Augustine Eguavoen Biography
Augustine Eguavoen, born in sapele Nigeria on 19 August 1965 is a Nigerian football manager and former player (Position: Defender), who serves as manager of the Nigeria national team.
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Playing career
Eguavoen started his football career with African Continental Bank Football Club simply know as ACB FC based in Lagos Nigeria between year 1985- 1986. Due to his impressive performance, he moved to play at a Belgian sports club (Gent) based in the city of Ghent, East Flanders in 1986.
While in the Belgian sports club (Gent) Eguavoen had the highest goals of his career amounting to 10 goals with 77 appearance in the club. He left the Belgian club in 1990 and went on to play for K.V. Kortrijk, CD Ourense, Sacramento Scorpions, Torpedo Moscow and finished his career in 2001 with Sliema Wanderers Football Club in Republic of Malta.
Eguavoen was a member of the Nigeria national team squad that qualified for the country’s first ever World Cup in 1994 and won the African Nations Cup in the same year. meanwhile In same 1994, the Nigerian national football team was ranked 5th in the FIFA rankings, the highest FIFA ranking position ever achieved by an African football team.
Coaching career
Eguavoen started his coaching career in Sliema Wanderers Football Club were he was given the job for the 2000–01 Maltese Premier League (known as the Rothmans Premier League for sponsorship reasons). He was able to guide the club to a second-place finish in the league.
After his first job as a coach, he took up the job of caretaker coach of the Nigeria national team in June 2005 with his coaching staff including Samson Siasia, Daniel Amokachi and Ike Shorunmu. He managed the Nigeria national team at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, where the team won a bronze medal, beating Senegal in the third-place play-off. Before He was sacked in April 2006 by Nigerian Sports Minister Saidu Sambawa, report have it that the sport ministry annulled his contract because all national team coaching jobs have to be advertised.
Eguavoen then moved to South Africa, to take over Premier Soccer League side Black Leopards in March 2008. In the 2008–09 season, Eguavoen was head coach at Enyimba Football Club (a Nigerian football club based in the city of Aba which plays in the Nigerian Professional Football League), however he left soon after leading them to a 3rd-place finish in league and winning the Federation Cup.
Coaching career Returning to Nigeria
Return to Nigeria Eguavoen was appointed as the head coach of the Nigeria national under-23 football team in August 2010.
In 2012, he was named manager of Sharks F.C. before He signed in April 2013 to coach Nigeria National League side COD United.
In November 2013, he was hired by the Edo State government to coach Bendel Insurance with the intent of getting them back to the Premier League. He resigned in July 2014 to take over Gombe United F.C., a Nigerian football club based in Gombe.
In October 2020, the Nigerian Football Federation, appointed Eguavoen as the Technical Director of the Federation approved during the NFF’s executive committee meeting. He was mentioned to work with the following persons, whose appointments were also approved: Mr. Paul Aigbogun (Deputy Director, Technical & Scouting); Terry Babatunde Eguaoje (Consultant on Coaching & Development); Abdulrafiu Yusuf (Assistant Director, Coaching & Development); Siji Lagunju (Assistant Director, Training & Development) and; Garba Lawal (Chief Technical Officer).
On 12 December 2021, Eguavoen was appointed manager of Nigeria on an interim basis for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, following the sack of Gernot Rohr a German professional football manager
Augustine Eguavoen Honours
He received Honor As a Player for Nigeria winning Africa Cup of Nations: 1994 (Winner).
Also as a coach, He led Nigeria to Africa Cup of Nations hosted by Egypt in 2006 winning Bronze
He also led Enyimba football club to there winning at the Federation Cup 2008/09 Season (Winner)
