Thank God I am not in charge of Nigerian football.
If I was, Gernot Rohr would either be history by now, or (depending on the content of his contract) be sitting out the rest of the AFCON championship from the sidelines. At best, he would be rendering advise to whoever takes over from him in Egypt.
I will not want him also anywhere near the bench for fear of spreading whatever coaching ‘virus’ infected him during the match against Argentina at Russia 2018 that may have relapsed last weekend in Egypt when Nigeria played against Madagascar.
The man was definitely in holiday mood last weekend. He had won two matches without sweating tears and blood. He thought that he could breeze through the third match against the ‘weakest’ team, without obeying a fundamental rule in competitive sport – never underestimate any opponent.
Gernot Rohr went ahead to disrespect Madagascar and dented the hard-earned reputation of one of Africa’s most accomplished and successful football countries as a consequence. He took an avoidable and unnecessary gamble that backfired badly.
I watched the interview he granted Supersport after the match. The tragedy is that he showed no regret or remorse for his faulty technical decisions, instead, with a ‘holiday’ smile on his face, looking unperturbed, he said that what mattered the most was that Nigeria qualified for the next round.
Really? That’s all that mattered? What of the country’s records, image and reputation, plus the millions of Nigerians that would have suffered the mental agony and incalculable financial loss, in different ways, as a result of that defeat?
If I was in charge of Nigerian football that would have been the last interview he would grant as coach of the national team. It appeared he had no appreciation of the damage his faulty judgements caused Nigeria and Nigerians, spoiling their fun and adding to their pain.
The team did not play brilliantly against Zimbabwe and Senegal on the eve of the AFCON, and only started to gel and play as a team with the first two matches against Burundi and Guinea during AFCON. They needed more matches playing together to become stronger and have a realistic shot at the title.
What they did not need was what they got – resting 5 of the core players in the team, and injecting players that will not play the more difficult matches still to come. It just did not make tactical football sense.
The new players had provided a good indication of an emerging new team, young, fast, athletic and skillful. He should have kept that team going. Those players lifted the spirit, hope and confidence of Nigerians enough to make even me wager on Bet9ja that Nigeria shall win the coveted trophy. I was neither being flippant nor wishful. I believed it.
If Gernot did not realise it, he should be told that it matters a great deal that we win every match, even if we all know that football is a game where every team experiences wins and losses. But it should never be said that Nigeria lost a match because we did not put in our very best when we feel can win easily. The national team must always play at its very best and win. That’s our pride and our joy.
Also Read – Rohr: Losing To Madagascar Not Shameful; Eagles Can Still Win AFCON 2019
How the Super Eagles play should always reflect the fighting spirit in their DNA. They fight till the very end, with the last drop. They can recall incredible stories of their national teams, some of the best football stories in the world of football, from China in 1985, to Darman in 1989, and to Atlanta in 1996, all moments that defined the Nigerian national teams and their never-die-spirit.
No coach has ever been accused of ‘selling’ out, or of presenting a weak team, losing a crucial match and smiling about it. What happened last week was akin to that.
Gernot Rohr presented a weak Nigerian team. The elements saw his intentions and aided him with a disjointed poor performance. So, Nigeria had to pay dearly for Rohr’s disrespect of the opposition, even if it is the weakest in the group. The price is that Nigeria has now recorded the biggest humiliation in her football history.
No team that low-ranked had ever defeated the national team of Nigeria in any competition. Add to that the pain it must have caused Nigerians going through very turbulent economic, social and political hard times, where the national football teams provide the few sources of joyful respite, and a subtle reminder of the country’s potential to become a truly great nation on earth.
Gernot’s blunder is a ‘mortal’ sin. He should thank his Stars that I am not in charge of Nigerian football.
Nigeria versus Cameroon – history will be corrected!
There shall be only one ending to today’s match against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon that will be acceptable to Nigerians after Gernot Rohr’s blunder.
This encounter has a life of its own, driven by the rivalry between the two teams that conjures uncommon tactics and psychology that will be alien to Mr. Rohr.
So, whoever he fields, it is likely Nigeria will win, and the team will go farther and get to the final in Cairo, square up against likely finalists, Egypt, and, at that point, anything can happen.
On paper, Nigeria are the underdogs because Cameroon are the defending champions of AFCON.
In recent times, however, both teams have been struggling to find form. Neither side has been playing well and scoring goals in AFCON. After three matches, they have managed to score only two goals each. Neither of them led their groups. Both teams were embroiled in financial squabbles with their football federations. Neither has lived up to its reputation during this championship.
So, it is hard to predict which team will rise to the occasion and deliver.
Cameroon will play in their usual tradition of physicality and power. Their reputation as the hardest team on the planet remains intact.
So, Super Eagles must wear their strongest armor and do what they have successfully done in the past almost two decades – dominate and win most of the matches between them.
