Onigbinde: There Is More To Rohr’s Contract Than Nigerians Know
Former Super Eagles coach, Adegboye Onigbinde has asked the Nigeria football Federation, NFF to list the achievements of Gernot Rohr as head coach of the national team adding that there is ‘more to the contract renewal than ordinary Nigerians would see’, Bestchoicesports.com.ng reports
Onigbinde who took the Super Eagles to 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup, described the quest to extend the contract of Gernot Rohr as coach of the Super Eagles by the federation as a ‘circus’.
Rohr has been on the job since 2016 and it was under his watch that the Super Eagles qualified for both the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup and the Egypt 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). While the team failed to progress to the knockout stages of Russia 2018, they came out of Cairo with a bronze medal.
The Octogenarian emphatically said his stand on Rohr should not be presumed as that of a job seeker, adding he is enjoying his retirement at 82 after contributing his quota to the development of Nigerian football.
“When I heard about the renewal of coach Rohr’s contract, I put up a message to the NFF asking them to highlight his achievements over the last three years he has been with us,” Onigbinde who led the then Green Eagles to finish second at the 1984 AFCON told NationSport.
“Of course, I appreciated his (Rohr) efforts but what are his spectacular achievements in three years with the Super Eagles that previous Nigerian coaches have not achieved?,” he queried. “That is to tell you that there is more to it than what the ordinary eyes can see.”
The former CAF and FIFA coaching instructor said Rohr has not done anything meaningful to uplift the standard of players from the domestic league.
“We have a foreign coach who has been with us for more than three years and the best he has achieved in three years was a bronze medal from the AFCON,” explained Onigbinde who nearly conquered the continent in 1984 with Shooting Stars of Ibadan in the rested African Cup of Champions now known as CAF Champions League Trophy. “Our coach who we are trying to renew his contract keep saying that the quality of Nigerian football (domestic league) is poor but are Nigerian players born differently?
