Rohr: No Longer At Ease

Since the defeat of the Super Eagles by the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in Uyo in a 2019 AFCON qualifier a fortnight ago, nothing seems the same again for the team, and in particular, its handler, Gernot Rohr. Even the hierarchy of the Nigeria Football Federation that had seemingly been so pleased with the German tactician all along, was jolted to flex some muscles.
The NFF technical department’s first reaction to the defeat was an emergency meeting which reviewed the performance of the Eagles in the ill-fated match and their resolution was a clear expression of loss of confidence in the coach’s judgement as regards who wears the national team jersey.
Apart from the Nigeria Football Federation, the Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung summoned  the NFF to a meeting during which he directed the NFF Technical Committee to bridge the gap that exists between the coaching crew and the football house. Indeed, the minister’s instruction may have informed the committee’s decision to vet lists of future invitees to the national camp.
“We met with Coach Rohr after we had met with the Honourable Minister of Sports and we took decisions to forestall the kind of occurrence that saw us losing scandalously to South Africa on Saturday,” Chairman of the technical committee, Barrister Chris Green said last week.
“Henceforth, the Technical and Development Committee will meet frequently and also scrutinise, critique and vet the list of players that are invited into our national team. The coach will also announce his list at a press conference which will allow sports journalists to ask questions regarding the players invited. This, we believe will aid us in ensuring the right players are given the look in by the national team handlers and mediocre players will not find their way into the team,” Green pointed out.
But Rohr has been quoted as saying he will not, at any point, subject his list to the NFF for scrutiny. He has strong support from some of his colleagues who see the new directive as an interference from the NFF. Former Nigeria international, Emmanuel Amuneke, who led Nigeria to FIFA U-17 World Cup triumph kicked against the NFF directive, saying the measure was a clear show of panic by the football house and a distraction to Rohr.
“They should leave the coach to do his job,” Amuneke said, adding, “you hire a coach to give you results. It is the coach who knows the players that can give him what he wants. It is not about who plays and who did not play. What we should focus on as a team is what do we really want. We have lost our first game but we can still qualify.”
But veteran coach and former technical director, Kashimawo Laloko said he was 100 per cent in agreement with the NFF’s decision. “The directive is normal. All over the world, the head coach, the technical director and the technical committee work hand in hand for the success of the team.”
Laloko said the directive cannot be termed as an interference. “It’s not every player a coach invites to the national team. It is not a friendly where you experiment. Nations Cup and World Cup qualifiers cannot be for all comers. Rohr needs some guidance, and that is what the technical committee is beginning to do” Laloko said.