The Nigerian Football Federation (FAF) was appointed today. Finidi George, a great idol of Betis fans, as the coach who replaced the Portuguese Jose Peseiro thus ending weeks of speculation.
The appointment of Finidi George as the leader of the ‘Super Eagles’ was proposed by a technical committee and confirmed on Monday by the FAF board of directors.
Peseiro’s assistant and interim since March
Finidi, 53, was Peseiro’s assistant for 20 months until the Portuguese was not renewed in the position at the end of his contract after leading Nigeria to the Africa Cup final in February, which was won by hosts Ivory Coast for at 2-1.
Finidi He has served as an interim in the March friendlies against Ghana (2-1 victory) and Mali (0-2 loss) will have the task of qualifying the ‘Super Eagles’ for World Cup 2026. From the outset, they are obliged to win matches against South Africa and Benin in June, as Nigeria occupy third place in group C of the African campaign behind Rwanda and South Africa itself after drawing in the first two days.
Only the former qualifies directly for the 2026 World Cup and the latter goes into a repechage playoff.
Member of Nigeria’s golden generation
George, a winger with talent and quality, played 62 international matches and was part of Nigeria’s golden generation that won the 1994 Africa Cup in Tunisia. In the 2000 edition he was runner-up and in 1992 and 2002 he finished in third place. He also participated in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups.
After starting his football career in his country, he signed for Ajax in 1993 before moving to Betis in 1996 and in 2000 to Mallorca, where he returned in 2002 after a spell with English side Ipswich (2001-2003). He hung up his boots with the Balearic team in the summer of 2004 and settled on the island.
European champion with Ajax and runner-up with Betis
With Ajax, among other titles, he won the Champions League in 1995 under Louis van Gaal. At Betis he was runner-up in the Copa del Rey in 1997, losing in the final, despite scoring a goal, against Barcelona (3-2).
However, he left his mark in the hearts of green and white fans for his charisma and his particular way of celebrating goals by placing a Cordovan hat on his head every time he scored. hence he got the nickname ‘finite’.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
