fbpx

Amokachi To Lead The Way For African Coaches In Europe

Amokachi To Lead The Way For African Coaches In Europe

Nigerian Daniel Amokachi is about to begin his time as the coach of second division Finnish club JS Hercules, and he is focused on doing well in order to open the door for more African coaches to make their name in Europe.

His time in Finland will be a way for European clubs to familiarise themselves with the abilities of African coaches, and realise the talent that lies on the African continent from a coaching perspective, and not just in terms of player potential.

The former Super Eagles player was assistant coach of the national team in recent years, and is now looking forward to the challenge that awaits in Finland, where conditions are very different to what he is used to in Nigeria.

The former Club Brugge, Everton and Besiktas player spoke about the freezing weather conditions that he experienced upon arriving in the city of Oulu, while mentioning the difficulty with regards to the availability of indoor facilities in winter.

“Freezing was the not the word, that’s an understatement – it was minus 35 degrees [Celsius] when I arrived!,” Amokachi said to Fifa.com.

“I was leaving a country that was roasting, about 38 degrees when I left Nigeria. The day before I travelled, I checked the weather forecast with my wife and she joked: ‘Do you really want to go?’ [laughs] I said ‘Of course!’. The weather in Finland is an obstacle but with all obstacles when you’re trying to achieve something, you throw them out the window,” the determined coach explained.

Addressing the issue of indoor pitch availability, Amokachi explained the problem in the context of the freezing conditions.

“The outdoor pitches are frozen and everything we do at the moment is indoor. You have a number of other teams using those facilities and it’s hard to get a full pitch to yourself, which can make the program you’re trying to lay down difficult. But I am a Nigerian, an African. I’m used to challenges and I would love to see it through,” he added.

Ready To Lead African Coaches To Europe

The 43-year-old is ready to be a leading light for other African coaches to make their way to Europe, and he knows that his performance will be important in this regard.

“It is my first experience as an African manager coaching in Europe and there are not many Africans who are head coaches in Europe,” he said. “They are giving me a platform as an African to showcase what I can do and if I do well, it’s an open door for other African coaches.”