Buhari Appoints Amokachi Football Ambassador …Yobo joins Super Eagles as Assistant Coach

-By Saidu Abubakar

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed retired Super Eagles legend Daniel Amokachi, aka ‘The Bull’ as Nigeria’s Football Ambassador.

Amokachi, 47, a member of the 1994 Super Eagles Team that won the African Nations Cup in Tunisia, was also in the Nigerian Olympic Football Team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics that won the Gold Medal. The forward featured for Belgian side Club Brugge of Belgium and English Premier League side, Everton, where he won the FA Cup in 1995. He also played for Besiktas in Turkey and Colorado Rapids in the USA.

In addition to his football exploits in Europe, Amokachi managed Nigeria Premier Football League clubs – Nasarawa United of Lafia and Enyimba Football Club of Aba after retirement.

The Bull also served as Nigeria’s assistant coach to Shuaibu Amodu and also, Stephen Keshi.

As Nigeria’s Football Ambassador – a largely ceremonial role – Amokachi is to assist the nation’s football authorities to scout for talents, and be part of processes to revive the country’s football development, as well as mentor young sportsmen and women.

He has been a technical director since 2006. With World Cup performances, he was third in the African Footballer of the Year award three times.

As a forward, he was known for his speed, technique and physical strength, which earned him the nicknames Black Bull and Black Train. Amokachi, who is also very popular and well known in his country, contributed to Nigeria’s top two tournaments to the World Cup along with his attack partner, Emmanuel Amunike.

Amokachi scored the first goal of the UEFA Champions League with Club Brugge in November 1992, beating CSK Moscow 1–0.

In a related development, former captain of the Super Eagles, Joseph Yobo who bowed out from international football recently has been appointed by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as the new assistant coach assigned to the Super Eagles. Joseph Yobo is a household name within football faithfuls in Nigeria and beyond. As captain of the Nigerian national football team, Yobo is believed by many to have paid his dues.

Despite the NFF’s President, Amaju Pinnick, explanation for Joseph Yobo’s appointment as Super Eagles assistant coach to Gernot Rohr, mixed reactions have continued to trail the NFF decision. Even some of Yobo’s fellow ex-internationals questioned the 2013 AFCON winner’s experience and qualification for the Eagles job. But Pinnick, insisted Yobo’s appointment was a unanimous decision of the NFF board.

“The NFF is very excited with his appointment and will take it as a responsibility to ensure that he gets the requisite (coaching) qualifications at the highest level,” Pinnick stated.

“That’s how Stephen Keshi started. Who says Yobo can’t be the next Nigerian to win the AFCON as player and coach?

“FIFA stipulates that the head coach and first assistant coach must have coaching licences. Yobo is not the first assistant coach.

“The idea is that we want to nurture and condition him to provide leadership and mentorship for the young team, using the Nigerian factor, which Gernot (Right) cannot provide.

“He’s played for some of Europe’s big clubs, won the AFCON and he is one of our most-capped players ever. So, we should back him to succeed.”

Pinnick added that Yobo’s former teammate at Everton, Mikel Arteta, began coaching immediately on retirement in 2016, despite not having the experience, and rose through the ranks to become Arsenal’s manager.

He said, “When Yobo was at Everton, Arteta was on the bench. But he began his coaching career as an assistant at Manchester City when he retired. Today, he is the Arsenal manager and one of the top coaches in England. So, we should learn to support our own.“Are we going to keep relying on foreigners all the time?” Pinnick was quoted as telling PUNCH.

Joseph Michael Yobo (born 6 September 1980) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He was the captain of the Nigerian national team until his international football retirement in June 2014, and is Nigeria’s joint record appearance holder.