Former Super Eagles captain, Nwankwo Kanu, has backed Gernot Rohr to continue as coach of the team, adding that it will be a wrong move to relieve the Franco-German of his duties with Nations Cup and World Cup qualifiers looming.
The 66-year-old has five months left on his current contract with the Nigeria Football Federation.
While the likes of Segun Odegbami, former captain of the national team, have called for a local coach to replace the 66-year-old, the former Arsenal star disagrees.
“I don’t think we should go for another coach,” Kanu told Opera.
“He is not doing badly.
“Yes, there is room for improvement but that doesn’t mean that he is a bad coach. If you bring a new coach now, definitely we have to start from the beginning, start changing program and tactics and all that.”
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“If we really wanted to do that, we could have done that since. But as it is now, the boys are gelling well and working very hard under him. We are not doing badly. All the friendly games have been okay, so why should we now change him?
“I think we have to leave him alone, focus on this World Cup qualifier and try to advance from the group.”
Kanu was also optimistic that Nigeria will book a place at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“I am 100 per cent sure we can do it. If you look at our boys, they are doing well in their clubs and if you look at the team in general, you’ll see there is improvement everywhere.
“The friendly games can also confirm that. They did well in all their friendly games. But now this is the proper group game so I know they are going to do us proud. So I have no doubt we will qualify from this group.”
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COMMENTS
Spoken like a true legend, big ups to king Kanu may ur days be long
Just how to be a legend. Words with astute reasoning. I respect not a man in the flesh but the man in terms of his character. Bless you Kanu.
You are there at Glory….
Very well @ Oakfield. People that stand for truth barely have friends and thats what feels with joy. My best friend is truth whose other names are honesty n decency.I look for these in people irrespective of age, race, status, education, position, tribe etc, reason I easily pull out from flesh friendship, when those three are missing or when there are no effort to glorify those three qualities.
What else do I have to say?? Words of a true legend. “Why do u have to change a coach when the team and players are doing well””? (A question that needs to be answered with facts by some good for nothing professional detractors) Just like he rightly pointed out, the focus should be on having a very good preparation for the world cup rather all these distractions coming from some over hyped entities with nothing to offer. Leave Mr rohr Alone and focus on your personal problems! The truth when spoken stands very tall and firm for all to see. It is only a wicked person that would want rohr to be changed. It’s been bad market for them since rohr came on board as they find it hard to advertise players again through the eagles. Most of them have football academies scattered across the country and have strong ties with some soccer agencies around the world. #rohrstays
Now Oakfield, this is how to go about it. I am in agreement with everything you said. There was no need for the previous approach you took. Rohr must not be sacked, he is one of the best coaches we have had in a long time. However, try to refrain from using insults to tackle issues. You sound more articulate when you do what you just did.
Nice.
@sunny,my brother,nobody here wants the downfall of our darling team, the super eagles, which seems to be the only thing that gives us joy amidst the troubles we are facing in this country and the only thing I believe we’ve gotten right but I get so infuriated when some people who ought to have known better by way of experience and otherwise would be thinking like people who have no thinking faculty. I mean , it’s really uncalled for for some people bcs of their own selfish reasons fight and work tirelessly for the downfall of a man who has brought so much stability to the team and has made the super eagles a respectable brand again in the world of football. It’s witchcraft and evil and anyone bent on truncating the the efforts of another man deserves little or no respect at all bcs the younger generation look ups to him to lead and act by example. Segun Odegbami should retrace his steps and apologise to rohr and Nigerians for his destructive antecedents and actions in all ramifications. We lost our match against Algeria in the last nation’s cup as a result of a very useless and distracting article he published on the eve of a very important match of huge magnitude. He doesn’t know the level of damage hes done to his reputation in the world over as a result. I retract the supposed insults hauled at you and I have forgiven u of the ones hauled at me. We need to join hands together and protect good things whenever they come our way. God Bless…
God bless you my brother. We all know they all have their agenda. Like you rightly said, it’s all about their pocket for them. You are always spot on in your opinion. Sorry for the back and forth between us.
Like I have always said to those throwing in the names of ex internationals like Kanu,Yobo ,Mikel etc. To take over the coaching helms of the national team; you can’t push a man to a job he isn’t even interested in at the first place. Kanu,(and to an extent Yobo) hasn’t ever spoken up of getting into coaching and right in this interview he just proved that by stating the obvious and supporting the Coach and the team.
“Yes there is room for improvement, that doesn’t mean he is a bad coach..”
Exactly! We all have acknowledged Rohr’s fault lines but in terms of results he is doing fine, he can always improve on these faults as long as we keep criticising him when necessary on those faults. Rohr is someone who learns ,taken from past antecedence.
And it is those results,the belief in Rohr and his team ,that made Kanu makes this bold statement with all confidence;
” I am 100percent sure we can do it.”
Exactly Kanu . Exactly….
Funny to see how sensible talks are coming from KANU and nonsense are coming from some old fools… Elders are known for settling matters with proper steps but reverse is the case for some. Is it not even better to keep quiet than opening one’s mouth to confirm all doubts of being a fool….