Today’s epic match will be tough, rough and grueling.
It may even take penalty kicks to separate the two teams.
If that happens, it will become nature’s way of reversing the ‘injustice’ of AFCON 2000 in Lagos, Nigeria, when the non-existence of VAR, then, denied the Super Eagles an almost certain victory in the finals against Cameroon. That was the last time Nigeria controversially ‘lost’ to the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.
This time, the elements ought to make amends. Nigeria shall win!
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COMMENTS
The one and Only Great Mathematical Segun “UNCLE SEGE” Odegbami I greet u sire
Uncle Shege you have said it all. I really and distastefully abhorred the way Rohr treated Nigerian football and how sarcastically he went about announcing himself as history maker.
If he must joke, must it be with Nigerian football? Ohhh history cannot be reversed but I wished this doesn’t happen.
Even if rohr presented the best team on dat day eagles are bound to lose against madagascar. The goals scored are not ordinary goals .it a pity up didn’t read my write up on d game 2 days to d match. Caf president ve not commented .even the referee. In d days of hayatoo the caf former president we knew wat happen den . Every body forgot. Nigeria vs cameroon with hayatou on VIP sit .Rohr could not ve presented a team dat wil beat Malagasy because his wife is from there. D wife too never said anything .and ur can see d reason y d statement “d best thing is dat I ve already qualified d team for d round of 16”.
When ever segun speaks I listen.
He is too sound to be ignored.
I virtually search for his comments because I know he is not afraid of gaining or losing any thing.
He speaks the plain truth.
Now u guys have heard him on Rorhr
When we were talking some said we hated him.
Some one else has spoken u.
U may wish to foolishly come and refute or attack his Rohr position as usual.
Sir, I agree with all you said, except when you stated that Nigeria will go on to play Egypt in the final. It is not happening because if we defeat Cameroon, Nigeria will play Egypt next, which will be in the quarter final.
Again, we have had more than one injustice inflicted against Nigeria when the super eagles played Cameroon. It happened in Maroc. ’88, when Henry Nwosu’s goal was disallowed and then, in Lagos, during the year 2000 edition of the nations cup.
That being said, I agree with you 100% that Rohr deserves the marching orders. This is not just for super eagles display against Madagascar but in addition to some mind boggling results Nigeria has had under him when we played against teams like South Africa. It has been a long time since teams come to Nigeria to defeat the super eagles hands down. Teams that do that are the likes of Algeria! Now, under Rohr we are not even sure again if countries like Lesotho will not come to Nigeria and defeat us. If Madagascar can do it, who says Lesotho or even South Sudan will not come to Nigeria to do it under Rohr!
Yes, under Rohr Nigeria has qualified for all competitions easily and with games to spare. But it is his vacillations that has become worrisome. His vacillations in crucial moments and matches is now becoming a recurring decimal.
If an indigenous coach supervised Nigeria’s loss to Madagascar or even South Africa in Nigeria, that coach would have long been given the marching orders! So, why is it different with Rohr? I still maintain that if Rohr remains fixated on his rigidity and monotonous ways of coaching the super eagles, he will ultimately be sacked regardless of all his achievements. Rohr cannot continue to do things the same way and expect to get a different result. It is just not possible!
In this nations cup, Rohr must know that Nigerians expect nothing less that a final showing in Egypt and this is regardless of the teams he plays along the way. If he doesn’t deliver a final appearance in Egypt, I think he should be let go.
After drooling about the failures of rohr, I was expecting u to roll out a looong list of bad results but was surprised u just only mentioned the loss to south Africa of which Nigeria went on to spank Cameron and Algeria afterwards,how hypocritical. @odegbami, u frowned at rohr’s failure to field our first team players against Madagascar but what if he did and got our key players injured in the the process. It would still be the same u that will start writing long epistles on why he (rohr) fielded our first team against madagascar instead of resting them.No sane coach would ever field his first team against a team as lowly placed as Madagascar having qualified for the round of 16. U actually spoke like someone who played cricket here,oga. On a normal day, the team the coach used to prosecute the match against Madagascar was good enough to beat them but the problem was that they were underrated and we paid dearly for it. Same thing happened to us when we were beaten by south Africa last year. Looking forward to reading ur article after our match this evening, no doubt,ur tone will change.
@Oakfield, God bless you Bro. You spoke my mind….The fact that the players fielded against Madagascar didn’t live up to expectations should not be entirely Rohr’s fault. We won our first 2 matches & qualified for next round, why would rohr field his 1st eleven against Madagascar after qualification. The Players that played against Madagascar should accept the fault and stop putting blame on d coach. The Coach has not done badly since taking over, judging by d records..
Mr. Odegbami gave an objective analysis of the performances of Rohr and why he should have been sacked after the Madagascar match. Instead of critiquing his write up you go ballistic against him and of course, my response to his write up.
