JOSE PESEIRO: Pinnick's anointed coach who has recorded more sacks than trophies
The NFF president loves employing coaches with questionable characters, poor credentials, and low self-esteem, so manipulating them is easy for him
Amaju Pinnick’s penchant for using Keke Marwa to perform tasks meant for Land Rover Defender is legendary. From Gernot Rohr to Salisu Yusuf, to Austin Eguavoen and a host of others, the NFF president loves employing coaches with questionable characters, poor credentials, and low self-esteem, so manipulating them is easy for him. His anointing of Jose Peseiro when there are better applicants is a typical example. Olukayode Thomas reports
Introduction
Judging by the quality of coaches and other class technical officials he has employed since he became the president of NFF in 2014, Amaju Pinnick can be described as a man who loves buying bend-down select when the money he is paying for the bend-down select can buy him a quality Levis jean.
After a disappointing Afcon campaign and failure to qualify for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup many football aficionados believed Pinnick, the Sole Administrator of NFF and his cabal must have learned a lesson or two, jettison self-interest and put the interest of the country first.
But like a leopard, Pinnick and his cabal went back to normal setting after a few days of remorse with the appointment of disgraced Salisu Yusuf as Super Eagles assistant coach.
The ultimate shocker came when the news filtered in from Pinnick spin doctors that Portuguese coach Peseiro who was rejected last year for lacking the pedigree to coach the Super Eagles will soon be named the news Super Eagles coach.
Peseiro has recorded more losses than wins
With a misfit like Ahmed Yusuf Fresh as NFF Technical Committee Chairman and Mr. Please Everybody Austin Eguavoen as Technical Director, it is not surprising that Pinnick was able to impose Peseiro, a coach that has more sack letters than trophies as the next Eagles coach the second time.
The reason why Pinnick anointed Peseiro and snubbed more exalted candidates like ex Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde, former PSG and France World Cup-winning coach Laurent Blanc is because of the reason enumerated above, NFF president love employing coaches with questionable characters, poor credentials, and low self-esteem, so manipulating them is easy for him
Peseiro’s pedigree will not even excite countries with low football pedigrees like the Benin Republic, Togo, or Zimbabwe. To his credit, the Portuguese had some stability with minnow clubs; but with big clubs and countries like Nigeria, he has been fired consistently.
When he joined Carlos Quiroz as an assistant coach at Real Madrid, the duo were fired before the ink they used to write their employment letters ran dry because of poor results.
He was also sacked at Panathinaikos and Rapid Bucharest for the same reason.
In Saudi Arabia, Peseiro was not just sacked because of poor results; but for losing to Syria, the poorest team in the region, with a Saudi Arabia team that was considered to be one of the strongest - if not the strongest - in the region.
He had to leave Braga by mutual consent. At Al-Ahly of Egypt, he was sacked within days because the fans could not tolerate his poor performances.
At the Portuguese elite club Porto, Peseiro lasted only a few months. When he went back to Braga, he was sacked as soon as he was reemployed; while his sojourn with Sporting CP - another Portuguese club - lasted only 123 days. Peseiro’s last place of work was Venezuela.
In his 18 months stint with the Latin American country, he won just one match out of ten played.
Though he was owed his salary for many months, he resigned from his employment when it would be most painful.
Venezuela has three very vital Qatar 2022 world cup matches against Argentina, Peru, and Paraguay in early September, he resigned in August a few days before the matches.
Peseiro desperation no get part two
It’s only a man without an option that will return to a place he was snubbed less than four months and will agree to work under a more stringent condition than when he was initially offered the job.
Under his new terms and conditions of engagement Peseiro will pay two assistants after the Sports Ministry kicked against paying their salaries.
These are the kind of staff Pinnick feels comfortable with, a desperado who will do his biddings to save their job. At over 60, an age when security is utmost; and if you are owed 14 months' salary by your last employer and was at home for months without a job, chances are that when a new employer knocks on your door, even if he has a long history of owing staff, you will not slam the door against him.
Again smuggled in like a thief in the night
Just like the first time he was engaged and members of the NFF Technical Committee like Mutiu Adepoju, former Africa Footballer of the year, Victor Ikpeba, and Aminu Kurfi ‘Balele denied being in the know of his employment, it took the intervention of the Sports Ministry before attempt to smuggle in again was stopped.
According to media reports the Sports Ministry instructed the NFF to give all applicants shortlisted level playing ground, they are Ernesto Valverde, Philip Cocu, Jose Peseiro, and Laurent Blanc.
Quoting officials of the Sports Ministry, "In the letter to us (NFF), the Ministry said the Presidency will be involved in paying the wages of the new Technical Adviser and so the NFF should be more thorough and professional with the process and not just settle for anyone without giving all the candidates a level playing field.
"The Ministry wants to be convinced that the NFF is making the right choice in picking Peseiro ahead of the other coaches who appear to have a better pedigree and track records,".
Peseiro’s poor record could probably account for why he was smuggled in like a thief in the night to avoid scrutiny, the first and now the second time. That the best coach Pinnick with all his exposure could give Nigeria is bend down select coach is really baffling.
