Baring last minute change, the Nigeria Football Federation is set to name Frenchman Paul Le Guen, 52, as the new Head Coach of the Super Eagles.
The Technical and Development Committee of the NFF will meet in Abuja on Monday to interview three persons shortlisted for the Super Eagles’ Head Coach position, and thereafter forward the name of the successful candidate to the NFF Board.
Nigerian Salisu Yusuf (54), Belgian Tom Saintfiet (43) and Frenchman Paul Le Guen (52) are the candidates in the running.
A statement by NFF spokesperson, Ademola Olajire, on Sunday, quoted the Chairman of the NFF Technical and Development Committee, Chris Green, as saying “We have concluded arrangements for the interview process to take place at the NFF secretariat on Monday and thereafter, we will forward the name of the successful candidate to the NFF Board, which will deliberate on it and thereafter make their decision public.”
He said Green made it clear the committee will only settle for the candidate they see as most qualified and capable of qualifying the Super Eagles for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.
Saintfiet coached the National Teams of Namibia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Yemen, Malawi and Togo, and also worked with the Qatar U-17 side, Young Africans FC of Tanzania and Free State Stars FC in South Africa.
Yusuf was capped by Nigeria at U20 level, won FA Cup titles with El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri as a player and coached top clubs Kano Pillars, El-Kanemi Warriors and Enyimba FC. He assisted Super Eagles’ head coaches Samson Siasia and Stephen Keshi (of blessed memory), and was caretaker coach for two friendlies that the Eagles won against Mali and Luxembourg in Europe at the end of May.
Le Guen, 52, played for Brest, Nantes and Paris Saint Germain and won 17 caps for France, before coaching Rennes, Lyon, PSG (in France) and Glasgow Rangers (in Scotland). He qualified the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals and also coached Oman.
