Super Eagles’ coach, Gernot Rohr has again cast his mind back over the four years he has spent with the team, and posited that he has enjoyed what he described as a different kind of experience he has seen during his ongoing tenure in charge of Nigeria’s national side, megasportsarena.com reports
He noted the highpoints of his tenure being the World Cup 2018 qualifiers and the championship itself, as well as every other stride he has achieved with the squad, for all of which he went on to heap praises on his players for making his stay very interesting, especially as he has been able to work with very young talents.
While comparing what he has seen since taking over the Eagles’ mantle in 2016, Rohr said he is happy with the successes he has achieved in bringing really youthful players to the squad, such that the average age in the team at a point was 18 years, which he believes is a rare feat to pull off, yet he is already thinking about taking the experiment to another level.
Although he admitted in an interview with FIFA.com that the peculiar setting he continues facing in Nigeria is in stark contrast with what he experienced previously in Gabon, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic, Rohr admitted he has a strong desire to stick with the job and revealed that he wants to lead the Eagles to their first ever appearance at the World Cup quarter-finals.
In what appeared like a special 60th Independence Day message for Nigerian football, Rohr also expressed hope that he will be able to help the Eagles qualify for Qatar 2022 World Cup, but admitted it would be difficult to pull off without fans cheering the players on in any of the stadia where they get to play, which he conceded is one of the dire effects of coronavirus.
Heading to the next Mundial and first ever in The Middle East, the Eagles are drawn in Group C of the continent’s series with Cape Verde, Central African Republic and Liberia, from which only the top team will advance to a final home-and-away eliminator against another group winner; and Rohr is confident he will again qualify Nigeria for Qatar 2022.
The Franco-German tactician also took a long rundown of his previous stops, including stints as head coach at Girondins-Bordeaux of France and Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia, where he admits a lot of lessons were learnt and he gained varying ideas and experience along the way.
Rohr stated at length: “I always try to work in an effective and respectful manner, particularly adapting to the African mentality. I started my African journey in Tunisia at Etoile du Sahel. This was my first experience in Africa before switching to national teams.
“In Tunisia, I witnessed first-hand the high standard of organisation and sports facilities, given that the club has won the African Champions League. It was a good experience for me. After that, I had my first taste of coaching a national team with Gabon where I learned a lot and had wonderful memories.
“We developed so much in that period, thanks to the former Minister of Youth and Sports, who made our task easier because he knew football well. We reached the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012, when we made the knockout stage before losing to Mali in a penalty shootout.
“In Niger, they wanted to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations, and we were able to do just that after we beat Guinea. We put in good performances at the 2013 finals in South Africa, a very hot country where we saw temperatures hit 47 degrees. Despite playing on very hard pitches, the players showed great determination and solidarity. I have fond memories of my time in Niger.
“As for Burkina Faso, we went through a difficult time in 2015 when politics took a heavy toll on sports, so I decided to leave after just one year. Nigeria is different from its predecessors in terms of culture and language. There are 200 million people living there.
“After they failed to make the Cup of Nations, they needed to rebuild the squad, so I decided to call up relatively unknown young players who had just turned 18, such as Iheanacho and Iwobi. My assistant and I were able to create harmony and balance in a squad spearheaded by our captain [John] Obi Mikel.
“We had a great first game in Zambia, which gave us a fantastic start. We fielded a young squad that included Iheanacho and Ndidi in addition to Iwobi, who scored. We were 2-0 up by the end of the first half. We had a wonderful goalkeeper in Carl Ikeme, who had a great game, but unfortunately his career was cut short due to illness.
“We then beat Algeria on home soil, which moved us to six points, whereas our opponents had just the one. We continued our successful run by beating Cameron 4-0 and defeating Zambia to finish the qualifiers unbeaten, before we forfeited our game against Algeria (Nigeria fielded an ineligible player) despite the actual game ending in a 1-1 draw.
“(At Russia 2018 World Cup), we played very well particularly against Iceland, and we had a goalkeeper who was only 18. Against Argentina, we needed a few more minutes to hit back [after their late goal], and small details made the difference in the end. We almost got a second penalty, but VAR denied it. What we did in Russia was very encouraging nonetheless.
“I hope fans can attend games next year as this will make the matches more enjoyable. I also hope life will go back to normal so that fans can travel and attend matches, which will in turn bring football back to life. There will be fierce competition regardless, but when we play without fans we’ll miss the excitement.”
