NFF opts for foreign coach

• Halilhodzic tops list, Pinto says no

Former Algeria coach, Vahid Halilhodzic, has emerged the top candidate as the Nigeria Football Federation continues the search for new Super Eagles coach.
There are strong indications that Coach Stephen Keshi may not return to his duty post as negotiations between the coach and the NFF appeared to have stalled. New Telegraph has authoritatively learnt that officials of the soccer body have approached a number of foreign coaches and top on the list is Halilhodzic.
A source in the Glass House says the Bosniaborn tactician is keen to take over as Eagles coach and he is ready to start negotiations with the federation. The source says although there are other candidates on NFF’s radar, the former Cote d’Ivoire handler is a leading candidate. His deep knowledge of African football having coached the Cote d’ Ivoire, Algeria and Raja Casablanca of Morocco count in his favour.
“There is a lot of politics going on about Keshi’s job, I can confirm to you that the NFF officials met with the coach a few days ago but nothing concrete has been achieved as far as I know. NFF has continued to pursue the alternative which is to get a foreign coach.
“I know that former Algeria coach, Halilhodzic, who guided the country to the last World Cup where they reached the round of 16 is one of them and he seems to be highly favoured. I know they contacted the coach that took Costa Rica to the quarterfinal of 2014 World Cup, Jorge Luis Pinto, that was last year but he later took another job when NFF did not solidify their interest.

I can tell you that NFF is really working and in a matter of days a clearer picture of where we are going will appear,” the source said. Halilhodzic who quit his position at Tranzaspor of Turkey last November has had stints at Lille, PSG and Rennes in the French league; he has also handled Dinamo Zagreb.