Former Nigeria senior team captain John Obi Mikel has backed Austine Eguavoen to continue as head coach of the Nigerian side following the expiration of his two-game tenure as interim coach, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Eguavoen was tasked with leading the Super Eagles in the AFCON qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda respectively, games in which the team picked up four points from a possible six following a 3-0 win over Benin and a 0-0 draw away against Rwanda.
The job was given to him after negotiations failed with German coach Bruno Labbadia, who was announced as the team’s coach by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). A disagreement over the payment of his taxes opened the door for Eguavoen to take over as interim coach in what was his fourth stint as coach.
Mikel, who made his international debut playing with Eguavoen in 2003 at Under-17 level, says he saw similarities between the Real Madrid coach and Eguavoen when he worked with the Italian at Chelsea for two seasons.
He made this clear in the latest edition of his Obione podcast, where he spoke about the Nigerian senior team, and the need for the coach who gave him his senior cap in 2006 to continue to be the team’s main coach.
