In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro discusses Napoli’s treatment of their star striker Victor Osimhen, his experience with the Galacticos of Real Madrid, and why he believes his team can win the Africa Cup of Nations…
Image: Victor Osimhen is supported by Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro following Napoli social media criticism
“That video? From the club? From the outside is one thing but a video from the club, that is the worst. That cannot happen,” Jose Peseiro tells Sky Sports. “He was sad because it is not easy for anyone. He does not understand it. He does not understand why.”
Nigeria’s head coach knew there would be challenges when he took over the team of a football-obsessed nation of over 200 million people, but he did not expect to be dealing with the fall-out as his star player, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, was inexplicably targeted by his own club.
Perhaps you will have seen the bizarre social media post making fun of Osimhen’s penalty miss or the racially-charged one referring to him as a coconut. The man who fired Napoli to their first Serie A title since the days of Diego Maradona, reduced to a punchline.
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Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekol reports on Osimhen’s treatment by Napoli
Peseiro has been to Naples and seen the other side, the public displays of adoration for Osimhen in a city that has long been a shrine to the cult of Maradona. There are murals of the current centre-forward alongside the former icon now. “In the same place.”
It is another reason why he is indignant at recent events. “He helps the team to the league and now they are mocking him?” But, having spoken to Osimhen to offer support, his advice is to stay focused and not allow this treatment to impact his ambitions in the game.
“Osimhen is a star. Two years ago, he was not a star. Now, he is a star. And when you are a star, everybody wants more, more, more. The others can do bad but if Osimhen does bad it is different because people demand more from the players who can do more.
“It was a bad thing that Napoli did. Of course, he would prefer they do not do it. But my advice is to stay calm. Do not play against the fans. Do not lose balance. Keep the mentality. Keep the personality. That is what the very best players do. And he can be at the top.”
Peseiro, 63, knows about working with the very best. A former second-tier striker in his native Portugal – “I did not play at a high level” – his coaching career took a turn after promotion to the top flight with Nacional. A job offer set him on a different trajectory.
‘I called Jose Mourinho’
“I was in Brazil scouting players when my old teacher Carlos Queiroz called me. He told me he was going to Real Madrid and wanted me as his assistant.” This was 2003, the summer that David Beckham joined the garlanded group that became known as Galacticos.
“I did not decide immediately, I called Jose Mourinho because he was my friend. Remember that he had been an assistant at Barcelona. I asked him what he thought because I was already a head coach. He told me, ‘Go. Because you can learn a lot there’.”
Suddenly, Peseiro was taking sessions with Raul, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo, with Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo. “Until then, I was afraid. Never before had I shared a dressing room with big players. But it was not difficult because they are so smart. It was fantastic.”
Image: David Beckham, Luis Figo, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane celebrate together at Real Madrid
The experience lasted only one season. “We had 11 good players and then the others.” The experiment of blending superstars with academy prospects – and selling the unheralded Claude Makelele – became an example of why great teams beats great individuals.
Peseiro has taken those learnings into a varied career that has seen him lead Sporting to the UEFA Cup final in 2005 before working in Greece and Romania. He has been in charge at Porto and head coach of the Venezuela national team. “You have to adapt,” he says.
“The Ajax team of the 1970s are still my main reference, their mobility in attack, their control of the ball. From this, I created my model. But the game has changed a lot. Arrigo Sacchi reduced the pitch to 40 or 50 metres and it reduced the space.
“The challenge is to find that space so players can show their skills, that is what people want to see. But the modern game is a game of transition. That is what decides the best teams because it is easier to train attacking and defensive organisation than the transitions.”
Image: Peseiro has worked all over the world since his role as an assistant at Real Madrid
Peseiro is engaging company, with a master’s in sports science and memories from a career spent trotting the globe, but major silverware has eluded him. This, he thinks, is the big opportunity. His Nigeria team will play in the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
“The main goal is to win the AFCON,” he says. “We will need to be at our maximum because we know that there is good opposition. There is Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana and Ivory Coast. But we believe we can do it. I believe. And the players believe.”
There are challenges. “The structure and organisation is not like in Europe.” Peseiro has agreed a reduction to his salary so that he could stay on for a tournament originally scheduled for this summer. “The players pushed me to stay because they believe we can win.”
Image: Peseiro will try to guide Nigeria to glory in the Africa Cup of Nations early next year
He is trying to build something but was forced to select a number of domestic-based players for friendlies against Mexico and Ecuador last year, a frustration as he tries to foster a sense of togetherness. Not easy when players are coming together from around the world.
“I tried to explain that if you do not come for the friendly matches we cannot improve. Never will you create that connection, not only on the pitch but off it, because the spirit is important. If you meet up more often, you can create that spirit that you need.”
Osimhen has joined up with the squad in this international window, setting the example. But he is not alone. Nigeria’s depth is a point of difference with the other nations in Africa. “It is not easy for me to choose the strikers or the wingers,” laughs Peseiro.
Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi and Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho are in the squad. From Serie A, there is Milan’s Samuel Chukwueza and Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman. Victor Boniface is the leading scorer at Bayer Leverkusen, top of the Bundesliga.
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Watch all of Victor Boniface’s goals and assists for Bayer Leverkusen this season
But it is clear who is the star.
“When Osimhen goes to Nigeria, everybody wants to touch him or speak with him or wants a picture with him,” says Peseiro. “And not just in Nigeria. Everywhere.” In qualification for AFCON, he scored 10 goals – twice as many as anyone else for any other country.
“The only reason he did not score more was because he allowed his team-mates to take two penalties. My advice would be to take them! Other players would not allow that but if someone asks him to let them take a penalty, he allows it. He is a good guy.
“He is a strong guy, a smart guy and an amazing player, defensively and offensively. He can do everything. He pressures the centre-backs, he pressures the line by running in behind. He can attack the ball in the air and on the ground. He is motivated, quick and strong.”
It is why Nigeria are dreaming of that first AFCON success in over a decade. “We can win it,” adds Peseiro. “The players know it. They come with the same energy, the same belief, to fight for the Super Eagles.” With Victor Osimhen around, anything is possible.
And there is no chance of his national team manager forgetting it.
Sourse: skysports.com
