 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1940-05-03)3 May 1940 (age 85) | ||
| Place of birth | Beek,Netherlands | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 1976 | Vitesse Arnhem | ||
| 1980 | Feyenoord | ||
| 1983–1984 | MVV | ||
| 1984–1985 | Vitesse Arnhem | ||
| 1989–1994 | Nigeria | ||
| 1998–2000 | Zimbabwe | ||
| 2000 | Mamelodi Sundowns | ||
| 2001 | Dynamos Harare | ||
| 2004 | Bush Bucks | ||
Clemens Westerhof (born 3 May 1940) is a Dutchfootball manager, who has worked in various football positions on the African continent since 1989.
He is most noted for his success with theNigerian national team. Under Westerhof, the Super Eagles won the1994 African Cup of Nations and also qualified for the second round of theFIFA World Cup that year.
Westerhof began his career as an assistant coach inFeyenoord in the DutchEredivisie. He has also coachedVitesse Arnhem, theZimbabwean national team, the Sporting Lions of Zimbabwe's Premier League, and theBush Bucks[1] andMamelodi Sundowns of South Africa'sPremier Soccer League. In addition, he has served as technical director of theHarare-based Agatha Sheneti Youth Academy and also of the Harare United club, which was linked to the academy. In 2001, he was technical director ofDynamos Harare, Zimbabwe's biggest club, but lasted in the position just a few months.
In late 1989, Westerhof was signed by the Nigerian Football Association to coach the national team. After the team failed to qualify for the1990 FIFA World Cup by failing to get at least a draw away toCameroon on the last day of qualifying, Westerhof set about rebuilding the team. His effect was immediate, as Nigeria reached the final of the1990 African Cup of Nations where they lost 1–0 to the host nationAlgeria. In the lead-up to the1992 African Cup of Nations, the Nigerian team which had adopted the nickname "Super Eagles" since losing controversially to Cameroon in the1988 African Cup of Nations final match tried to justify the tag thanks to their recent winning run under Westerhof. They placed third at that tournament, losing to archrivalsGhana in the semi-final.
In 1992, Nigeria began its quest to qualify for its first-ever FIFA World Cup, which would be held in the United States two years later. Placed in a group withSouth Africa andCongo, Nigeria finished top of its group in the first round, winning three games and drawing one, and did not concede a single goal in all four games. For the second and final round, Nigeria was grouped withIvory Coast andAlgeria. The Super Eagles won two games, drew one and lost one, and finished equal with Ivory Coast on points but advanced to the World Cup with a superiorgoal difference.
Nigeria entered the 1994 World Cup in Group D withArgentina,Bulgaria andGreece. Despite losing 2–1 to Argentina, wins over Bulgaria and Greece allowed the Super Eagles to do the unthinkable and finish top of the group, advancing to the second round.
Westerhof's side facedItaly in the second round. A first-half goal byEmmanuel Amuneke gave Nigeria a 1–0 lead at half-time, and they appeared to be heading for an upset win whenRoberto Baggio scored to tie the game just two minutes from the final whistle. Baggio scored again from a penalty kick, 10 minutes into extra time, giving Italy a 2–1 win and knocking Nigeria out of the tournament.
Despite the defeat, the Super Eagles' World Cup campaign was considered a tremendous success, and Westerhof and the players were hailed as heroes on their return to Nigeria.[citation needed]
Between the qualifying and the final round of the 1994 World Cup, Nigeria qualified for and competed in the 1994 African Cup of Nations inTunisia. After finishing top of their qualifying group (which also featuredUganda,Sudan andEthiopia), Nigeria advanced to the final round where they were placed in Group B withEgypt andGabon. They drew with Egypt and beat Gabon to advance to the quarter-finals where they beatZaire.
A penalty shootout win overIvory Coast in the semi-finals set up a final match againstZambia, which they won 2–1. It was Nigeria's second African Cup of Nations championship, the first since1980, and the first trophy in Westerhof's career as a manager.
Westerhof is credited with turning Nigeria into a perennial powerhouse in African football and showing that they, and other African nations, can compete on the world stage. He is responsible for what could be described as a "golden" period in Nigerian football. Players such asJay-Jay Okocha,Sunday Oliseh,Nwankwo Kanu,Rashidi Yekini,Daniel Amokachi and others, who all went on to successful careers with various high-profile European clubs, entered the world spotlight while playing under Westerhof.
Following a 2–1 defeat byItaly at the 1994 FIFA World Cup which eliminated Nigeria from the tournament,strikerRashidi Yekini was critical of both Westerhof and his teammates, telling reporters:
Finidi George andEmmanuel Amuneke were two other Nigerian international players reported to have fallen out of favour with Westerhof;[3] both players were dropped from the team by Westerhof at different points during his tenure as manager, only for the players to be subsequently reinstated in the team following the Nigerian Football Association's decision to overrule Westerhof.
Westerhof sued theSouth African Football Association in 2000 over an alleged breach of contract, claiming they had picked him to coach that country'snational team. He was eventually passed over for the position, however, and it was given toCarlos Queiroz. The dispute was settled out-of-court, with Westerhof receiving less than the originally reportedR1 million (approx. US$150,000).[4]
Westerhof was married toZimbabwean modelTendayi Westerhof (née Katekete); however, their marriage ended in a much-publicised divorce in 2002 in her home country that resulted in his being forced to leave to South Africa as hiswork permit had expired in Zimbabwe. She told theFinancial Gazette newspaper that, "I have four children with three men... and not four" and that her ex-husband had not paid a "single cent" towards the support of their daughter, Aaliyah Nyashadzashe. Tendayi also went public with her HIV positive status, blaming Westerhof for it, allegations which he denied.[5]
In 2005, as Nigeria's national team searched for a manager to help them qualify for the2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany (a campaign which ultimately failed), Westerhof was named as one of the candidates for the job. He quickly ruled himself out of the race.[6]
Clemens Westerhof international tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
