Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt will be the centre attraction on Matchday 4 of the Nigeria Premier League as Rivers United coach Finidi George faces off against his protege and Enyimba counterpart, Yema Olarenwaju, for the first time, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The potentially explosive encounter, a South-South derby, will see both tacticians plotting against each other since parting ways at Enyimba, when Finidi took up an ill-fated Super Eagles appointment.
Finidi handpicked Olarenwaju as his assistant when he was announced as Enyimba’s coach in September 2022. They won a record-extending 9th Nigeria Premier League title for Enyimba.
When he resigned in May 2024, Olarenwaju was In May 2024, when Finidi resigned from his position at Enyimba after he was appointed as coach of Nigeria’s national football team, Olarenwaju was appointed interim head coach of the team till the end of the season and was confirmed as the permanent head coach of the People’s Elephants in August.
Serving as Finidi’s assistant doesn’t make Olarenwaju a pushover in this contest, as he boasts vast coaching experience from holding the reins at third-division side Magate FC, serving in an assistant capacity at defunct MFM FC and the Nigeria U17 national team under Nduka Ugbade, as well as tinkering at Vandrezzer FC.
Under his tutelage, Enyimba are the only Nigerian club left on the continent and have also made a bright start to the 2024/25 NPFL season, winning their first two matches.
Speaking after a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Lobi Stars in their rescheduled match on Wednesday, the coach asserted his focus had shifted to the Port Harcourt clash.
“We’re putting this game behind us and focussing on Rivers United. I’m very excited,” he said.
Finidi has put the Super Eagles disappointment behind him by making a flying start to the campaign, winning two and drawing one in three matches, leaving them second on the log with seven points, just two points adrift of leaders Remo Stars.