“Jay Jay Okocha Was Backing Me”: Pitso Mosimane Opens Up on Botched Super Eagles Job

• Pitso Mosimane has narrated how the legendary Jay-Jay Okocha backed him to become the coach of the Nigerian national team
• The South African tactician was heavily linked with the Super Eagles before the NFF went on to appoint Finidi George
• Pitso admits that the Nigerian squad is full of talent, saying it would be difficult to deny coaching the likes of Samuel Chukwueze and Victor Osimhen

South African tactician Pitso Mosimane has opened up on his botched Super Eagles coaching job, saying the legendary Jay-Jay Okocha backed him.

After Jose Peseiro's contract ended with Nigeria in February, the former Mamelodi Sundowns manager was heavily linked with the job.

Nigeria went on to appoint Finidi George as the new head coach, but the ex-international failed to get the desired result in his first assignment.

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According to ESPN, the Super Eagles managed one point from a possible six after a draw with South Africa and a loss to the Benin Republic in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers played in June.

In a chat with Andile during a program 'Sports Night Amplified', Mosimane admitted that Nigeria is blessed with an array of talent.

The 59-year-old, who is expected to leave Saudi Arabian outfit Abha Club this summer, disclosed that Jay-Jay Okocha and some people in the Nigeria Football Federation were pushing for him to become the Super Eagles coach.

Pitso said:

"The calls were coming, the talks were there. Jay Jay Okocha was leading this thing. He was backing me.

"But also when you have Nigeria and South Africa in the same group it's not too nice.

"I am patriotic also, I want to see my country in the World Cup. But work is work, business is business.

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"You can never deny a chance to coach Chukwueze, Osimhen...it's unbelievable.

"There was never a deal on the table. It was just calls... this one from the Federation, but what matters is for a contract to be on the table."

Pitso Mosimane fuels Kaizer Chiefs rumour

Sports Brief earlier reported that Mosimane continued to give Kaizer Chiefs supporters hope with his comments about the vacant coaching post.

The Amakhosi are looking to appoint a new manager to replace Molefi Ntseki permanently and have been linked with several big-name managers.

Speaking about the vacancy, Jingles refused to rule himself out of the running but added that he hadn’t heard anything from his management team,