December 30, (THEWILL) – On February 4, 2020, before the world came to a halt due to the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, the man tasked to take charge of the Super Eagles’ bid for the World Cup, Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro was named as Venezuela’s new coach for the qualifying campaign of the same FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
In what was his debut fixture, the former Sporting Lisbon, Porto and Braga coach took on Colombia as head of the Venezuelan national team on 26 March in Barranquilla when South American qualifiers for Qatar 2022 got underway. Venezuela lost 3-0 but it was Peseiro’s first game and Colombia had historically had a huge edge over Venezuela in their head-to-head matchups, with 24 wins, 16 draws and just 7 losses.
However, that meeting between the 59-year-old coach and Colombia’s coach at the time, Carlos Queiroz, was significant in more ways than one. Peseiro used to be an assistant of Queiroz’s while the latter was managing Real Madrid. It was one occasion that they were contending against themselves and Queiroz, who had been in charge of Colombia since February 2019 had the upper hand and prevailed over his former assistant.
Coincidentally, Nigeria will meet Egypt in the first fixture of Group D at the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations 2021 on January 11 and the same Queiroz has been in charge of the Pharaohs of Egypt since September this year, when he was brought in to ensure that the Egyptians qualified for the playoffs for Qatar 2022. Although it will be within his role as observer, Peseiro will once again be in the opponent’s dugout against his former boss with a word or two for Austin Eguavoen, the interim Super Eagles coach to AFCON 2021.
Peseiro’s two-year deal as head coach of three-time African champions, the Super Eagles, will be the Portuguese’s first national team job on the continent, although he had a successful stint taking Egypt’s Al Ahly to their League title in the 2015/2016 season. Yet, in the world of leading lights in the managerial space, the name Jose Peseiro does not ring any immediate bells, even if he allegedly came highly recommended by the much-celebrated Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho.
To shine a light on the person of Jose Peseiro will require a foray into his biographical data. Born José Vítor dos Santos Peseiro on April 4, 1960 in Coruche, Portugal, Peseiro had a professional football career that never rose higher than the second division, the Segunda Liga, of his country’s Football system. He played for Sport Lisboa e Cartaxo and then represented Amora FC, Clube Oriental de Lisboa, GD Samora Correia and S.C.U. Torreense, for a total of five seasons before retiring at 34 with local club União de Santarém.
Peseiro turned to coaching, focusing on the third and fourth tiers of Portuguese football. The highlight of his early coaching career was in the 2003/2004 campaign, when he assisted Queiroz at Real. Their shine at the prestigious La Liga outfit was ephemeral because at the end of the season, after the team lost a considerable advantage on the table that saw Los Blancos surpassed by Valencia, Barcelona and Deportivo de La Coruna, the pair was sacked. Queiroz promptly returned to his assistant position in Manchester United while Peseiro went on to manage Sporting Clube de Portugal in the 2005/2006 season.
In the debut as national coach, Peseiro succeeded Nasser Al-Johar at the helm of the Saudi Arabian national team in 2009, during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. His first game occurred on 28 March, and it ended with a 2–1 away win over Iran which was the former’s first ever victory in that country and the latter’s first loss in nearly 40 home games. On 10 January 2011, Peseiro was relieved of his duties after losing the first game in the AFC Asian Cup against Syria.
In June 2012, Peseiro was appointed at S.C. Braga, and he qualified the club to the group stage of the Champions League for the second time in its history, after ousting Udinese on penalties. From November 2013 to January 2015, he worked with Al Wahda FC in the UAE Pro League. In June 2016, Peseiro returned to Portugal and again signed a two-year deal with Portuguese side Braga.
But, in December, following consecutive home defeats that resulted in elimination from the Europa League and the Portuguese Cup, respectively at the hands of FC Shakhtar Donetsk (2–4) and S.C. Covilhã (1–2) he was fired.
In his last appointment before taking up the Super Eagles’ job, Peseiro took charge of Venezuela and, as aforementioned, lost his first game to Queiroz, his former boss and compatriot. He led the South American side to the 2021 Copa América in Brazil, where they struggled to two draws and two defeats which were not enough to make it beyond the group stage.
Although he has not won major trophies, going as far as the UEFA Super Cup finals with Sporting, the Portuguese manager is regarded for his tactical know-how and the ability to interpret a game enough to make the sort of calls that can exploit the capacities of his squad and bring results. Peseiro was praised by South American pundit Tim Vickery for achieving some good results for Venezuela despite a spate of COVID-19 infections and virus-related travel restrictions that kept key forward Salomón Rondón in China.
That, together with the confident backing of Mourinho, makes him a prospect for success with Nigeria.
Peseiro resigned from the Venezuelan job in August, having not been paid for over a year amidst the South American country’s economic crisis. It is hoped that he will fare much better in Nigeria.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
