Dutch Eredivisie giants Ajax and Spanish La Liga outfit Real Betis have sent birthday wishes to their former Nigerian star Finidi George who turned 54 on Tuesday.
Both clubs sent their birthday greetings via their X handles.
Betis wrote: “Happy birthday, Finidi.”
While Ajax stated: “Happy birthday, Finidi George! .”
Born in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Finidi played for Calabar Rivers, Iwuanyanwu (now Heartland) and Sharks before joining Ajax in 1993.
At Ajax Ajax he won three Eredivisie titles (1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96), two
Johan Cruyff Shield (1994, 1995) and
UEFA Champions League title (1994–95), one UEFA Super Cup (1995) and one Intercontinental Cup (1995).
On 10 July 1996, Finidi moved to Spain and signed with Real Betis and helped the club finish fourth in the league in his first season (1996-1997).
Also in the 1996-1997 season he played a big role as Betis reach the Copa del Rey final, where they lost 3-2 to Barcelona after extra-time with Finidi scoring.
After Betis’ relegation from the top flight in 2000, Finidi stayed one more year in Spain with Mallorca, after which he joined Premier League team Ipswich Town in 2001 and scored twice in a 3–1 victory over Derby County.
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However, he underperformed overall, with Ipswich also suffering relegation; he was released from his contract in June 2003 and in November 2003, he underwent a trial at former club Mallorca, following which he signed with them.
Finidi made his debut for Nigeria’s Super Eagles in 1991, in a 1992 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Burkina Faso, providing three assists for the late Rashidi Yekini and scoring once in a 7–1 rout.
He scored the goal that secured a 1-1 draw with Algeria and which earned the Super Eagles qualification to the 1994 World Cup, the team’s first appearance at football’s biggest tournament.
He was part of the Super Eagles squad that won the 1994 AFCON and also featured at the 1992, 2000 and 2002 AFCONs as well as the 1994 and 1998 World Cups.
In September 2021, Enyimba named Finidi as their new head coach and he won his first title as a coach on the 11th of June 2023, winning the Nigeria Premier League at the Onikan Stadium in Lagos.
In April 2024, he was appointed coach of the Super Eagles and managed just two competitive matches, which were the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic.
Before his appointment as Super Eagles head coach, he was the assistant coach to Jose Peseiro and was the Interim coach who led the Super Eagles to beat Ghana 2-1, a result which ended 18 years of unsuccessful attempts to defeat the Black Stars.
