Former Super Eagles winger, Emmanuel Amuneke has declared that he is aiming to create a better impact on his return to Egypt, where he starred for Zamalaek FC in his first club deal outside Nigeria, even as he starts out as a coach in The Land of The Pharaohs, megasportsarena.com reports.
Although he had fairly pleasant pickings while starring for Zamalek from 1992 to 1993, Amuneke believes he can do better as a coach, now that he is in charge of the technical crew of relegation-threatened, Misr El-Makasa, in place of Egyptian ex-international, Ahmed Hossam Mido.
Amuneke, who played 27 times for Nigeria and scored nine goals, won the domestic league titles in Nigeria and Egypt, while playing for Julius Berger FC of Lagos and Zamalek of Cairo, which now leaves him with another high hurdle to reach in continuation of his coaching expeditions.
In 1994, he signed for Sporting Lisbon of Portugal, for which he scored seven league goals in his first season, during which he was part of the Nigerian national team, Super Eagles’ squad that participated at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States of America.
It was the Eagles’ first-ever appearance at the Mundial, but Amuneke scored in their opening game, as they trounced against Bulgaria 3–0 and then beat Greece, but lost 2-1 to Argentina and then to Italy in the round-of-16 loss.
It was also in 1994 that Amuneke helped the Eagles win the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, and was named African Footballer of The Year to cement a thrilling playing career, but the 49-year-old is still seeking big time silverware as a coach, even after winning the FIFA U-17 World Cup for Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets and guided Tanzania to their first Africa Cup of Nations since 1980.
However, shortly after failing to win a single match with The Taifa Stars at Egypt 2019 AFCON, Amueneke parted ways with Tanzania, then spent almost six months job hunting, until he got the deal at Misr El-Makasa, after they sacked Mido on Wednesday, following a 3-1 loss to FC Pyramids on Tuesday in the Egypt Premier League.
Although it appears to be a very daunting job with a team that have not won any of their last 10 league games, since a 1-0 win over Al Masry SC on October 17, Amuneke says he is happy to be back in the North African country, where he helped Zamalek makew some marks, before moving on to Sporting Lisbon, Barcelona, Albacete Balompié, Busan I’Cons and Al-Wehdat SC of Jordan.
It is another coaching step forward for Amuneke, whose first technical duty post, after retiring at the age of 34 and two years of coaching courses in S[pain and England, came when he took over the mantle at one of his former clubs, Julius Berger of December 23, 2008.
Amuneke was sacked by The Bridge Boys halfway through his first season, after conflicts with management, despite saving the team from relegation, and, though he then joined Ocean Boys FC of Brass early November 2009, the same fate befell him, and he then went international.
He soon became the head coach of Al Khartoum SC in Sudan, starting in November 2017, but left in March 2018, after which he moved to Taznania and is now seeking a new lease of life at Misr El-Makasa, who are currently 15th on the Egyptian top-flight table with only goals difference separating them from relegation.
