Tanzania has unveiled former Nigeria international Emmanuel Amunike as their new head coach.
The Tanzania Football Federation confirmed the appointment on their official Twitter handle, with Amunike being unveiled by TFF President Wallace Karia in Dar es Salaam.
Rais wa Shirikisho la Mpira wa Miguu Tanzania (TFF) Wallace Karia amemtangaza kocha Emmanuel Amunike kutoka Nigeria kuwa kocha Mkuu wa Timu ya Taifa ya Tanzania “Taifa Stars” inayodhaminiwa na bia ya Serengeti kwa mkataba wa miaka 2. pic.twitter.com/At1pcBjSw8
— TFF TANZANIA (@Tanfootball) August 6, 2018
In his early career, Amunike won the domestic league titles in Nigeria and Egypt, while playing for Julius Berger F.C. and Zamalek SCrespectively. In 1994, he signed for Sporting Clube de Portugal, scoring seven league goals in his first season, including one against S.L. Benfica in the Lisbon derby (1–0 home win on 1 December 1994), and adding the campaign’s Portuguese Cup.
In the 1996 December transfer window, Amunike was bought by La Liga giants FC Barcelona for $3.6 million, making his official debut on the 22nd in a 1–0 home win against Celta de Vigo and scoring on 15 March of the following year in a 1–0 success at CD Logroñés. His spell in Catalonia would be effectively ended in the 1997 off-season after he suffered a serious knee injury, following which he appeared very rarely for the club (only three league games in three full seasons combined).
Amunike never fully recovered from his condition after being released by Barça in 2000, playing for Albacete Balompié (also Spain, Segunda División), Busan I’Cons (South Korea, only a couple of months) and Al-Wehdat SC (Jordan), retiring from football at the age of 34. In 2008, he spent some time as an assistant coach at Saudi Premier League side Al-Hazm, but left to become a scout for Manchester United.
On 23 December 2008, Amunike took over the head coaching duties at former team Julius Berger, after completing two years of coaching courses in Europe. For a while, he combined this position with the role for the Red Devils, but eventually quit his post in England to concentrate on his coaching career.
Amunike was sacked halfway through his first season after conflicts with management, despite saving the team from relegation. The club however later claimed he was sacked for “over gross insubordination”. He was hired in early November 2009 as the new coach of Ocean Boys FC. He became coach of Al Khartoum SC in November 2017, and left in March 2018.
Amunike played 27 times for Nigeria, scoring nine goals. He was part of the team that participated at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, a first-ever for the African country, scoring against Bulgaria (3–0 group stage win) and Italy (1–2 round-of-16 loss);also in that year, he helped the Super Eagles win the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, eventually being voted African Footballer of the Year.
Additionally, Amunike played all the games at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, scoring the winning goal in the final as the national team won the gold medal. Knee problems kept him out of the 1998 World Cup.