The AS Roma Academy in Abuja has appointed former Golden Eaglets and Flying Eagles of Nigeria’s coach, John Obuh, as its Technical Director.
The academy made this known in a statement on Monday in Ilorin by its Country Manager, Robinson Adakosa.
Reports indicated that the academy is owned by AS Roma, an Italian professional football club based in Rome.
The club was founded in 1927 and had since been part of the Italian football top-tier for all of its existence, except for the 1951/1952 season.
Roma won Serie A titles in the 1941/1942, 1982/1983 and 2000/2001 seasons, as well as nine Coppa Italia titles and two Supercoppa Italiana titles.
In European competitions, Roma won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in the 1960/1961 season and were runners-up in the 1983/1984 European Cup and the 1990/1991 UEFA Cup.
Adakosa said the academy was delighted to start a new chapter with Obuh because of his wealth of experience.
“It was easy for us to pick Obuh among numerous candidates for the job because we believe he possesses the quality to drive the vision of our academy.
“The kids and other staff will have a lot to learn from him because we believe that he has seen it all as far as football is concerned, not only in Nigeria but globally.
“We believe that this new step is a bold statement that AS Roma Academy Abuja is here to source for young football talents,’’ Adakosa said.
He said AS Roma Academy Abuja was currently opened for trials as well as enrollment into the academy.
Obuh, born in Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia, has more than 20 years coaching experience. He was the coach of the Flying Eagles of Nigeria between 2010 and 2013.
The coach nurtured the Golden Eaglets to win the FIFA Fair Play Award at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where Nigeria finished second behind Switzerland.
Obuh won the 2010 WAFU Club Championship with Sharks FC of Port Harcourt.
The former coach of Kwara United FC of Ilorin also managed several club sides in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).
These include Akwa United FC of Uyo, Niger Tornadoes FC of Minna and Rangers International.
He had stints as a player with the defunct Abiola Babes, Udoji United and Julius Berger, as well as Rangers International and Enyimba International.
