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Tag: Rohr

  • Victor Osimhen has been unlucky – Rohr

    Victor Osimhen has been unlucky – Rohr

    Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has revealed Napoli forward Victor Osimhen has been unlucky this season but he is confident the forward will soon start impressing with the Serie A side.

    The 22-year-old teamed up with the Parthenopeans last summer on a club-record fee of €80 million following his eye-catching displays for Lille during his one-year stay with the club.

    The centre-forward has, however, struggled to play regularly, owing to injury, suspension and coronavirus-related problems.

    Rohr has highlighted the qualities of the Super Eagles forward and believes Napoli fans will soon see his best after overcoming his injury problems.

    “Victor Osimhen’s season has so far been unlucky, between injuries and Covid. Already in October, he could not play with our national team two games, in Austria, because he was in quarantine after some of his teammates at Napoli had contracted Covid,” Rohr told Kiss Kiss Napoli.

    “I spoke with the boy and he told me that he is physically and mentally fine. He is ready to return to the field with Napoli and also with the national team.

    “Victor can play as a central striker in both 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1. They are two game systems that we use in the national team. He has been a permanent player in the Nigerian national team for five years.

    “His spirit of sacrifice is an example for all. You will soon see his real value. In the national team he is our point of reference for the attack, he has collected an important legacy in that role, that of [Odion] Ighalo.

    “In the next qualifying matches for the African Cup, we hope to find him with great energy. Napoli are a great team but have been unlucky this season.

    “Gattuso is a good coach and Victor told me he trusts him a lot and what he’s teaching him. I think he can get results already this season.

  • Super Eagles coach, Rohr hints on Ighalo’s return

    Super Eagles coach, Rohr hints on Ighalo’s return

    Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr has said ex-Super Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo would be allowed to return to the national team if he impresses with his new side, Al Shabab FC.

    “There’s no reason not to take him if he is doing well. The question is if he wants to come back, Rohr said in an interview.

    “We hope so because he’s an experienced player. He can be very useful to his partners. We are waiting but firstly, he has to play.

    Ighalo, 31 ended his international career after the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. He ended up as the competition’s top scorer with Nigeria coming third in the competition.

    Ighalo joined Saudi side Al Shabab recently, after from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua on a two-and-half-year deal.

    He also had a short one-year stint with Premier League giants Manchester United

  • NFF to settle Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr’s debts

    NFF to settle Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr’s debts

    The Nigeria Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick said his administration is working to settle the debts they owe Super Eagles players and coaches despite the difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

    Pinnick did not shy away from the financial challenges facing the NFF and the struggles they encounter in discharging their financial obligations to Nigeria’s football teams.

    “It’s a kind of government responsibility to pay the players and the [Nigerian] president is very keen on helping to sort it.

    Although salaries and allowances of national coaches have been slashed, coach Gernot Rohr is being owed five months salary, with goalkeeper coach Alloy Agu awaiting 22-months unpaid wages while the Super Eagles are yet to receive their bonuses and allowances for 19 months.

    Pinnick faulted Covid-19 for its negative impact on businesses, including the NFF premium sponsors Aiteo Group, however, he disclosed his administration’s commitment in paying off the debts as soon as possible.

    “With the pandemic and challenges facing oil companies, things have been tough for our sponsors Aiteo, who are responsible for the payment of coaches,” Pinnick told BBC Sport.

    “But we’ve moved to pay Alloy [Agu] nine months of his wages from what we have left and coach Gernot too will be sorted. We don’t want to owe and that is the mentality in which I came into the NFF.

    “There are circumstances beyond our control. It is not a good thing to owe and we don’t like the image it creates.

    “We are looking at every means not to owe. The toxic atmosphere has really affected our sponsorship drive but we can’t give excuses.

    “We are working religiously and assiduously to resolve this as soon as possible.

    “It’s a kind of government responsibility to pay the players and the [Nigerian] president is very keen on helping to sort it.

    “I was in Abuja and I found out it’s only a matter of the modalities delaying paying the allowances and bonuses, any moment from now it will be sorted out.”

  • Daniel Amokachi blasts NFF over Rohr’s new contract

    Daniel Amokachi blasts NFF over Rohr’s new contract

    Daniel Amokachi has blasted the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for allowing a $2 million compensation clause in Gernot Rohr’s contract.

    Rohr was appointed as coach of the Super Eagles in 2016 following Sunday Oliseh’s resignation as manager of the national team.

    The former international, under whom Nigeria enjoyed an impressive stat of losing only two games in 14 matches, explained a number of reasons for resigning, including the failure of the federation to support him and also over his unpaid wages and contract violation.

    Special assistant on sports to Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari, Amokachi, revealed Rohr’s contract contains a huge $2 million compensation clause and has lambasted the federation for the deal.

    “For the administration to bring somebody like Oliseh and not giving him time because he’s Nigerian and they let go,” Amokachi told Brila FM.

    “To bring in somebody like Amuneke and not giving him time then they let him go. Then you bring a new coach where those two coaches are far better than him; pedigree-wise and portfolio-wise.

