Baraje slams NFF on foreign coach

Plateau United head coach, Zachary Baraje says he finds it absurd that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is talking about hiring a foreign manager for the Super Eagles despite all the training and re-training done on present interim boss of the team, Salisu Yusuf and other Nigerian coaches who participated in the capacity enhancement courses in England.

Baraje told Goal that the cash, energy and the time expended on the trip would amount to a waste if the NFF eventually hands the vacant technical adviser job of the Eagles to an expatriate when the body has sent over 20 Nigerian coaches abroad to be tutored on the modern techniques and playing tactics.

“I want to state my own view regarding the craze for a foreign coach,” Baraje told Goal.

“I want to ask a question, what has happened to the training received by some coaches taken abroad by the NFF last year? Will the training they had just go down the drain like that?

“I am not in support of bringing a foreign coach to lead the Eagles when we have coaches who are qualified and have gone through the necessary training to be equipped for the challenge of coaching the senior national team.

“Salisu Yusuf was part of the coaches sent to the United Kingdom not too long ago for a training course and he has worked with past Super Eagles coaches as assistant coach and should be given the chance to lead the team now.

“We are still struggling to pay the salaries of national team coaches including the ones who are dead, how are we going to offset the salaries of a foreign coach?”

The NFF has announced that over 20 coaches including Peter Ijeh and Salisu Yusuf have applied for the plum job of the Super Eagles with applications expected to close on Wednesday (yesterday).