After defeating Cameroon and going on to qualify for the world cup, what did he do different from what Onigbinde and Keshi did? These two local coaches achieve a level of performance he equaled under unfavorable conditions (salaries not paid, interference etc). Rohr as far as I’m concerned has been given free hand and he produces losses against South Africa, in Nigeria for that matter, and now against Madagascar! To you that is an okay result as long as he qualifies Nigeria for competitions – competitions that he has not even won.
In his write up, Odegbami talked about the character of the Nigerian team, a feature which is glaringly lacking since the dispensation of Rohr. I also said Nigeria has a tradition. Have you asked yourself what has happened to that football tradition and the Nigerian spirit under Rphr? As far as you are concerned, Rohr is infallible as long as he qualifies Nigeria for competitions with ease. If qualifying for completion with ease is the only yardstick that must be used to measure the success or failure of Rohr, don’t you think that is erroneous? Shouldn’t a coach that is always pessimistic, loses a match that he should not lose, and comes out to comment about the loss in a sarcastic manner be questioned or queried?
After three years of being with the super eagles, Rohr by now should be on the verge of giving Nigeria a super eagles that is feared by every African nation. Westerhof did it during his days. So, why is it so impossible with Rohr? Again, I ask you, how many Nigerian indigenous coaches have lost to South Africa in our backyard and to a nation at the football level of Madagascar?. If local coaches and previous foreign coaches that coached the super eagles were sacked because of their unimpressive performances, Rohr must be held to the same standard. It is either he performs or he is sacked! He can’t he treated like a sacred cow. It is as simple as that.
Shebi Na the Nigerian spirit made us miss out on 2consecutive afcon tourneys??? Shebi we played like Brazil and failed to qualify? Do you know how long it took westerhorf to build the 1994 squad that brought the country and Africa glory?? U may not know bcs of your age. Mr rohr has performed very well as the records and stats are there to speak for him. so, make una shelve all these wicked and hypocritic attack against the poor man.
The great Odegbami thanks for saying the truth, unlike other brown envelope journalists, for me I think win or loose tomorrow this man should be Fired, he has done is best but is best is not good enough for super Eagles. As for qualifying us for World Cup, Amodu and Keshi also did the same,so no biggie. One goal on target against Madagascar and is still kept Ighalo and Musa on pitch for 90 mins, then starts the game with three defensive midfielders.The Nff should look for a better replacement immediately after the Afcon.
I have always defended Gernot Rohr for two reasons:
1) The first reason is his results. He took over a team that FAILED TO QUALIFY for two consecutive Afcons, back to back. And qualified them for the next Afcon, with a game to spare. He also qualified us for the world cup, with a game to spare. At the world cup, we were heading to the second round. But the referee proved to be too big an obstacle for us to hurdle. Still remember Mikel leading protests for a blatant hand ball that should have resulted in a Nigeria penalty. If we had scored that (and Moses would have scored, no doubt), Nigeria would have been 2-1 up, and even with an Argie equalizer, we would still have qualified. All that is history.
2) The second reason is his work environment. The man has produced fantastic results, in spite of working in less than suitable conditions. Bonus wranglings, poor infrastructure (the Asaba pitch, for instance), administrative issues, etc. These are conditions that some of our coaches faced in the past, and WALKED AWAY from. They QUIT in frustration and despair. You all know who I’m talking about. So, for Rohr to not only stick it out, but deliver on deliverables, even exceeding expectations sometimes, I think he has earned whatever support he is getting now.
The other issue nobody talks about is that the players we currently have are not in the same class as the players we used to have. Yes, they are good, but they are not superstars. We don’t have any superstars. Which is why the likes of Congo, South Africa and others have been able to come to Nigeria and leave with a result. Of course, on the flip side, other countries are not seating down in TEDDY BEAR MODE. They are all working hard and improving. The difference (and the advantage) that Madagascar had over us was the superiority in fitness levels and athleticism of the players. They won almost all the 50-50 balls, and they denied our boys time and space on the ball. The 1990s squad had the ability to manuevre past opponents like this, because of their outlier skills, but these guys don’t have that. In other words, Rohr has achieved all these results with average players. No disrespect intended. He has found a way to get a bunch of average players playing together as a team, and has obtained great results doing so!
At the moment, Rohr is the Nigeria coach. As long as we remain in the competition, we all need to support him and the players. A house divided against itself can not stand. After the competition, win or lose, the authorities can then take a decision regarding Rohr. If Rohr is shown the door, we need to replace him with a quality gaffer. If Cameroon can have Seedorf and Kluivert tinkering their squad, Nigeria needs to step up as well. No more “carpenter” coaches, as Keshi put it. We need a national squad of players with a bench that is just as good as the starting eleven. For example, if we have an Ndidi, we can’t keep playing Ndidi until we play him to death. We need other players who can deputise for Ndidi when needed, so Ndidi can take a breather and avoid burnout or injuries. This is why the 1990s Eagles is the best the continent has ever seen. In virtually every position, we had players that could step in and perform. That should be the objective going forward. Whoever the new coach of the Eagles will be, he will have my full support. As for Rohr, I will bid him goodbye with all due respect and appreciation. No insults or curses from me for this man. Never. As long as we remain in the ongoing Afcon, it is only right that we all back him up. After the Afcon, let the chips fall where they may.
