IKENWA NNABUOGOR ponders on what stuff actually Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr is made of…
Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr scores a lot of firsts among the numerous coaches who have handled the national team in many years.
First, never has any coach since Nigeria played their first international match not fielding any player from the local league as Rohr has always claimed that the best of Nigerian players are in Europe.
Never in the history of Nigeria football has this many number of players overseas played in the national team.
No fewer than eight players born of mixed parentage and of Nigerian parentage born in Europe are currently playing in the national team.
A lot more are on the way as Rohr appears to be more interested in convincing players in diaspora of switching allegiances and donning the Nigerian colours rather than unearthing local league talents and giving them opportunities.
Previous coaches explored the length and breadth of this country to expose talents notable among them were Daniel Amokachi, Okechukwu Uche, Finidi George, Nwankwo Kanu and a host of others who spring boarded the Eagles to European stardom.
In the past, late coach Otto Gloria blooded a diaspora player John Chiedozie of Leyton Orient, though born in Nigeria, into the national team in 1981, but it was not until lately that the trend was made more prominent by Rohr.
Coaches Clemens Westerhof and Christian Chukwu brought Reuben Agboola and Abbey George much later.
Rohr arrived in 2016 and has used more players of Nigerian descent than any previous coach making the national team look like a soft landing spot for players who have failed to play for their adopted countries.
The big questions continue to beg – Is Rohr actually good lazy to get down to work and produce players just like Westerhof and others did?
What’s the future of home-grown talents when they appear to be irrelevant in the eyes of the national team coach?
How long will Eagles continue to convince these diaspora stars to play for us and there are many more waiting to be convinced to switched international allegiance?
Should the NPFL be scrapped since the chances of players from the domestic championship to play for the national team continue to dim by day?
The answers to these posers are simple and staring us in the face.
Rohr was rewarded for winning AFCON bronze medal with a contract extension, while his predecessors, Stephen Keshi and Shuaibu Amodu, were sacked for winning the AFCON title and AFCON bronze medal, respectively.
It’s glaring that we are in bed with mediocrity and the current head will get the national team nowhere.
Super Eagles, one-time fourth best team in the world, are a world-class brand and one of the best coaches in the world should be heading them.
This is a dumb question, every national team player is already made player. National teams are not where to start a career. You must have to start your career with a club, show how you can distinguish yourself from others to attract the attention of your national team handlers not the other way around.