The 47-year-old has expressed his desire to coach the Super Eagles in future and has set his extraordinary target for the team
Former KF Tirana manager Ndubuisi Egbo has revealed his dream of winning the World Cup with the Nigeria national team.
Egbo made Africa proud when he guided Tirana to win the Albanian league in the 2019-20 season and also qualified them to the Champions League, becoming the first African coach to do so in Europe.
Egbo, who is currently without a job, has now expressed his readiness to coach the Super Eagles when the opportunity comes and has set his target for the West African side.
“Like I have said in many interviews, it is like a military service that you do for your country. When you are called upon you don’t have any choice, unless I’m in a contract with another team and it is difficult to go away from there,” Egbo told Punch.
“I’m always open to help my country because I’m a dreamer and I always want `to achieve something to fulfil those dreams that I had.
“I always remember what Pele said that he dreamt that one day an African country would win the World Cup. I’m seeing Nigeria winning the World Cup.
“That is one of the dreams I want to achieve for my continent. Anytime I’m called upon, I still have it in my head that if I am given the opportunity I will do my maximum best not only to make Nigerian football but African football move ahead.
“Just like how Pitso Mosimane of South Africa is doing, he won with Sundowns and then went to Egypt and won the Caf Champions League with Al Ahly.
“Those are the things that we need to be doing to move African football up. Al Ahly is the club of the century in the whole world and that is something coming from Africa. I’ve won one trophy on a continent, why not win the World Cup or at least get to the final first of all.
“If we want European clubs to take a look at our players, we need to bring them up to their level and achieve what they are achieving, then we can measure our strengths with theirs.”
The highly respected manager, also bemoans a lack of support to Nigerian coaches by their employers, citing the example of Sunday Oliseh, who was not given the needed time while in charge of the West African side, in sharp contrast to the current coach Gernot Rohr who is enjoying a second spell despite his inability to win a single trophy for the side.
“We need to start giving our own coaches the opportunities to prove their talents and also time because we will make mistakes in the beginning and we will learn.
“Just like they are giving opportunities and time to [Super Eagles coach] Gernot Rohr; after five years he has not won any major trophy and he is still there but Emmanuel Amuneke and Sunday Oliseh were not given enough time.”
In November, the Super Eagles laboured to back-to-back draws against lowly-rated Sierra Leone in the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, which resulted in high criticism on Rohr's performances.