Finidi George Appointed As New Rivers United Coach

Former Super Eagles coach, Finidi George has been appointed as the new coach of Nigeria Professional Football League side, Rivers United.

It has been a rollercoaster in the last few weeks for the former Enyimba coach, who resigned as the Super Eagles coach three weeks ago.

He has now been saddled with the responsibility of leading his hometown club back to title reckoning in the NPFL.

Rivers United confirmed his appointment with a statement on their website.

The statement reads: “Rivers United Football Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Finidi George as our new Technical Manager,

“His impressive credentials include winning the Africa Cup of Nations with the Super Eagles in 1994, the UEFA Champions League with Ajax in 1995, and the Nigeria Premier Football League with Enyimba International FC in 2023.

“As a coach, Finidi has demonstrated his ability to lead teams to success, and we are confident that he will bring his expertise and passion to our club. We are excited to have him on board and look forward to a successful tenure under his leadership.”

Finidi signed a two-year deal to replace Evans Ogenyi, who ended the season in place of the longest-serving manager in the NPFL, Stanley Eguma.

The 53-year-old led Enyimba to the NPFL title in the 2022-23 season and he was also part of the Super Eagles coaching crew as an assistant under Jose Peseiro for 20 months.

He was appointed as the coach of the team in April, but his stint lasted for just two games following the team’s poor performances against South Africa and Benin Republic which left them in fifth place on the log.

Finidi expressed his delight at the opportunity to return to the biggest club in his hometown.

“First I have to say I am very happy to be here. This is where I grew up; I started my football career in Sharks back then,

“I left this place a footballer and back as a coach. As a coach, there are chapters you have to close and new ones have to emerge. Rivers United is a very big team seeing the results in the last season inspired me to come back and see how I can impact a little bit.

“I’ve been working in Abia State for some time and I think this is an opportunity for me to give back. I decided to take this challenge to come back to Rivers State. I’m not here for fun.”

Finidi George will be tasked with returning Rivers United to continental engagement after the club finished eighth in the just-concluded NPFL season.

“The target for a big team like Rivers is all about winning. We all want results but we have to work towards it. The target is to at least get the continental ticket next season and we will try our best to do that.”

Finidi George will be unveiled in a colourful ceremony on Thursday at the Sharks Stadium in Port-Harcourt by 2pm.