The last time Nigeria played Ghana, Otto Addo was coach of the Black Stars and a member of Nigeria's famed Class of 1994 was coaching the Super Eagles. This Friday, in an international friendly, a similar scene will play out.
At the time, both Addo and his opposite number, Nigeria's Austin Eguavoen, were holding forte on an interim basis while their respective federations searched for a permanent appointment. This time, Addo has the gig in the bag, but Finidi George... Well, who knows.
That last meeting was two years ago, almost to the day, and the stakes then were higher than just bragging rights (as important as that is when these two sides meet). A World Cup ticket was on the line, and over two legs, Ghana snagged it by a hairline margin. They booked their spot at Qatar 2022 on away goals rule after a 1-1 draw in Abuja following a 0-0 result in Kumasi.
Whatever Friday's friendly result turns out to be, it will be of much less significance than that. But such is the rivalry between these two West African neighbours, who rib each other for everything from cuisine - the Jollof Wars have become legendary across the globe - to political banter that a loss will not be countenanced by either side.
A job on the line for George
New coach Addo, has been handed a permanent deal to manage the team and has some latitude in what will be his first game in charge on a full time basis. The same cannot be said for George. The former Ajax Amsterdam man, who was assistant to Jose Peseiro for the last 21 months, is acting not even in an interim capacity, but as a stop gap.
George is one of many coaches who have applied for the job, and while he is one of the leading candidates, there is no guarantee that he will get the job, although a top NFF official did tell ESPN earlier this week that a good performance would no hurt his chances.
George, who earned 62 caps for Nigeria, understands just how important games against Ghana are for Nigeria... and for him: "They call it friendly matches but there is really nothing friendly when you play, especially Ghana.
"I have been involved in matches against Ghana since the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal. Matches between our countries are serious duels and always seen as battles by our peoples. The Black Stars did not perform that well at the recent Africa Cup of Nations and they will be keen to banish that memory."
It is a rivalry that defender Chidozie Awaziem also understands, telling ESPN: "We know the rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana so we are all prepared, and we are focused for the game. Obviously we are not going in there and start fighting each other but we all want to fight for our country so it is going to be a wonderful game between Nigeria and Ghana."
Nigeria, for their part, got all the way to the Final under Peseiro, with George part of that technical staff, and he says the Super Eagles must maintain those high standards.
He added in his media conference: "We finished in second place at the Africa Cup of Nations and everyone expects us to maintain that high rating and be even better in a short while. Our objective is to get good results in these two matches and stay positive ahead of the World Cup qualifiers."
What style will Finidi's team employ?
Nigeria have long been known as a swashbuckling attacking team. It is what endeared them to the rest of Africa and made fans across the world in their 90s heyday.
While that attacking DNA remained in the years after, even if it was paid lip service on occasion, Peseiro completely threw that culture overboard with his 'defence first' approach. Although it took him to the Final of the AFCON, it didn't endear him to fans or the federation.
Finidi has attacking blood running through his veins, both as a player and as a coach. In Nigeria he played for Calabar Rovers and Sharks FC, teams with free-flowing, attacking football baked into their DNA, before leaving for Ajax, whose total football is the stuff of legend on which today's attacking football principles are built on.
As coach of Enyimba, he led them to the 2023 NPFL title with most goals scored (33) and least goals allowed (16). While they have not been in quite the same lethal form this season, Enyimba currently rank in the top five highest scoring teams in the NPFL after 26 games.
The former winger is no stranger to attacking football. But the key question is whether he will sacrifice the defensive foundations which Peseiro employed to propel the Super Eagles, or put his own stamp on the team ahead of the World Cup qualifiers?
Finidi is used to explosive starts. In his first season with Ajax, he helped them win the Eredivisie title, and a year later, the UEFA Champions League as Louis Van Gaal's Ajax went on a 106-game unbeaten run at home and in Europe.
His Nigeria playing debut could not have been any more explosive. He scored one goal and assisted the legendary Rashidi yekini with four assists in a 7-1 AFCON qualifying win.
As coach of Enyimba, he also made a spectacular start, going his first three league games unbeaten, scoring six goals and allowing none despite taking on the team in the middle of the season from Fatai Osho.
Fair to say that it would be a good bet to put money on another fine start for the Super Eagles with Finidi in charge.
Absent players to content with
Straight off the bat, the former Ipswich man has been dealt a bad hand. Forwards Victor Osimhen and Taiwo Awoniyi have withdrawn due to injury, along with defenders Tyronne Ebuehi and newly invited Gabriel Osho.
These, in addition to captain William Troost-Ekong, who recently underwent season-ending surgery after his majestic showing at AFCON, leaves Finidi with a lot to think about going into his audition.
"We will be missing four players who have pulled out due to injury but I have confidence in the team that we have here that they will wear the green-white-green with pride and with patriotic fervour," was his optimistic take on the issue.
As is to be expected. But the real taste of the pudding will be what adjustments he can make with the players at his disposal.
Keeping the rivalry on the back burner?
Finally, Finidi needs to address the Nigeria-Ghana rivalry issue with his team. As a player, his first AFCON encounter against Ghana was in January 1992, in a semi-final encounter that the Black Stars won 2-1.
Afterwards, the pacy winger was involved when both teams played out a barren draw in a friendly in Lagos in March 1994; a 0-0 draw in Accra in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier; a 3-0 win for Nigeria in Port Harcourt that sent Nigeria through to Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup and a 1-0 win for Nigeria in an AFCON quarter-final match in Bamako in 2002.
As one who played so many matches for the team against Ghana, George understands just how much more than a friendly this is. That does not quite seem to be the case with a player like Alex Iwobi, who does not quite seem to understand the import of games against Ghana.
At least not from the evidence of these words when he was asked about it: "It's like another rivalry against a nation that's close to us so we will give our full 100% to try and get the result we want."
Finidi and Awaziem might need to have a word with the Fulham man...