Nigeria legend reveals Chelle’s plan to revive Super Eagles

by Staff Reporter

Sunday Mar 09, 2025. 11:00

Nigerian football legend Segun Odegbami has shown a change of heart regarding Eric Chelle’s appointment as the Super Eagles head coach, revealing the Franco-Malian’s plan to transform the team.

Odegbami was a key figure in Nigeria’s 1980 Africa Cup of Nations triumph and he was initially sceptical of the Nigeria Football Federation’s decision to hire Chelle.

The 46-year-old became the first non-Nigerian coach to take charge of the Super Eagles when he was appointed in January, a decision that caught many off guard.

Chelle, who is a former Mali international did not have the best playing career and was yet to get a major managerial appointment before leading Mali to the quarter-finals of the 2023 AFCON.

According to Odegbami, Chelle is known for his thorough and detailed approach to scouting players and developing tactical strategies, demonstrating a strong dedication to creating a unified and effective team.

“He has been gathering information on all great players of Nigerian descent abroad and keeping their data,” Odegbami wrote in a column for Complete Sports.

“He passes those born abroad and those that were bred in Nigeria through different prisms for his analysis. He has spent endless hours watching each one of the players at least five times in different matches to know them well.

“He is almost ready now. He would use the natural strength of Nigerian players to form his style of play – pressing hard when they lose the ball, spreading out and playing with confidence, strength, and speed when they are in possession. Getting to opposing goals in the shortest possible time and with the fewest number of passes.

“These are copies from Father Tiko and Clemens Westerhof’s books of football. He reminded me of how Nigerian football was played when at its best— quick forwards, quick counters, using strength and speed down the flanks.”