Image: Enyeama
According to Soccernet.ng, 2013 Africa Cup of Nations winner Vincent Enyeama has stated that he plans to take over as head coach of the Super Eagles in the near future.
Enyeama said that two things prevented him from applying for the job with others, even though it has been open since Portuguese tactician Jose Peseiro left.
Recall that following Peseiro's resignation as national team head coach, a number of former Nigerian internationals expressed interest in taking over as head coach, including Daniel Amokachi, Michael Nsien, George Finidi, and Emmanuel Amunike.
The Super Eagles were led by the former manager of Sporting Lisbon and Porto to the 2023 AFCON final in Cote d'Ivoire. Nevertheless, he quit his job when a deal could not be reached with the Nigerian Football Federation.
Former Lille Goalkeeper, Enyeama, has disclosed that if he had obtained his coaching qualification and wasn't as involved in his hotel business, he would have also applied for the position.
The CAF Champions League winner has committed his time and money to the development of the Vinpy Hotels since his retirement.
Enyeama has been travelling back and forth between Europe and Nigeria to complete his coaching papers in between entrepreneurial ventures.
The former goalie for Enyimba FC feels that he would have been a contender to take over as the new coach of the Super Eagles if not for these two obstacles.
In a conversation with Afrik-Foot, Enyeama was questioned about why, in contrast to many others, he had not applied to work with the national team.
“No, no, no. It’s not that I am not interested; it’s just that I am not certified. For you to be able to coach the Super Eagles, you must be certified. That’s the minimum standard.
“That’s the number one reason, and then the fact that I have been very busy developing and managing my hotel has taken a lot of my attention, and that business is the most important thing for me now.
“So football is like number two for me now, unless just one day the Nigeria Football Federation says, ‘Please come and share your wealth of experience in this area with these players,’ then it becomes a different thing altogether.
“For now, I have to wait until I get the necessary certificate before I can say this is where I want to coach or the area where I can support the national teams.”
Usually, after their playing careers are over, former Nigerian goalkeepers frequently go on to become goalkeeper instructors.
Enyeama, though, is convinced that leading a senior team as head coach is his preference rather than waiting in line for goalkeeping coaches.
“Whatever I am doing now is how to become a full coach of a team and not just a goalie trainer. If I have to be a goalie trainer, then it has to be with very young ones in junior teams because they are the ones you really teach.
“They are still growing and open to learning new things; with these ones, you can easily transmit what you want.
“Some of the established goalkeepers are not so easy to manage because they already have fixed mindsets, kind of. When you are called into the national team, you don’t really coach them but manage them.
“That’s why most trainers usually introduce exercises that would keep the goalkeepers very fit, as they are already formed and firm in other areas.
“It will be nice to manage the full team because, as a goalkeeper, you always have a full view of the field and what everyone is doing at any given time.
“And that’s why most goalies make good coaches, and most midfielders do well too, as we can see in (Pep) Guardiola, (Xabi) Alonso, and Xavi. They were all midfielders.”
Before retirement in 2015, Enyeama made 101 appearances for the three-time African champion Super Eagles, making him the team's most-capped goalie.