    “But still, they gave the machinery a lot of money, $60 plus with all the bonuses, if they play two matches in a month, then you’re talking over $100,000.

    “And then at the end of the day, you put a $2m clause on a coach that has never won anything. A coach that came from Burkina Faso to Tunisia then to Nigeria and you put a $2m clause, that’s the first I’m hearing such.

    “If you were bringing Guardiola you can put $10m if he says he wants it because you know who he is; he has won laurels. But for a coach that has not done anything, not achieved anything and you put a $2m clause? There’s a lot of failure in that.

    “I’ll not rate them (NFF) out of 10, but all these things I’ve broken down will tell anybody with common sense where I’m coming from.”

     

  • There’s no basis to sack Rohr now – Pinnick

    There’s no basis to sack Rohr now – Pinnick

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick has said that there are no plans to sack Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr as he further comments that the German deserves to keep his job.

    The NFF president said this in an interview with BBC Sports Africa while reacting to Super Eagles’ recent woeful performance against Sierra Leone.

    Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr has come under fire following a run of four games without a win, and more criticism followed after the Super Eagles let a 4-0 lead slip at home as Sierra Leone fought back to draw 4-4 in their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

    Speculations around Rohr’s sack heightened after sports minister Sunday Dare took to social media to question the ‘suitability and competence’ of the coach on the back of the 0-0 draw in the reverse fixture.

    However, Pinnick has said that recent sloppy performances of the Eagles are not enough to sack Rohr as the team still tops the Nations Cup group after four matches.

    “His statistics speak volume for him, so on what indexes do we want to sack him considering the contract recently signed by both parties.

    “No matter how emotional and disappointed the fans are, there’s no basis to sack him now and he deserves to keep his job.”

  • Sports Minister, Sunday Dare hints at Rohr’s sack over failure to defeat Sierra Leone

    Sports Minister, Sunday Dare hints at Rohr’s sack over failure to defeat Sierra Leone

    It appears Super Eagles boss Gernot Rohr might have managed his last game in charge of the national team after the Minister of Youths and Sports, Sunday Dare questioned his suitability for the job and threatened the “needful will be done” in response to the team’s uninspiring draws with Sierra Leone in the 2021 AFCON qualifiers.

    Rohr’s position, long under scrutiny, has become perilous after his team blew a four goal lead to draw 4-4 with the Leone Stars in Benin before playing out a disappointing goalless stalemate in Freetown.

    Victory in either game would have ensured Nigeria’s place in Cameroon with two games to spare but the Eagles will now wait until March 2021 for another chance to secure their spot.

    With the draws, Nigeria failed to win a game in a calendar year for the first time since 1974 after also drawing with Tunisia and losing to Algeria in friendly games played in 2020.

    Despite recently signing a two-year extension, the results have left Rohr on the brink with Nigerians turning on him and Dare, whose opposition to the coach is public knowledge, all but confirming Rohr is as good as gone.

    Of particular concern is Rohr’s seeming inability to eradicate what has become a common thread in critical matches where the Super Eagles have fallen short.

    Against Argentina at the 2018 World Cup, Rohr failed to stem the tide of Argentine pressure with the game poised at 1-1 and Nigeria needing just a draw to make the second round. Marcus Rojo then scored a late winner for the South Americans to dump Nigeria from the tournament with many laying the blame for Nigeria’s ouster at the feet of Rohr.

    The Franco-German failed to learn the lessons from that defeat and a year on at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt, the Eagles found themselves in a similar situation, tied 1-1 with Algeria in the semifinal with minutes left and extra time beckoning.

    Many felt Nigeria would have gone on to win against a clearly tiring Algerians in extra time if Rohr had been proactive but it was the North Africans who triumphed and ended up winning the tournament after Riyad Mahrez’s last minute free kick goal consigned the Eagles to yet another painful but ultimately avoidable defeat under Rohr.

    Notwithstanding those disappointments, the former Gabon manager’s contract was renewed this year albeit on vastly reduced terms on the back of two impressive wins against Benin and Lesotho last November as the Eagles started their AFCON qualifying campaign in style.

    But the team has yet to win another match and the back-to-back draws against the Leone Stars have thrown up questions about Rohr’s future once again.

    Dare who was roundly criticised for his role in the Benin debacle even his predecessor Dalung weighing in after he participated in the team’s training, has been publicly critical of Rohr in the wake of the Sierra Leone games.

    It appears Rohr’s head is now firmly on the chopping block with Dare clearly signalling his intent to let the axe descend at any moment.

