{"id":888759,"date":"2026-01-30T00:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T06:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/30\/super-eagles-coaching-job-pinnick-lays-down-conditions-for-emmanuel-amuneke\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T00:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T06:18:10","slug":"super-eagles-coaching-job-pinnick-lays-down-conditions-for-emmanuel-amuneke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/30\/super-eagles-coaching-job-pinnick-lays-down-conditions-for-emmanuel-amuneke\/","title":{"rendered":"Super Eagles coaching job: Pinnick lays down conditions for Emmanuel Amuneke"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Former Nigeria Super Eagles and Barcelona winger Emmanuel Amuneke. Photo by IMAGO <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick has said Emmanuel Amuneke is still firmly in the conversation to one day become head coach of the Super Eagles<\/a>, Soccernet.ng reports<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

But Pinnick has warned that the former winger must first do much more at club level to earn the role.<\/p>\n

Pinnick made it clear that, while Amuneke\u2019s pedigree is not in doubt, the Nigeria<\/a> job cannot be handed out on reputation alone.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Ex-NFF President Amaju Pinnick. Photo Credit: Pinnick X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Super Eagles, three-time winners of the Africa Cup of Nations<\/a>, remain one of the most demanding coaching positions on the continent, and Pinnick believes only clear, recent success at club level can justify such an appointment.<\/p>\n

Emmanuel Amuneke is widely regarded as one of the most successful former Nigeria internationals to move into coaching. As a player, the former Albacete winger built a fine career that brought him titles with Julius Berger, Zamalek, Sporting Lisbon and Barcelona<\/a>. He began his coaching journey in 2008 and worked with Julius Berger and Ocean Boys in the Nigerian league before stepping onto the international stage.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Former Golden Eaglets head coach Emmanuel Amunike. Photo by IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His reputation grew significantly in 2015 when he guided Nigeria\u2019s under-17 team to win the FIFA World Cup in Chile. That tournament also marked the breakthrough of Victor Osimhen<\/a>, with Emmanuel Amuneke often credited for helping to launch the Galatasaray forward\u2019s professional career.<\/p>\n

Amuneke later managed Tanzania, leading them to qualification for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, and was appointed assistant coach of the Super Eagles ahead of the 2022 World Cup qualifying play-off against Ghana.<\/p>\n

Given that r\u00e9sum\u00e9, many expected him to be named Nigeria coach in 2024, but the NFF instead chose Finidi George<\/a>, fresh from winning the NPFL title with Rivers United.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Emmanuel Amuneke. Photo Credit: IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Emmanuel Amuneke is now in charge of Heartland FC, who are playing in Nigeria\u2019s second division after their relegation last season.<\/p>\n

While Pinnick has not ruled him out of the Super Eagles job, he has set a daunting list of conditions: Amuneke may need to take Heartland back to the NPFL, challenge for the league title and even push the club towards CAF Champions League success; a competition no Nigerian side has won in over 20 years.<\/p>\n

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Emmanuel Amuneke, Daniel Amokachi and Mumuni Dagano take a photo with CAF president Patrice Motsepe and Amaju Pinnick after Third Round Draw for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Photo by IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Get Our Sports News First \u2013 Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Soccer What Amaju Pinnick said about Emmanuel Amuneke<\/h2>\n
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\u201cI like him. We have a good relationship but we also believe that there are some local clubs that need the attention of ex-internationals,\u201d Amaju Pinnick said on the Sunday Oliseh Global Football Insights Podcast.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI believe he’s at one of the local clubs. I don’t know how well he’s faring there. I don’t know whether they are struggling.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, he’s an excellent coach. I don’t have anything against him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s helping the local club. Let him concentrate there and take the club high. We need Nigerian clubs to win the CAF Champions League again. He’s at Heartland, a big club that has been there for over 40 years. So he can help the club win the Champions League. He’s still very young.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce that is done, it’s going to be automatic going to the Super Eagles.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s a good coach but trust me it goes beyond that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Super Eagles is not just for anybody to handle. Let\u2019s see your results with Heartland FC.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For now, the Super Eagles are under the guidance of Eric Chelle, who recently led the team to a third-place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"<!--Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele” src=”https:\/\/media.soccernet.ng\/main\/2024\/12\/DSC_0327-copy-150×150.jpg” height=”80″ width=”80″>\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen Eronmhonsele\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\tA lifelong fan of Arsenal and the Super Eagles, Imhonlamhen is a football writer and editor at Soccernet.ng, where his journey as a journalist began more than six years ago. Since then, he has helped shape the platform\u2019s editorial voice and guided it toward some of its proudest milestones. <\/p>\n

With a background in Engineering and further training in journalism and digital media, Imhons brings both precision and passion to his storytelling. His love for football runs deep, but he also follows boxing, chess, and athletics with equal curiosity.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Former Nigeria Super Eagles and Barcelona winger Emmanuel Amuneke. Photo by IMAGO Former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick has said Emmanuel Amuneke is still firmly in the conversation to one day become head coach of the Super Eagles, Soccernet.ng reports. But Pinnick has warned that the former winger must first do much […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":888760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3577,2005,4578],"tags":[7956,6323],"class_list":{"0":"post-888759","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eagles","8":"category-soccer","9":"category-super","10":"tag-eagles","11":"tag-super"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=888759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/888760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=888759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=888759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=888759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}