Pep Guardiola Subtly Backs His Former Assistant to Take Over As Super Eagles’ Next Coach: Report

• The Super Eagles coaching vacancy continues to generate endless conversations
• An ex-assistant of Pep Guardiola reportedly applied to take over as Nigeria’s coach
• According to a recent report, the Manchester City gaffer has subtly backed his ally

The coaching situation for the Super Eagles of Nigeria continues to generate a significant buzz across Nigeria’s footballing community.

Following the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) taking to social media to announce the vacancy for the role, a flurry of elite managers have since sent in their applications.

Swirling reports suggest the NFF received applications in excess of 115, and of these numbers, over 40 are stated to be from foreign managers.

However, amid the long list of foreign coaches that have shown intent in managing Nigeria, one whose application stands out is that of a former assistant to Pep Guardiola, Domenec Torrent.

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The 61-year-old, who was one of Guardiola's most trusted lieutenants for over a decade, is reported to have sent in his application for the Super Eagles coaching role.

However, while Torrent's application appears normal, a report from media outlet, OwnGoalNigeria, has stated that the former Barcelona coach has subtly backed Torrent to take over as Nigeria's next coach.

Guardiola backs Torrent?

According to the report, the 53-year-old provided a reference for his former assistant as he hopes to become Nigeria's next coach.

Torrent worked with Guardiola through his stints at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and even at Manchester City. However, he eventually left his role as assistant to the Spaniard to become a head coach elsewhere.

Torrent has since managed Brazilian club, Flamengo, MLS side, New York City FC, and was most recently the coach of Turkish Super Lig giant, Galatasaray.

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It remains to be seen if this subtle endorsement will be enough to convince the NFF technical committee to appoint Torrent as Nigeria's coach.

NFF eyes another Portuguese manager

In a previous report, Sports Brief mentioned the NFF are interested in appointing another Portuguese coach to replace Jose Peseiro.

The coaching situation is expected to be resolved by the end of March, with former Cameroon coach, Antonio Conceicao emerging as the frontrunner to be named Nigeria's next coach. However, several other coaches are also in the running.