Van Gaal rejects Nigeria
Posted: 2010-02-07 20:32

Dutch coach Louis van Gaal has ruled himself out of the Nigeria job, saying he would see out his two-year contract with German club Bayern Munich.

It means that the former Barcelona coach, who joined Munich on July 1, 2009, will not be available until 2011.

Van Gaal was one of six candidates shortlisted by the Nigeria Football Federation after a meeting last Friday which ended with Shuaibu Amodu being demoted to coach a team of locally-based players.

But the Dutchman, who has been linked with the Nigeria job since 2005, says he is unavailable at this time.

"I have a contract and I'll respect it. It's not the first time that Nigeria show interest in me, but Bayern Munich represents a great challenge. I think that Bayern will be my last club, after that I'll go to Portugal and there I'll wait a nice offer to guide a great national team," van Gaal said.

The Bayern coach is one of two high profile candidates shortlisted for the post. The other, current Russia coach Guus Hiddink, is also expected to rule himself out of the running in the coming days.

However, one high-profile name who was not shortlisted, but who is believed to be keen on the Nigeria post is Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trappatoni.

The Italian is said to have a clause in his contract that allows him to walk away from the Republic job anytime until March 10.


Colin Udoh