AFCON Manager Reveals BOLD Career Goal

Eric Chelle: Targets Biggest Job in World Football

Though the Africa Cup of Nations may already feel like aeons ago, the fact of the matter is that the final only took place three weeks ago, and for the various nations that took part, there is still no shortage of fallout and change taking place on the African continent.

Pre-tournament favourites Nigeria are no exception to this, with their eventual failure at the semi-final stage at the hands of losing finalists Morocco seen as a failure on manager Eric Chelle’s CV.

The Super Eagles managed just two shots against their nemeses in the semis – they were totally outplayed and, in truth, were exceptionally lucky that the game went as far as a penalty shootout.

However, Chelle has not allowed this latest shortcoming to affect his career ambitions, and late on Monday evening, he revealed that his ultimate goal is to become the first African manager of the biggest, most successful side European football has to offer – Real Madrid.

🚨🗣️ Nigeria national team coach Eric Chelle:

"My biggest dream is to become Real Madrid's first ever African coach." pic.twitter.com/eN64GPoi2O

— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) February 9, 2026

The Biggest Job in Football

The Santiago Bernabéu has welcomed countless elite coaches through its doors, and many of them have gone down as the best to ever coach a side of 11 players - the likes of Mourinho, Zidane, Ancelotti and Vicente del Bosque all picked up hordes of silverware while simultaneously crafting their sides into the most dangerous in world football.

However, Chelle’s ambition of one day sitting at the helm in the Spanish capital is significantly dashed by the fact that Real Madrid have only ever employed coaches from Europe and South America (along with Asia, if you count three separate spells under Yugoslavian coaches).

In the 21st century, Santiago Solari (Oct 2018 - Mar 2019), Manuel Pellegrini (Jun 2009 - May 2010) and Vanderlei Luxemburgo (Dec 2004 - Dec 2005) are the only non-European coaches to have been tasked with leading Los Blancos, and none of their spells in charge were particularly long-lived – it seems that European coaches achieve infinitely more.

Moreover, the closest Real Madrid have ever come to having an African manager was in club legend Zinedine Zidane, who was born to Algerian parents. Adopting France as his nationality, ‘Zizou’ achieved great success in Madrid, winning six trophies in white as a player and coaching the side to a further 11, including a remarkable three Champions League trophies on the bounce, the joint most of any Los Blancos manager alongside Ancelotti.

Chelle has his work cut out for him if he wishes to fulfil his dream – up to now, the Nigeria job is the most noteworthy on his CV, with a job in charge of his home country of Mali and a host of second-string French sides making up the rest of the numbers.

He has not encountered great managerial success either; his only managerial silverware so far is the Unity Cup (effectively a friendly trophy), where nations with large demographics in the city of London play against each other for bragging rights. With only five nations competing, it is not exactly the peak of managerial achievement.

However, with that being said, Chelle is the figurehead of the ever-improving African football scene. Year upon year, the continent produces increasingly competitive teams, and Chelle often receives praise for his progressive approach to management and his pragmatic style, which can change from game to game.

After playing the best Football at AFCON 2025, Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle has his eyes on coaching Real Madrid someday. Well, you can’t blame him#ericchelle #realmadrid #supereagles pic.twitter.com/IvHGvOsTKe

— Football Fans Tribe 🇳🇬 ⚽ (@FansTribeHQ) February 10, 2026

At club level, Chelle has never managed above the French third tier apart from a brief spell in the Algerian top flight – clearly, he still has a long way to go if he is to woo Florentino Perez and his sidekicks in the Real Madrid hierarchy.

However, the Malian is doing all the right things – he has lost just four times in 22 games in charge of Nigeria, and in making a deep run at the AFCON, ensured that his name is now widely recognised both across his home continent and even further afield.

It may not be realistic yet, but Chelle is on the up, and when he does eventually leave his role as head coach of the Super Eagles, expect some European sides to come knocking – that’s where his road to Madrid truly begins.