Nigeria's Coaching Role: Why Amunike and Torrent Lead the Race for the Super Eagles Position

• The Nigeria Football Federation are set to name a new Super Eagles coach
• Emmanuel Amunike and Domenec Torrent are the two leading candidates
• Over 100 coaches worldwide have applied for the vacant Super Eagles job

The Nigeria Football Federation has reportedly set the criteria for selecting the next coach of Nigeria’s senior national team, with a new manager set to be named this week.

The Super Eagles have been without a coach since Jose Peseiro's exit after he and the Nigerian Football Federation failed to reach an agreement over a contract extension.

According to Score Nigeria, the NFF's Technical Committee of eight members, including former Nigeria players Augustine Eguavoen, Felix Owolabi, and Victor Ikpeba, will deliberate on who will be the next Super Eagles coach.

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The committee is said to have recommended that the next coach of the three-time AFCON champions must have enjoyed an excellent playing career for club and country, and he must have made a significant impact as a manager.

Over 100 coaches worldwide have applied to become the next Super Eagles coach and the eventual winner will be tasked with seeing Nigeria qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

Who is leading the Super Eagles coach race?

Meanwhile, Domenec Torrent and Emmanuel Amunike are the two leading candidates to become the next Super Eagles coach after several candidates were dropped by the NFF, Soccernet reports.

As a player, Amunike lifted the 1994 AFCON title and the Olympic gold medal in 1996 and as a coach, led Nigeria to the FIFA U17 World Cup trophy in 2015 and saw Tanzania qualify for the AFCON for the first time in almost four decades in 2019.

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Torrent’s coaching career, on the other hand, was spent as Pep Guardiola’s longest-serving assistant at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City.

The 62-year-old’s solo coaching career has not been as inspiring as Guardiola's, having only spent a few months at Girona, Flamengo, and Galatasaray before he was sacked for poor results each time.

Odds in favour of a foreign coach

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that there is a growing swell for the NFF to contract a foreign coach as a technical adviser for the Super Eagles.

There was controversy when former Super Eagles defender, Abbey George, declared that local coaches could not handle some players' egos.