Finidi George has just recently been appointed as the coach of the Nigerian Men’s National football team. Former Coach Jose Peseiro’s contract managing the Nigerian National team expired with the conclusion of AFCON 23 where Nigeria finished as runner-up to Ivory Coast, throwing the position open. Now, Nigeria has decided to look inward, appointing Finidi George to manage the National team. The question we take a look at in this article is; who exactly is Finidi George and what makes him a good fit for the job?
Born in Port Harcourt in 1971, Finidi George was a part of the Nigerian golden generation of football. While Gen-Z may not be familiar with his name, Finidi George was a big name in Nigerian football in the 90s. He was part of the Ajax squad that won the Champions League in 1995 along with the more famous Kanu Nwankwo.
Finidi George is a professional football coach and former player. George has been in football since his youth. He started his football career in Port Harcourt and played for three clubs in Nigeria before moving to Europe. He arrived in Europe aged 24 to join Ajax alongside Kanu and it was at Ajax that both players made a name for themselves. George played as a right winger for Ajax and helped them win back-to-back Eredivisie titles. He also appeared in consecutive UEFA Champions League finals for the club and won the 1994/1995 edition of the competition.
Finidi George as a player was an absolute unit. He was strong, fast, and gifted with great technical ability. He could shoot with both feet and would commonly rocket balls into the back of the net from outside the box. After, Ajax he moved to Real Betis and helped them win a Copa del Rey. He also played briefly in the Premier League for Ipswich Town. George retired from professional at the Balearic Islands team in the summer of 2004 and in 2010 returned to Real Betis as their director of International football. In his club career, he scored a total of 68 goals over 295 appearances.
On the international front, Finidi George was a regular in the Nigerian national team back in his day earning a total of 62 caps and scored six goals for the country. He helped Nigeria win the 1994 edition of the AFCON. He also finished second and third with the team at the AFCON in different years. George was highly successful as a player for club and country and has excellent insight into how the game is played.
He won his first trophy as a coach with Enyimba FC in 2023 when he won the Nigeria Premier League at the Onikan Stadium in Lagos. George was also an assistant to Jose Peseiro during this year’s AFCON campaign and he can be seen many times on the sidelines and now he will manage the Nigerian national team. His first major assignment would be to secure a qualification for the 2026 World Cup. George has said that Nigeria is blessed with many talented players who are playing for top clubs in Europe. He believes they just need time and the right guidance to gel so that they can reach their full potential.
Appointing a local coach for the National team is the right move for Nigeria. The last time Nigeria won the AFCON was also under a local coach; Stephen Keshi. Finidi George’s experience in Europe as a player and in management as well as his success with Enyimba shows that he knows how to win and coach a team to victory. The fact that he was a former player means that he will be able to relate to the feelings of the players and control the dressing room. Being a local coach, winning trophies with Nigeria means as much to him as it means to the players and the citizens. That extra motivation from a coach who’s a fellow Nigerian will connect with the players in a way that foreign coaches can’t. It played out in Ivory Coast’s AFCON campaign and we can hope it will happen with Nigeria as well.
It’s a new era in Nigerian football; one that most Nigerians are optimistic will come with trophies and excellent International performances. Time will tell what the Finidi George era will bring.