By Amaechi Agbo

In August 2016, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF appointed German coach, Gernot Rohr as the head coach of the national team, the Super Eagles.

Rohr’s appointment came after French coach, Paul Le Guen rejected NFF’s reported appointment citing lack of agreement for the reason for turning down the offer.

Gernot Rohr was unveiled in Abuja in August 2016 on a two-year deal.

The former Niger coach left his Burkina Faso position to take up the job in Nigeria and the reason he left Burkina Faso has been revealed.

Speaking in an interview with FIFA, Rohr who managed other Africa countries such as Tunisia, Gabon, Niger, said he quit his last job in Burkina Faso due to political interference in football matters in that country.

“I started my African journey in Tunisia at Etoile du Sahel, Rohr started.

“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,” he stated.

In August 2016, Gernot Rohr was named manager of the Nigeria national football team, Super Eagles by the NFF President, Amaju Pinnick

He won his first game in charge defeating Tanzania by a lone goal in Uyo, in 2018 Pre-World Cup qualifiers.

He lost his first match on 10 June 2017 as Nigerian senior coach after a 2–0 home loss to South Africa in 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

On 7 October 2017, his Super Eagles became the first African side to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup after a 1–0 win against Zambia.

On 17 July 2019, Rohr led Nigeria to a third-place finish at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

On 27 May 2020, president of the NFF Amaju Melvin Pinnick announced that all contractual agreement has been concluded for Rohr to extend his contract with the team.

He was given a target of guiding the team to win the 2021 Africa Nation’s Cup to be hosted by Cameroon. The new contract also includes qualifying the Super Eagles to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.