‘I’m not worried about how much they pay me’ – Finidi George downplays salary talk, explains assistant coaches’ contract

Newly appointed head coach of the Nigeria men’s national football team, Finidi George, on Friday, 17 May 2024, was a guest on Eagle 7 Sports Radio show, The Big Interview, following his unveiling by the NFF on Monday.

George, who played for Ajax, Ipswich Town, Real Mallorca, and Real Betis during his playing career, discussed his appointment, the support of his former colleagues, the impending match against South Africa, and the uncertainties surrounding his remuneration and that of his backroom staff.

Honored to have been unveiled as Head Coach of @NGSuperEagles

My gratitude goes to @thenff, the Ministry of Sports Development, and Nigerians for the faith.

The task is enormous but with the support of Nigerians, we will scale every hurdle and bring glory to our fatherland 🇳🇬 pic.twitter.com/3qOzq3Y63O

— Finidi George (@FinidiGeorge_FG) May 13, 2024

Since his appointment, the 53-year-old has received heartfelt congratulations from his fellow coaching colleagues in the Nigeria Premier Football League, administrators, politicians, former teammates, among others, and he responded positively when asked about this public show of love.

“Having been appointed as the head coach, I had a call from a lot of people, ex-players congratulating me,” George said. “It’s a good feeling that at this point in time I’m having that support which I think will go a long way.”

“For me, it’s just to do my best and make everybody proud, and that’s what I’m going to do. I know it’s not going to be an easy job, but I’ll do my best to make sure that we get the job done.”

Decision to Apply for the Role

George was appointed as the head coach of Enyimba FC in September 2021. He has worked simultaneously under former coach Jose Peseiro since May 2022 and took over after the latter’s contract was not renewed, despite leading Nigeria to the final of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire, where they lost to the hosts.

Despite having served as Peseiro’s assistant for over 20 months, he explained that his proactive approach to applying for the head coach position was motivated by the fact that coaching the national team is the pinnacle of a football coaching career.

“I think coaching the national team is the ultimate. If you can coach your own national team after being there as a player, I think it’s great. If you can play the AFCON, play the World Cup as a coach, I think it’s fantastic, so that is what everyone is looking at, and that prompted my application.

“I’ve been in Nigeria coaching Enyimba for the past three years, and when this opportunity came, I had to apply like every other coach that has applied,” he continued. “It was for the NFF to decide who fits what they are trying to do, and in the end, I was given the job, so I’m quite happy about it. It’s time to do the work. Very soon the camp will open, and then we’ll go there and see how we can get the best out of the players.”

Upcoming Challenge Against South Africa

George looked after the team on an interim basis for the Super Eagles friendlies against Ghana and Mali in March, which resulted in a 2-1 victory and 2-0 defeat, respectively.

His major responsibilities will be ensuring Nigeria qualifies for the next edition of AFCON, which is due to take place in Morocco in 2025, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The first step towards achieving this is a World Cup qualifying match against South Africa at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo on Friday, 7 June 2024. George expressed confidence, acknowledging that while South African football has evolved and the Bafana Bafana presents a different challenge compared to the past, Nigeria remains a formidable team.

“Yeah, like you rightly said, football has evolved; South Africa is quite a different team compared to the past, but Nigeria is always Nigeria, and one cannot be scared. Even going through life every day is scary, but you have to live through it. So I’m not scared, there’s no magic in this, it’s just football.” He said.

A win against the Bafana Bafana in Uyo will get Nigeria’s qualification campaign back on track after surprise 1-1 draws with tiny Lesotho at home and Zimbabwe in neutral Rwanda, which saw them fall to third in their six-team group.

To further improve their standing, they also need to win their away match against Benin Republic at a neutral venue, Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Côte d’Ivoire, three days later.

He stressed that fear has no place in their preparations and he’s focused on ensuring the players concentrate on each game, starting with South Africa and taking one match at a time.

“We know Nigerians would love the team to win all the time, and we’ll just get the players focused on the game, one game at a time. We focus on the South African game and see how we can win that one before we talk about the Benin Republic game. For me, as a coach, it’s either you have a good result, or you don’t have a good result.

“One cannot be scared in life. Like I said, going through life is difficult, you walk through it with the difficulties that you know you’ll encounter. So that’s how I look at life and approach it that way, and football will not be any different. We will do our job and make sure we get the best out of that game, and apart from that, nothing else.” He said.

Selection of Backroom Staff

During his unveiling as the head coach, President of the NFF, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, revealed that the Federation gave George a free hand to pick his assistants and that the tactician has picked Daniel Amokachi and Benjamin James as assistants, as well as Olatunji Baruwa (goalkeepers’ trainer), Chima Onyeike (fitness trainer), and Mehmet Ozturk (analyst).

George explained that his assistants are individuals he has known for some time and he values the importance of working with people he is comfortable with and trusts that they are good enough to help the team achieve its objectives.

“My assistants are people that I’ve known in the past. We talk a lot about football,” George explained. “They called me while I was at Enyimba, and we talked about football generally. When this opportunity came, I had to call them to ask if there was any possibility for them to work with me, and they all agreed.”

“So when I was appointed, I reached out again, and they said we are good to go with you. So there’s nothing new; you just have to work with people that you are comfortable with, and that’s why we picked them. We’ll see how everything is going to work out. So when they are here, we have to work together, talk about tactics and everything else before the players even report to camp.

“Personally, I think it’s a good choice, and these are experienced people, and I think they would do their best to make sure that they give me their best as well. What we are looking for is for the team to perform, and these are good hands, experienced hands, and they will definitely add value to what we want at the national team.” He said.

Contractual Terms and Remuneration

Addressing concerns about the contractual terms for his assistants, who will be paid on an invitational basis by the NFF, George explained that his assistants are already employed and the part-time arrangement suits them.

“This about the contract is something that I have already spoken with them and they love it. You know, these are people that are working; they’re not idle where they are, they have clubs that they are working with, and a part-time contract is perfect for them. They know about it because I already told them before this time, so there’s no problem.”

“The most important thing here is to work and be committed to what we are trying to do. For the rest, I think it’s just by the way. I’m not worried about that because already they know what the condition is going to be and they have accepted it. I don’t think there’s any issue on that.” He said.

When queried about his own salary, amidst speculation about the figures involved, George chose to focus on his responsibilities. While acknowledging the speculation, he stated that his primary concern is to add value through his work.

“There has been a lot of speculation on how much I will earn and what will be the given amount of money. For me, the most important thing is to win games, once you add value to whatever thing that you’re doing, the money will come, when you start winning games and the team is playing well, then every other thing that will add will be a plus and it will definitely come.” He said.

“I’m not worried about how much they pay me. Definitely, I must be paid, and we’ll just leave it at that. I think in life, if you always push for money, you’ll run into problems. Do the work first, and definitely, people will appreciate what you’ve done, and that is when you can ask for money.”

“But if I’m asking for money and I’ve not done the job, for me that is not vital. Let me do the job first, and then we’ll see what happens later. I have my monthly salary, which I think is good enough for me. I’m not complaining, we’ll just leave it at that.” He concluded

George, who lifted the 1995 Champions League with Ajax Amsterdam, was part of Nigeria’s Golden Generation that claimed the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations title and competed at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups. He won 62 caps, scoring six goals.

He made 25 Premier League appearances for Ipswich Town during the club’s last top-flight campaign in 2001/2002, scoring six goals and delivering two assists.