By Tolúlopé Olátúnjí
Former Nigerian international Yakubu Aiyegbeni has cautioned Super Eagles head coach, Finidi George about the challenges of managing the senior national team, while also extending his best wishes to the former Enyimba manager in his new role.
Aiyegbeni’s heedful statement came in the wake of the Eagles’s disappointing performances in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic. The Super Eagles recently played to a 1-1 draw with Bafana Bafana of South Africa and suffered a miserable 2-1 defeat to the Cheetahs on Monday.
The former Everton striker on Wednesday,emphasized the difficulties of coaching the national side.
The former Blackburn Rovers hitman told Finidi :” Listen, it’s not easy coaching the Nigerian national team, and that is the first thing you must know. I like George because he was an unbelievable player,”
He added: “When I came to play with him[George], he and the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha were my seniors, but they were unbelievable. Great guys and proper Super Eagles, as we used to call them.”
Aiyegbeni expressed his support for George, highlighting his football experience and other coaching roles, saying that the national team were ‘”unlucky” against South Africa at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, Akwa Ibom.
Aiyegbeni said:”Being a Nigerian, I’m happy he [George] got the role. He has other coaching roles on the side, so it tells you he’s into football. I saw their game against South Africa, and I thought they were a bit unlucky, but he’s a great guy.”
The former striker concluded by sending his best wishes to George and expressing hope for his success.
“I want to send him my best wishes and hope he succeeds because if he does well, we will see the real Super Eagles. Let’s pray for him to succeed,” he said.
