Jose Peseiro has vowed to mastermind Nigeria’s quest to win the next Africa Cup of Nations.
As the dust settles on the Qatar World Cup, attentions have turned well away from international football and back to the domestic landscape.
But behind the scenes, Nigeria’s Head Coach Jose Peseiro is getting his teeth stuck into his task of developing the next kings of Africa.
Peseiro finally took over as Super Eagles manager last May.
He arrives at the helm well-travelled and with extensive experience starting in Portugal, taking him to the Middle East and, most recently, dealing with difficult circumstances at Venezuela before standing down over unpaid salary.
And Peseiro makes no secret of his ambitions: To lead Nigeria to glory in Ivory Coast when the next Africa Cup of Nations takes place this time next year.
“Our ambitions when I signed the contract with Nigeria, the big goal and main goal is we want to win the next AFCON,” Peseiro told Mirror Football.
“Of course, we know the power of the national teams who played in the World Cup, like Senegal, Cameroon, Morocco, who had a fantastic tournament.
“But we know that the quality and capacity of the national teams that didn’t play in the World Cup like Egypt, Algeria and others.
“I think I’ve convinced myself, when I watch our national team.
“I know which players can play for us and I have put it in my mind that we can win the next AFCON.
“To do that, I’m trying to shape our players and join them in the right way to build a good model to play at a high level.
“If you want to reach the top in Africa you need to create a top level.
“For that, I try to see the players, see everybody and improve our organisation, improve our facilities, improve our training, improve everything we can.
“We played against Mexico, against Portugal, against Algeria away, to check the possibility to play offensive football, high pressure, because that’s our way.
“I think we have the capacity and the players for that, but we need to check our development and the way we play.”