Ex-Nigerian international soccer stars have continued to win coaching assignments in parts of Africa and beyond. The late Stephen Keshi had served in Togo and Mali before coming home to handle the Super Eagles. The latest case is Emmanuel Amuneke of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics fame. Amuneke has just been appointed Head Coach of the Tanzania national team.
The 1994 African Footballer of the Year has been handed the task of tending the Tanzanian senior soccer team, the Taifa Stars, with the specific charge of working towards getting the squad back on track in the campaign to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations for 2019.
The 47-year-old Amuneke, a prolific attacker in his hey days with Zamalek of Egypt and the Nigerian Super Eagles, has signed a two-year deal to take over from Salum Mayanga, who was shown the way out due to poor results.
Following Tanzania’s dismal performance so far this season, the first priority of the new coach will be to get the Taifa Stars into a good position to qualify for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations slated to take place in Cameroon.
Before his appointment, Amuneke was an assistant coach at Saudi Premier League side, Al-Hazm, before he left to be a scout for Manchester United. His first coaching stint saw him as the un-fancied sweat merchant at Julius Berger, a local club in Nigeria in 2008.
It will be recalled that after helping Nigeria to win the 1994 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia, Amuneke dazzled at various competitions before undertaking coaching courses in Europe. He served as the coach of Sudanese clubside, Al Khartoum SC, in November 2017, and left earlier this year.
