Things You Need To Know About Amodu Shuaibu

Less than 24 hours ago, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, sacked the head coach of the Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi and replaced him with former handler of the team Shaibu Amodu.

This is coming few hours after Keshi had led the Eagles to a 3-1 victory against Sudan at the national stadium in Abuja.

Since the news about Keshi's sack and his replacement with Amodu broke, many Nigerian football fans have been commenting on the decision and the choice of Amodu.

While many people believe it is the right call at the right time, others have criticised the NFF for waiting so long before taking a decision on the issue.

The critics based their argument on the fact that the football authorities should not have waited till when the Super Eagles have a slim chance to qualify for next year's AFCON to make such a crucial decision.

Also, some have questioned the choice of Amodu to replace Keshi at a time when the Eagles need the best hands they could get to turn around their hopes of defending the trophy they won in 2013 in South Africa.

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It is noteworthy that Amodu has always contributed his quota to the development of football in Nigeria.

However, despite his remarkable achievements as Super Eagles coach, the Edo state born coach has had a turbulent relationship with Nigerian football fans and his employers.

Under his stewardship, Nigeria qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa but Amodu was sacked despite the team's third-place finish at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.

It was the second time he had been removed from his post ahead of a World Cup finals tournament - Amodu was also fired ahead of the 2002 edition after Nigeria finished third at the 2002 Nations Cup in Mali.

Despite guiding Nigeria to the semi-finals, the team's style of play, his tactics and key decisions were all questioned during these tournaments.

However, below are some of the tips you need to know about coach Amodu as he tries to qualify Nigeria for the 2015 Nations Cup to be hosted in Morocco:

- Amodu was born 18 April, 1958 in Edo State.

- Before his latest appointment, Amodu had managed Nigeria  three different occassions: 1998–1999, 2001–2002 and 2008–2010

- He was appointed Head Coach of the Nigerian national side in April 2008, and was sacked on 6 February 2010 despite reaching third place with the national side in the 2010 African Cup of Nations.

- He was demoted to serve as the coach of the Nigerian home-based Eagles.

- Amodu led Nigeria to the AFCON bronze medal at Mali 2002 and Angola 2010.

- Other accomplishments include Nigerian FA Cup titles with BCC Lions of Gboko and El Kanemi Warriors on multiple occasions.

- He was appointed technical director of Nigeria's national teams in May 2013.

- In November he was named Technical Director of Bendel Insurance F.C.

- Some of the club sides Amodu has coached in the past both in Nigeria and overseas include: Shooting Stars, BCC Lions, El Kanemi Warriors, Sharks F.C and Orlando Pirates of South Africa.

After Amodu was appointed the technical director of Nigeria's national team in 2013, he said: "It's a call to serve the nation. I hope we can all come together and drive our football in a positive direction.

"The role is an important one as it serves as the fundamental for the country's football. We need the support of everyone to excel."

We hope this would still be the case as Amodu tries to restore Nigeria's football pride and qualify the country for the 2015 AFCON.