; the opponents were led by compatriot Carlos Queiroz.
At the 2021 Copa América in Brazil, Venezuela were eliminated from the group stage with two draws and two defeats; Peseiro was praised by pundit Tim Vickery for achieving those results despite a spate of COVID-19 infections and virus-related travel restrictions that kept key forward Salomón Rondón in China.
He resigned in August, having not been paid for over a year amidst the South American country’s economic crisis
Jose Peseiro and Super Eagles
At best, the new coach is another average manager like Genort Rohr who was sacked before him, as his resume does not lay any credence to being a bigger and more accomplished gaffer, who will come in and correct the wrongs of the former coach.
While Jose Peseiro boasts of vast experience in football management, football experts are quick to point out that outside leading Sporting CP to the third place and taking them to the finals of the UEFA Cup in the 2004-05 season, his only big European experience was at FC Porto where he was sacked barely 6 months into the job.
He has also managed two national teams, which on paper, should help him in his new assignment, but pundits have argued that he made no significant impact as the coach of the two teams, as Saudi Arabia did not qualify for the World Cup in South Africa, while Venezuela did not go past the group stages of 2021 Copa América.
Another important point is that Jose Peseiro’s winning of the Egyptian Premier League with Al-Ahly, should have been counted as having a good knowledge of African football, but critics of his appointment asserted that club achievement does not necessarily guarantee success at the national level, as they are different terrains.
One, therefore, would wonder why NFF did not gun for a coach with a better pedigree who will in addition to qualifying the Super Eagles for the World Cup in Qatar, will also develop our youth system and football at the grassroots.
Hiring another probable mediocre coach, who may not get the desired respect from the players, NFF, and the Sports Ministry is just like a car going in circles. The football governing authority in Nigeria needs to do better.
Additional reports from Wikipedia
