Ajibade Olusesan 
Former Super Eagles defender, Taribo West, has expressed his belief in Austin Eguavoen’s ability to restore the national team to its former glory.
West, who had a successful career in Europe with clubs like AC Milan and Inter Milan, praised Eguavoen’s unique influence on the team, noting that the Eagles always play an exciting brand of football under his leadership.
However, he lamented the bad luck that seems to haunt Eguavoen during crucial moments in major tournaments. Eguavoen, in an interim capacity, led the Eagles to a convincing 3-0 victory over Benin Republic before securing a goalless draw against Rwanda in the ongoing AFCON 2025 qualifiers.
In an interview with Brila FM monitored by our correspondent, Taribo said the overall performance of the team showed the players aligned with the coach’s philosophy but blamed lack of luck for poor outcomes.
“In major tournaments, when you expect the team to cross the line, something always happens,” he said. “I believe Eguavoen can be the right coach, but he needs grace. What’s missing for him is grace.”
The former international added that while Eguavoen’s system works for the players and the team performs well, the final results rarely reflect their effort on the pitch.
“For the players, it works—the team plays well, but the results don’t favour them. Something is wrong,” West said. “If not, I don’t see why we keep going for foreign coaches when we can invest in our own.”
