Finally, appreciation for Jose Peseiro

By Gabriel Eromonsele

In the lead-up to the Africa Cup of Nations AFCON 2023 tournament, the Super Eagles of Nigeria played a friendly match against Guinea and lost 2-0 to their West African neighbours.

The outcome had Nigerians worried for their darling Super Eagles going into Ivory Coast, but coach Jose Peseiro responded with calm. The 63 years old told willing listeners he was trying a new system and was happy with the players he’d called up for the biennial tournament.

“I’m happy with the team, I changed the team, I didn’t play all the players, I tried to manage in these two matches, we didn’t show our first eleven, I’m happy. It is important to win of course, I prefer to win than lose but it’s not important because we tried to put a new system it’s the first time we played this way. Like I tell you in the first half we played very well, we put the other team in the back,” he had said.

This is coming from the Portuguese coach who is notorious for media shut-out from training, had a now-dispelled allegiance to Francis Uzoho, and is derided by the fourth estate and fans alike. Alas, he was cooking a five-man defence system that still afforded the team creativity.

The former Jose Mourinho apprentice did not trial the system against Equatorial Guinea in their 1-1 AFCON opener but it has become the system since the surprise 1-0 over hosts Ivory Coast. The average Nigerian and Super Eagles watcher grew up to flying wingers and strikers in a 4-4-2 or hybrid 4-3-3 system and this remained the norm until Peseiro boldly tore the script in Abidjan.

Many coaches have come and gone, none has had the courage to stick one in the face of the Nigerian football federation, NFF, and fans. Perhaps this was a case of necessity due to Wilfred Ndidi’s injury but Peseiro had hinted this with his 25-man list dominated by defenders and a lean midfield. He trusted Stanley Nwabali with his competitive debut, and Frank Onyeka to cover every blade of grass on the pitch.  The man nicknamed “the tank” has surprisingly been exceptional in a system that mostly leaves him the lone fighter in the middle of the park.

All points to one thing: Peseiro knew all along but his team’s astuteness is becoming appreciated in the rugged terrain of AFCON. His safety-first approach and the unleashing of Osimhen as a battering ram upfront was not expected going to Ivory Coast but has received acceptance even from the former Venezuela coach’s die-hard critics.
As Nigeria gets ready to face Angola in the quarter-final, it is only right to give Peseiro some flowers and rechristen him the Bold One for a generational change of system and bold selections. Long may it continue.