As the first indigenous coach to lead Nigeria to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Adegboye Onigbinde believes African coaches have the wherewithal to be successful like their foreign counterparts.
A firm believer in the ability of African coaches, the octogenarian said given enough time and resources, the indigenous tacticians can excel.
“Africans are intelligent but how we use and improve upon the intelligence of African coaches should be the most important thing to the African football administrators,” the 82-year-old teacher-turned coach told CAFOnline.com.
“To improve the standard of the game in Nigeria and in Africa as a whole, we have to develop the instructors and coaches so that they can impact meaningfully to the upcoming players, something that will in turn improve the general playing standards.”
Regarded as one of the greatest coaches to emerge from Africa, Onigbinde, reminisced over his journey with the Eagles in 1984 where they reached the final in Cote d’Ivoire, before losing 3-1 to rivals Cameroon.
The loss to the Indomitable Lions notwithstanding, the experienced Nigerian tactician remains proud of his achievements: “I would have loved to come back from Cote d’Ivoire with the gold medal, but there was so much that happened behind the scenes right away from Nigeria. Despite that, it was a memorable occasion for me.”
