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'White Witch Doctor' Philippe Troussier is leading a short list of coaches that include the Argentine Jorge Castelli and an unnamed German for an interview in London on Wednesday in respect of the Super Eagles top coaching job, KICK OFF has exclusively learned.
'White Witch Doctor' Philippe Troussier is leading a short list of coaches that include the Argentine Jorge Castelli and an unnamed German for an interview in London on Wednesday in respect of the Super Eagles top coaching job, KICK OFF has exclusively learned.
The interview panel will include NFA acting Secretary General Fanny Amun, technical committee boss Sulaiman David, board member Sam Sam Jaja as well as Dudu Orumen, who is also on technical committee of the NFA.
Former international Segun Odegbami and Mike Itemuagbor will represent Eagles major sponsors Globacom.
Frenchman Troussier qualified Nigeria for the 1998 World Cup but was soon after fired by then Sports Minister Jim Nwobodo, who insisted on hiring 'a World Cup coach" for the country.
Known as ‘The White Witch Doctor' in tribute to successes at Ivorian club Asec Mimosas as well with the Ivorian national team, Troussier has also worked in Morocco, South Africa and Japan, where he took the joint 2002 World Cup hosts past the first round of the global soccer tournament for the first time in their history.
The fact that he has worked in Africa and Nigeria in particular is expected to work in his favour now.
Last season he worked with top French club Olympique Marseille but coach and club parted company this summer after OLM failed to win an automatic ticket to play in the Uefa Cup.
NFA boss Ibrahim Galadima had told KICK OFF in Holland that the FA will be very disposed to a coach, who is presently not engaged and 'so can take up the Eagles within a week".
Castelli, on the other hand, was widely reported to have been given the Eagles top job last year and even helped the national team record their only away victory in the 2006 World Cup campaign against Zimbabwe.
KICK OFF broke the story that the Argentine soccer professor was in Holland during World Youth Championship to offer his services to the NFA.