    “The performance of the Super Eagles from their last two matches calls to question the suitability and competences of Technical Adviser, Rohr. Nigerian football deserves better. The needful will be done. Apologies to all football lovers,” the minister wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

  • Rohr must now consider NPFL players for Super Eagles – Kazeem

    Rohr must now consider NPFL players for Super Eagles – Kazeem

    Tunde Kazeem, a former Director of Sports in Kwara, has urged Super Eagles’ coach Gernot Rohr to consider using players from the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) in the senior national team.
    Kazeem told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja that this was quite necessary now in view of recent performances by the Super Eagles.
    NAN reports that Kareem spoke against the background of the team’s goalless draw away to the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers.
    The Leone Stars had also forced the Eagles to a 4-4 draw on Friday, after the home side had led 4-0..
    A very disappointed Kazeem said the results were embarrassing, pointing out that Tuesday’s draw in Freetown showed that the team and its officials needed to brace up.
    “I am not impressed at all. I was thinking they (the team) were going to Freetown to redeem their image, not knowing they will come out with this kind of result.
    “The coach and the players should brace up. I have really not seen any technical input he (Rohr) has impacted in that team. I don’t see any reason why we can’t beat Sierra Leone.
    “I think it is best for Rohr to look inwards. If the foreign-based players cannot give us what we want, I am sure the home-based will.
    ” The foreign-based players are more focused on their clubs, but we have hungry and talented boys at home. What then is the essence of the NPFL?
    “Rohr should consider the players in the NPFL,” Kazeem said.
  • Save Super Eagles, sack Rohr now, Gaiya urges NFF

    Save Super Eagles, sack Rohr now, Gaiya urges NFF

    Godfrey Gaiya, a former House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Sports, has called for the sack of Super Eagles Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr following the team’s poor outing in the two international friendlies played in Austria.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Super Eagles ended their Tuesday’s friendly with Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles 1-1, four days after they lost 0-1 to the Desert Foxes of Algeria in a similar encounter.

    Gaiya in an interview with NAN after the match said that Rohr was good as his last games.

    He wondered what would happen in a competitive match if the “highly rated” coach could not defeat any African opponent in both friendlies played in Austria.

    “We need another coach that will give us a national team; Gernot Rohr keeps embarking on trials.

    “He brings people from nowhere to come and do what they like, and tomorrow, he brings a new set.

    “We don’t have a team. We have always advocated for a very competent coach, whether foreign or local because the colour of one’s skin does not give him or her credentials of a good coach.

    “A good coach is a coach that can transform our football and uplift our game to enable Nigeria be among best football playing countries. I am particular about what the coach is bringing in to the national team.

    “I want to see my national team rated among the best. I know we have players that can do that, but as it is now, we cannot see anything good,” Gaiya said.

    The former lawmaker urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to review its contract with Rohr, noting that rewards and sanctions must be part of every contract if positive results must be achieved.

    Gaiya added that the Super Eagles cannot remain stagnant because of the contract given to an individual.

    “In every contract you sign there are clauses and rules of engagement and there are conditions for the contract to be valid.

    “So, if I sign a contract with a low achiever and I have an ambition to get to somewhere and I know that the contract I signed with Mr A cannot take me to where I am going to, then, I should apply the clauses to cancel out the deal.

    “At any point in time, if there is any reason to be convinced that my employee cannot take me to where I am going, I cannot be tied down because I signed a contract.

    “So if the contract that was signed cannot take us to where we are going, then let it be quickly reviewed to enable Nigeria get to its football destination,” he added.

    Gaiya stressed that good coaches usually deliver on tough assignments or matches, Rohr should not be an exception to the norm.

  • Super Eagles must step up against Tunisia – Rohr

    Super Eagles must step up against Tunisia – Rohr

    Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has urged the team to step up their game when they meet Tunisia in a friendly on Tuesday.

    Nigeria lost 1-0 against Algeria on Friday in another build-up game which left many fans frustrated at the performance of the team.

    The defeat also ended the fine form of the three-time African champions, who had been unbeaten in their previous five games.

    Rohr has charged the players available to improve their effort against the Carthage Eagles and secure a positive result in the match.

    “We definitely must put up a greater effort against the Tunisians,” Rohr told the media.

    “It is an opportunity for some of the players to rise up to the occasion, stake a claim. They are ready to go and I believe we would see a much better game on Tuesday.”

  • Galadima defends Eagles’ loss, says Rohr still trying out players

    Galadima defends Eagles’ loss, says Rohr still trying out players

    Ibrahim Galadima, a former Chairman of Nigeria Football Association (NFA), has called for caution in assessing the Super Eagles in the wake of Friday’s 0-1 loss to African champions Algeria.

    Galadima said on Saturday that this was necessary because the team was in the process of assessing new players ahead of qualification for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

    The Desert Foxes beat the Super Eagles in a friendly in Austria, thereby extending their unbeaten run in all matches to 19.

    “The idea of the friendly match was to exploit the benefit of a great abundance of players all over the world.

    “The match was organised to test some players who have been invited into the national team and we can all see that from the line-up.

    “So, it was an experimental game. It was not all about winning or losing, it was a friendly game. It has helped to show that we have good players both home and abroad,” the former NFA chairman said.

    He said the team’s Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr, and his assistants should presently be observing the players so as to get those who would play a greater role in future encounters.

    “These friendlies are designed to prepare the national team for the AFCON qualifiers and the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

    “Rohr will definitely call for more players, because this is the building process of the team! and I believe they (players) will do better in their next match against Tunisia,” the Chairman of Kano State Sports Commission said.

    The Super Eagles will meet Tunisia on Tuesday in another friendly encounter in Austria, while Algeria take on Mexico.