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16 Adebayo Gbadebo, a former Stationery Stores of Lagos midfielder and current manager of Samut Sakhon City FC in Thailand, has exclusively told Completesports.com that Augustine Eguavoen’s tenure extension as Super Eagles interim head coach is a welcome development and in the best interest of the national team.
Speaking from his base in Thailand, Gbadebo believes that while the NFF Technical Director, Eguavoen, is highly experienced, he needs quality assistants to deliver during this interim period as Super Eagles Head Coach.
The 50-year-old manager emphasised Eguavoen’s vast experience, having held similar roles in the past, and noted that the coach is familiar with a wide pool of Nigerian players who would work diligently with him.
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“It’s a very welcome decision for the NFF to have appointed Augustine Eguavoen as Super Eagles interim head coach,” Gbadebo told Completesports.com in an exclusive phone interview on Tuesday.
Adebayo Gbadebo
“We know that we have someone with great experience who has been in this position before, not just as a player but as a coach. In the last two Super Eagles games as interim head coach, he delivered results.”
This marks Eguavoen’s fourth spell as manager of the three-time African Cup of Nations champions. He previously served in the role from 2005-2007, and again in 2010 under caretaker arrangements. His latest appointment follows his interim stint from 2021-2022, which ended after the resignation of George Finidi, who stepped down after two months in charge.
Fidelis Ilechukwu, Daniel Ogunmodede, Olatunji Baruwa, and Tomaz Zorec are currently serving as Eguavoen’s assistants with the Super Eagles.
“As I said earlier, we have the players. Now, we have a coach who knows these players, and they respect him and want to play for him,” Gbadebo added.
“But we’ve had setbacks, especially at AFCON 2021, where Eguavoen did very well in the group stages but couldn’t advance in the knockout rounds. I believe this was due to a lack of quality backroom staff to support him, not because he lacked the ability as head coach.”
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Gbadebo questioned the NFF’s criteria for appointing the current assistant coaches and stressed that for Nigeria to qualify for the World Cup, more expertise is required.
“He needs more than what’s currently in place—quality assistants, experts who can gather technical and tactical information about opponents, their weaknesses and strengths. Eguavoen also needs assistants who truly know how to support the head coach. Coaching a national team isn’t about one person; it’s about the entire engine working together.”
Gbadebo concluded by reiterating the importance of strengthening the coaching staff to ensure Nigeria’s World Cup qualification.
“We have fantastic players across all positions, and they’ll work for Eguavoen, but he needs a strong backroom staff. We can’t afford to miss the World Cup again.”
By Sab Osuji
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