NFF confirm talks with Krstajic, Peseiro to replace Rohr

The Nigerian Football Association (NFF) has confirmed that it has held talks with Serbian coach Mladen Krstajic, Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro and another unnamed gaffer to replace recently sacked Super Eagles handler, Gernot Rohr.

This was confirmed by the President of the Nigeria Football Federation Amaju Pinnick during a parley with the media on Wednesday where he also informed that the NFF held talks with AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho in their search for a new coach for the Super Eagles.

Pinnick who said that the NFF contacted Mourinho in their bid to get a top-class gaffer for the Super Eagles also added that the emphasis on the new coach is discipline.

He said; “The emphasis on the new coach is discipline. We will look at his antecedents on discipline.

“Secondly, we will also look at how hungry he is to win trophies because if they are hungry it supersedes so many things and if he wants to win he will instill discipline. We will look at all these things but I cannot make a pronouncement emphatically because I will be undermining my executive committee.

READ ALSO: NFF reportedly lines up Portugese coach Jose Peseiro to replace Gernot Rohr

“So, until my executive committee comes out within the next week or so to say this is the name because the technical committee has to bring their presentation to the executive committee. It is going to be a seamless movement to the current team headed by Eguavoen.

“But we have spoken to three top coaches and Peseiro, whose name has been going around, is one of the coaches and I can tell you he is a top coach.”

He added, “We also talked to Mladen (Krstajic) but after talking to him he got a job with a top club in Israel, Maccabi Tel Aviv. You can see these are coaches that are hungry and ready to take Nigeria as a home; they are people that we know are ready to face the challenge from the 200 million Nigerians.

“They are coaches who the players cannot be bigger than and I believe we are doing everything we can and that’s why we interface with the ministry on every level.

“Of course Mourinho, I am not going to tell you we didn’t talk to Mourinho because we did and the (sports) minister also talked to Mourinho and there is nothing wrong with it,” Pinnick added.