Finidi George

Finidi George (born 15 April 1971) is a Nigerian professional football coach and former footballer who played as a winger. He is regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time .^[1]

Finidi George

Personal information
Full name	Finidi George
Date of birth	(1971-04-15) 15 April 1971 (age 54)
Place of birth	Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989	Calabar Rovers
1990	Iwuanyanwu Nationale
1991–1993	Sharks
1993–1996	Ajax	86	(18)
1996–2000	Betis	130	(38)
2000–2001	Mallorca	31	(5)
2001–2003	Ipswich Town	35	(7)
2004	Mallorca	14	(0)
Total		296	(68)
International career
1991–2002	Nigeria	62	(6)
Managerial career
2021–2024	Enyimba
2024	Nigeria
Medal record Representing  Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations Winner 1994 Tunisia Team Runner-up 2000 Ghana & Nigeria Team
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

After making a name for himself at Ajax in the Netherlands – being a leading figure in a team which won eight major titles, including the 1995 Champions League – he played several years in Spain with Real Betis,^[2] also having a brief spell in England before retiring. Finidi was a member of the Nigeria team during the 1990s, appearing in two World Cups.

Club career

Ajax

Born in Port Harcourt, Finidi played for three clubs in his country. In 1993, he arrived at AFC Ajax alongside compatriot Nwankwo Kanu. His impact with the Amsterdam side was immediate as he scored four goals in 27 games to help them win the Eredivisie title, which was also achieved in the following two seasons; additionally, as a starter, he appeared in consecutive UEFA Champions League finals, winning the 1994–95 edition against AC Milan.^[3]

Real Betis

On 10 July 1996, Finidi moved to Spain and signed with Real Betis for 1,024 million pesetas or 6 million euros,^[4] where he netted in three digits in nearly every season, with the Andalusians finishing fourth in his first year, which also brought a Copa del Rey final loss to FC Barcelona (2–3 after extra time), where he scored. ^[5] Real Betis has deemed the Nigerian as one of their most spectacular signings; he played an illustrious part in a magnificent team consisting of Alfonso, Robert Jarni, Alexis, Roberto Ríos, and Juan Merino.^[6] While at the club, Finidi was consecrated with the nickname: "the playful shadow."^[7] Prior to joining Real Betis, he was close to moving to Real Madrid, but the deal fell through.^[8]

Mallorca and Ipswich Town

After Betis' relegation from the top flight in 2000, Finidi stayed one more year in Spain with RCD Mallorca, after which he joined Premier League team Ipswich Town, managed by George Burley,^[9] for £3.1 million.^[10] He scored twice in a 3–1 victory over Derby County at Portman Road^[11] but underperformed overall, with them also suffering relegation; he was released from contract in June 2003.^[12]

In November 2003, the 32-year-old Finidi underwent a trial at former club Mallorca,^[13] following which he signed with the Balearic Islands team,^[14] helping them finally finish in 11th position after constantly battling relegation.

In mid-November 2010, Finidi returned to Betis as its director of international football. He continued, however, to live in Palma, Majorca, where he had relocated to after his retirement.^[15]

International career

Finidi made his debut for Nigeria in 1991, in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Burkina Faso, providing three assists for Rashidi Yekini and scoring once in a 7–1 rout. He helped the national team win the 1994 edition of the tournament in Tunisia,^[16] and also achieved one second^[17] and two third-place finishes.^[18][19]

Finidi represented Nigeria in two FIFA World Cups, 1994 and 1998.^[20] In the former, held in the United States, as the national team won their group and exited in the round of 16 against eventual finalists Italy, he scored against Greece in a 2–0 win, proceeding to mimick a urinating dog whilst celebrating.^[21][22]

In the 1998 tournament in France, Finidi also played in all the matches, with Nigeria meeting the same fate at the hands of Denmark. He had already vowed to quit international football prior to the competition,^[23] and earned a total of 62 caps.

