The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has crowned Nigeria's interim coach Augustine Eguavoen the winner of the group stage best manager award following his outstanding performance at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations which is currently taking place in Cameroon.
The 56 years old was only appointed as interim coach on 12th December 2021 less than a month before the commencement of the 33rd edition of the championship as the Super Eagles manager to replace Gernot Rohr temporarily, which has brought him to the limelight in showcasing his coaching skills.
Despite winning the Nations Cup as a player in 1994 and claiming the bronze medal as the head coach in 2006, Eguavoen was an unpopular choice as Gernot Rohr’s replacement, with things looking even more gloomy for the West Africans following the withdrawal of and injuries to several key players, not many gave Eguavoen’s Eagles that much chance to soar in Cameroon. Somehow he managed to convert a laid-back Super Eagles into a defensively well-organized and relentlessly attacking machine in a couple of weeks.
