As the dust settles on the Qatar World Cup, attentions have turned well away from international football and back to the domestic landscape.
But, behind the scenes, Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro is getting his teeth stuck into his task of developing the next kings of Africa.
Peseiro finally took over as Super Eagles manager in last May. He arrives at the helm well-travelled and with extensive experience starting in Portugal, taking him to the Middle East and, most recently, dealing with difficult circumstances at Venezuela before standing down over unpaid salary.
And Peseiro makes no secret of his ambitions - to lead Nigeria to glory in the Ivory Coast when the next Africa Cup of Nations takes place this time next year.
“Our ambitions when I signed the contract with Nigeria, the big goal and main goal is we want to win the next AFCON,” Peseiro tells Mirror Football.
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“Of course, we know the power of the national teams who played in the World Cup, like Senegal, Cameroon, Morocco, who had a fantastic tournament. But we know that the quality and capacity of the national teams that didn’t play in the World Cup like Egypt, Algeria and others.
“I think I’ve convinced myself, when I watch our national team. I know which players can play for us and I have put it in my mind that we can win the next AFCON.
“To do that, I’m trying to shape our players and join them in the right way to build a good model to play at a high level. If you want to reach the top in Africa you need to create a top level.
“For that, I try to see the players, see everybody and improve our organisation, improve our facilities, improve our training, improve everything we can.
“We played against Mexico, against Portugal, against Algeria away, to check the possibility to play offensive football, high pressure, because that’s our way. I think we have the capacity and the players for that, but we need to check our development and the way we play.”
The most recent step in Peseiro’s plan involved a trip to England, where he watched a number of games and visited several of his stars at their clubs. Recent call-ups from England include the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfried Ndidi from Leicester, Nottingham Forest duo Emmanuel Dennis and Taiwo Awoniyi, Brentford’s Frank Onyeka, Everton ace Alex Iwobi and Southampton star Joe Aribo.
“This is part of the longer plan,” he says. “It’s my strategy to see for myself our players in training, in practice and it’s important I speak with the coaches, with the fitness coaches, also.
“I watched seven matches and I was at three practices to observe, to stay in contact with the players and speak with them. It’s different and it’s important I understand what they do there.
“I had good meetings with the coaches, shared some points about our players because normally we are not with them for too much time, but the club coach works with them for more time and can advise me or speak to me with more objectivity about what they can do.”
Peseiro’s trip also threw-up another fascinating aspect of the Nigeria role - the numerous English-based players eligible for the Super Eagles but with involvement in other international setups.
Whilst Bukayo Saka, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori have been capped by England at senior level, the likes of Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise, Folarin Balogun, Carney Chukwuemeka, Tosin Adarabioyo, Noni Madueke and more could be called-up by Nigeria.
“There are many, many players at the moment that can play for Nigeria,” Peseiro says. “With that, it’s not easy, our work.
“You receive some information or when you watch many players on TV or live, you can discover more players, more players, more players.
“I was in some matches when I was in England to see some players, then at the same time we discover, ‘well that player can play for us, also’, normally young players.
“There are many good players with quality, capacity and good training. For us, if we want to win the next AFCON, I am happy because I have many players with quality to create a good national team.
“But it’s not easy to choose the right players. We try to see them in the match, after that I try to call them for our practice and our friendly games, because we want to create a small group with quality for developing in training and practice to implement our ideas to win the next AFCON.
“But there are a lot of players, and they need to show the maximum demand and motivation to play for Nigeria. Quality, of course, but demand and motivation to play for us.”
Peseiro came into the role with a glowing reference, with Nigerian Football Federation president, Amaju Pinnick, phoning Jose Mourinho, one of his close friends, before offering him the job.
Peseiro and Mourinho go way back, meeting as they took their first steps in coaching and remaining close as their careers have developed. Peseiro is only too happy to reciprocate Mourinho’s kind words by hailing the winning mentality his pal has brought to the game.
“He’s been my friend for a long time,” Peseiro explains. “I have a very good relationship with him.
“From 30 or 40 years ago, we’ve kept that relationship. I’m happy he’s my friend and I think from then, he’s still the same.
“What I can say about him as a coach is he’s an amazing coach. He’s won 26 trophies now, I think, and when he’s gone to any team, he only puts in their mind to win, win, win.
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“Everybody knows what he did in England. He improved Chelsea a lot, I think he was good for English football. The Premier League is the best league in the world, everyone knows that. He did everything to win there.
“Fighting, creating confusion sometimes, and even though the Premier League was the best league in the world, I think he took it one step further. When he arrived, he became the Special One and that name and position has stayed a long time in England.
“I think he did amazing work not only in England but at Inter, Real Madrid, Porto, and even at Manchester United. People said he did not do good, but they won their last cup in the last eight seasons.
“In Europe, only he beat the best Barcelona with Guardiola, with the record goals and points. Every day, he tries to do better, the same now at Roma. He tries to improve the team.”
Peseiro will now look to emulate Mourinho’s winning mentality at Nigeria knowing he has the Special One in his corner. With the next instalment of AFCON around the corner, and a big year to secure qualification, Nigeria’s progression is a storyline to watch in international football.
