Former England striker John Fashanu says his dream is to land the job of coaching Nigeria’s national football team, the Super Eagles.
Speaking to journalists in Ogun State, in a video posted on X, the 1988 FA Cup winner with Wimbledon, stated that he has what it took to lead the Super Eagles as long as he worked with the coaching crew.
“I want to be the manager of the Eagles, that’s one of the hardest jobs in this country. But I’m saying I can do it and I can do it with the right people, the people who understand the game of football.
“It’s not about how much can you give us Fash, how much you’ve got for us, how many millions can we make out of you. It’s not about that. It’s about getting players who can play in different countries because it’s all about different countries and it’s very important to get players with the right mentality, the right character, players who want to play for the country.
“I wanted to play for my country but in the end I was chosen to play for England and I played for England three times a d I came back to the motherland.”
The 62-year-old, who also featured for clubs like Aston Villa, Norwich and Millwall, retired from professional football in 1995 and never had any coaching experience.
Fashanu was born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, the son of Pearl Gopal, a nurse from British Guiana and Patrick Fashanu, a Nigerian lawyer resident in the UK.
His footballing career began at Norwich City in 1979, and he turned professional two years later – just as his late brother Justin was transferred to Nottingham Forest from the relegated Carrow Road club.
Fashanu represented England at full International level and made his debut in 1989 in a friendly game against Chile.
He was also eligible to play for Nigeria and since retiring he has expressed regret in not being able to do so.
Fashanu was the younger brother of Justin Fashanu, similarly an English footballer who played for a variety of clubs between 1978 and 1997whom he disowned after the latter came out as gay.
Justin died by suicide in 1998, after a gay sex scandal.
Justin was also one of the first footballers to command a £1 million transfer fee, with his transfer from Norwich City to Nottingham Forest in 1981, and had varying levels of success as a player afterwards, until he retired in 1997.
INFORMATION FROM COMPLETE SPORTS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS STORY