Managerial career

In September 2021, Enyimba F.C. named Finidi as their new head coach.^[24][25] He won his first title as a coach on the 11th of June 2023, winning the Nigeria Premier League at Onikan Stadium in Lagos.^[26]

In April 2024, he was appointed coach of the Nigeria national football team.^[27][28]

Before this appointment, He was the assistant coach to Jose Peseiro and was the Interim coach who led the Super Eagles to beat Ghana 2-1 ending 18 years of unsuccessful attempts to defeat the Black Stars.^[29]

Style of play

Considered to be one of Nigeria's greatest wingers, Finidi was a physically strong and tall player who was known for his deceptively rapid pace, accurate crosses and efficient dribbles. He was also known for his accurate free kicks. Finidi was not only known for his technical abilities, but he also possessed a unique footballing brain and solid dribbling skills.^[30]

Personal life

The name Finidi translates into English as "a future full of sun". Two of his 11 brothers, Igeniwari and Celestine, were also footballers, and the former was killed during crowd problems in a match.^[1]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[31][32]

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ajax	1993–94	Eredivisie	27	4	3	2	—		4[a]	0	—		34	6
	1994–95		30	8	3	0	—		10[b]	1	1[c]	0	44	9
	1995–96		29	6	1	1	—		10[b]	1	4[d]	1	44	9
	Total		86	18	7	3	—		24	2	5	1	122	24
Betis	1996–97	La Liga	36	10	6	1	—		—		—		42	11
	1997–98		34	9	4	2	—		5[a]	1	—		43	12
	1998–99		36	11	1	0	—		6[e]	2	—		43	13
	1999–2000		24	8	0	0	—		—		—		24	8
	Total		130	38	11	3	—		11	3	—		152	44
Mallorca	2000–01	La Liga	31	5	4	2	—		—		—		35	7
Ipswich Town	2001–02	Premier League	25	6	0	0	0	0	4[e]	1	—		29	7
	2002–03	First Division	10	1	0	0	2	0	5[e]	0	—		17	1
	Total		35	7	0	0	2	0	9	1	—		46	8
Mallorca	2003–04	La Liga	14	0	0	0	—		3[e]	0	—		17	0
Career Total			296	68	22	8	2	0	47	6	5	1	372	83

1. Appearances in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
3. Appearances in Johan Cruyff Shield
4. Two appearances and one goal in UEFA Super Cup, one appearance in Intercontinental Cup, one appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield
5. Appearances in UEFA Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[33]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Nigeria	1991	1	1
	1992	9	0
	1993	6	2
	1994	12	1
	1995	1	0
	1996	1	0
	1997	3	0
	1998	7	0
	1999	1	1
	2000	6	1
	2001	8	0
	2002	7	0
Total		62	6

Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each George goal.

List of international goals scored by Finidi George

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	27 July 1991	National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria	Burkina Faso	7–1	7–1	1992 African Cup of Nations qualification	[34]
2	27 February 1993	Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, Nigeria	Congo	2–0	2–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification	[35]
3	8 October 1993	Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria	Algeria	1–0	1–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification	[36]
4	30 June 1994	Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, USA	Greece	1–0	2–0	1994 FIFA World Cup	[37]
5	23 January 1999	Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria	Burundi	2–0	2–0	2000 African Cup of Nations qualification	[38]
6	3 February 2000	National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria	Morocco	1–0	2–0	2000 African Cup of Nations	[39]

Managerial

As of 30 August 2024^[40]

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record
			P	W	D	L	Win %
Enyimba	15 September 2021	12 May 2024	65	29	15	21	044.6
Nigeria	29 April 2024	15 June 2024	2	0	1	1	000.0
Rivers United	4 July 2024	Present	0	0	0	0	!—
Total			67	29	16	22	043.3

Honours

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96
• Johan Cruyff Shield: 1994, 1995
• UEFA Champions League: 1994–95;^[3] runner-up 1995–96^[41]
• UEFA Super Cup: 1995
• Intercontinental Cup: 1995

Betis

• Copa del Rey runner-up: 1996–97^[5]

Nigeria

• Africa Cup of Nations: 1994;^[16] runner-up 2000;^[17] third place 1992,^[18] 2002^[19]