God bless u KANU, you have spoken the outright truth, let haters get themselves enough snipers
Well said @Oakfield. The coded reason, many are dragging Rohr to the slaughter slab despite this man’s obvious efforts at making SE great again, is simply because he’s punctured their business, by not giving them chance to use our darlings SE platform to market their players to foreign clubs. Do your checks n you ‘d realized most of Rohrs critic are connected to some football academies or close to owners of such academies. These don’t give a hoot whether SE fail or not, all they care is their player gets that, be it even a 15 minutes chance to display his wares to foreign clubs or agents they have connections with. Some of their cohorts in the media use their platform too to actualise this selfish desire. They don’t really care about SE or Nigeria. Imagine, at one point they say invite homebased, why? so they can develop. Develop towards? gaining the chance to attract foreign clubs. Really? Same come back to say our local league is lacking competitive edge as against other leagues. Now tell me, when all our best local players are moving out of the country, how is the local league going to competitive? Where has brain drain helped develop a nation. Why will anyone who claim to love his country promote brain drain. Shouldn’t the reverse be the case for a true patriot? Which in this case,is, drain those foreign countries of our talented footballers and bringing them back home? But self acclaimed patriots wants us to drain our league of its talents and give to other countries. Reason? Cos they only thinking about their pockets and themselves n not how to develop our football in total. England always do everything to drain other countries of their talents in almost every faculty of life, reason they are developing fast, the premier League is top today for that reason. But our elders that are supposed to be leading us in the right are trying to put the loop around our neck to sell again as slaves while they laugh out their foolishness to the bank and sad as it seems, many just about to be sold are protecting them.
Glory….as a matter of fact, which league dem dey drain sef…? Where are the products of this league sef…? Does our leagues actually develop players or make them worse…?
Look at our best talents in Europe today, how many of them played in the Nigerian league…? What of the national team… currently, apart from Akpeyi and Ezenwa, how many played in the league before moving to Europe..?
Academy products from Nigeria secure contracts in Europe much more than players who are playing in the so-called league.
The question behoves…..DO WE HAVE A LEAGUE…???
God bless u again @Glory…..you’ve added the icing on the cake…
God bless u again @glory
God bless too @Oakfield. I feel deeply saddened by the state of things in Nigeria which is a true function of the mindset of the greater percentage of nigerians. God deliver my country Nigeria.
Thanks a lot fMr. Kanu. What we, the patriotic Nigerians are asking NFF is quite simple and straight.
Is idea NFF renew coach Rohr’s contract that will include our ex players or nothing.
Mr. Rohr need help. Imama and Agu are not the right men to assist Oga Rohr.
I’m so glad that NFF are feeling the heat now. That is why waiting to make a right decision on Oga Rohr.
We patriotic Nigerians are tirelessly to make sure Super Eagles is back. I have no time to explain myself.
Lastly, we hire, we fire. NFF should be careful. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
this is how some evil people remove Jonathan and vote for change Buhari, Odegbami didnt play big club in Europe and he lack champoions league experience and world cup.
https://www.owngoalnigeria.com/2020/01/29/rohr-rules-out-quota-for-home-base-players-in-super-eagles/
This right here is why they (all of them, dem sabi demsef) want the man out.
@Oakfield , I tried as much as possible not to react to your senseless vituperation and persistence insults on the big Sege , this you have been doing since last year with many derogatory names just because Segun Odegbami as a stakeholder in Nigerian sports and a Living Legend expressed his mind from the angle at which he was seeing the incompetence in Coach Rohr. Few days ago , you were cautioned and today again you continue with what you know how to do best with your cohort who ought to have cautioned you also joined you in your unfortunate uncultured remarks on an elder and a veteran who has paid his due in Nigerian sports with a lot of enviable achievements like @Phynum calling a legend Segun Odegbami an Old fool . Unfortunately your fellow Igbo tribal bigots could not correct you nor cautioned you and the likes of @ Sunny was also trying to be diplomatic in correcting you rather than calling a spade a spade but not a farm tool. When one stoop low to your level, your fellow Igbo tribal bigot and Yoruba haters will result to all manners of insults because abusing and insulting your elders and haters of yorubas are in the DNA of average Igbos .
If you did not desist from with your uncultured remarks on big Sege , I will come down to your level plus with intellectual points why you can’t ever have a pedigree of Legend Segun Odegbami in your entire region and also prove to you that Big Sege is actually right on Rohr who is a failure and super flop that the entire football nations know that Nigeria is just wasting tax payers money on a white colour with colonial mentality ( Rohr himself knows he is a failure as well as his employer NFF) . If I may ask what did Kanu says that different from what Segun Odegbami that could have made you hailing Kanu and continue to call Segun Ofegbami names , Kanu said it is too late now to sack Rohr because of the upcoming qualifying matches , as he believes because of time he can still improve ,does he says Rohr is a great coach ? Haven’t Odegbami called for his sack before now that Kanu says it is too late ? Should we be wasting Nigerian money on average coach like Rohr whose mediocre performance at the World Cup and African Nations cup would have made Late Legend Keshi who won Nation cup with average player of 50% local boys like Sunday Mba of this world turning in his graveyard wondering how Nigeria descend low to a level of continue with a poor coach whose best is a bronze!! . After the African nation cup NFF said they would send Rohr for overseas training at Nigerians tax payers expense which was not given to our local coaches ( what would you call that from NFF if not acceptance of failure and vote of no confidence in Rohr?) Rohr himself knows he is super floop and is not marketable in Africa let alone in the world , did you see any coach that worthy his salt who does not have his contract renew 5 months to the expiration of contract and yet dares not look for another country , I thought you people were fooling yourselves then that some African countries wanted to snatch the clueless Rohr from Nigeria, where are the countries now ?
Just because you have 100 Naira to buy data you and have opportunity to be in the same online forum with a Living Legend you belief you can misbehaved to elders because of your hatred to a particular tribe , you hailed Kanu who said it was late to sack an average mediocre coach because he is from your tribe and you continue insult an elder from another tribe because you have luxurious time to spend on social media , you and your ilks are definitely the lazy youths Buhari was referring to.