SN Sports: Paul Le Guen now the new Super Eagles coach, NFF confirms

The Nigeria Football Federation
(NFF) has confirmed the appointment of Frenchman Paul
Le Guen as the next Super Eagles
coach, Punch writes.


Le Guen, 52, replaces ex-international Sunday Oliseh who
exited the job in February in the
middle of the botched 2017
Africa Cup of Nations qualification
campaign.

The former France international
was shortlisted alongside Belgian
tactician Tom Saintfiet and caretaker manager of the Super Eagles Salisu Yusuf, but was odds on favourite to land the job having been the preferred candidate of NFF boss Amaju Pinnick.

Le Guen, who has the immediate
task of navigating the Eagles
through a tough 2018 World Cup
qualifying group that features
Algeria, Cameroon and Zambia, will be unveiled on July 18 at a ceremony in Abuja.

According to Punch, his appointment has come at a cost
to the team, as interim coach
Yusuf has turned down the
position of assistant, which was
the plan of the NFF all along.

The former Kano pillars and Enyimba coach, who led the team
to two consecutive international
friendly victories in May, believes
he’s acquired enough managerial
nous to effectively lead the team.

An official at the Glass House said
they are currently on a search for
an assistant to the Frenchman.
“As it is now the position of the deputy has been thrown open
because Yusuf is still insisting that
he would not work as an assistant to Le Guen. Those who worked on their entries picked the Frenchman and with the hope that Yusuf could learn a lot from him for the immediate future but he (Yusuf) appears to have some other ideas so the federation will now have to consider a new person altogether to replace Yusuf.”

Le Guen came to prominence during the early 2000s when he led French side Olympique Lyon to three consecutive Ligue 1 titles and the Champions League last eight in 2005. Described as a scientific coach, the former defender excels at
transforming raw materials into
finished products, an attribute that will come in handy with the Eagles given the youthfulness of the side.