Comparing the team of the 90s and now I will say we have Superstars even now more than then….how many of our SE players where playing in the top 5 European leagues then?but now we have as many 15 players playing there or tied to a top 5 European league club… Samuel kalu Bordeaux lig1….ola aina troost ekong Torino and udinese seriaA…. Kenneth oneruo Samuel chukweze Moses Simon leganes Villarreal levante Laliga…Alex iwobi Wilfred ndidi Leon balogun onyekuru(on loan) arsenal lecester city Brighton everton Premier league Jamilu Colin Victor osimeh wolveburg and peterborn(just promoted)Bundesliga…..No average player gets the chance to play or even associated with top 5 European league clubs….Rorh even admitted it that this is the talented team he has worked with in Africa….
My brother I understand your point, I had the same thought too that rohr should be allowed to finish his job in Egypt first however oga Segun knows the game and he also has the experience too,Mr rohr makes certain unwarranted mistakes and he doesn’t seem to learn from them my take…stay blessed.!
I agree with most of what you said. However, I defer on the issue of working condition and Rohr sticking it out and getting results. Other coaches have done the same. Poor working condition is a perenial problem in Nigeria. No thanks to corruption and the bad “Nigerian factor.”!
We should remember that Westerhof, at his departure gave us players that Nigeria went on to rely on for more than 10 years! Yes, for more than 10 years. These players were even developed and given the courage to do what they did in football by Westerhof. To some extent Bonfrere Jo did the same thing. The problem with Rohr is his pessimistic nature and refusal to allow stiff competition in the super eagles. Under his tenure competition for places is non-existence and his playing pattern is more defensive. That is why Nigeria manages to score goals under him.
Journalism is dead in Nigeria! Anybody with a keyboard can type up grammatically incorrect, factless based statements and call themselves journalist.. Mr writer, whomever you are if Nigeria wins today and Egypt does the same then we will be facing Egypt in the quater finals and not the finals and as a sports writer (which I highly doubt) you should at least get that minor detail correct.. Know what you talking about and verify facts before opening your mouth.. Or in this case before clicking the post button!
Those of you who are siding rohr you you can still come out and insult the great segun adegbami o
Because you guys are just blind on siding rohr without seeing the stupidity and foolishness of him
To me if rohr wins this afcon or not he is getting sacked the guy is just a clueless and a empty head bastard
but for the sake of Nigeria I pray he wins the afcon 2019 though
Mr Destiny u shouldn’t have use the word bastard, if person call ur papa bastard how would you feel? Genot Rorh is a father too, u shouldn’t rain curse on him all bcos of afcon. If Nigeria win or lose afcon wetin u gain?
Don’t mind the stupid, untrained braggart. Only insults and abuses that comes out of that his pit mouth. Maybe you are new in this forum last time he was wishing God punish all of us for telling this critics of Rohr to allow him finish prosecuting this afcon.
@Destiny. I wonder if you really know the meaning of INSULT. You think everyone is like you, who make reckless and uncivil choice and use of words. Some of us still have our sense of sanity intact, in the choice and use of words.
In my own humble opinion, if Nigeria ever loose the match today, Rohr will voluntarily resign and go home.
Rohr has done is best for Nigeria by qualifying us for two major tournaments with games to spare. I agree with uncle Segun that Rohr should’ve kept playing his winning team instead of disrespecting Madagascar by fielding a weaker team. I’m sure he now knows his best 11 for the rest of the tournament. Well if the NFF decides to move on from him after the AFCON then we must find a better replacement. And if they decide to retain him that will depend on how far the SuperEagles go in Egypt. Until then we will continue to support him and wish the SuperEagles all the best. However, there are no more minnows in African football we saw the shocker Benin inflicted on Morocco. Even Senegal had to sweat it out against Uganda. The competition is getting tougher and the fact that we missed the last two editions.
I salute the mathematical himself and I stand with virtually everything he said. I am believe the man,Rohr has been technically wrong on many parlance which has brought us to the level we find ourselves, If Nigeria goes ahead to qualify for the quarter Finals, they will likely be confronting the host nation which will be a very big nut to crack.The only apology that will be acceptable to the over 140million Nigerians is to win the Cup for this great nation.
The great senior maestro l salute you. Not every Nigerian has a strong spine for the truth. And that particular epidemy of acceptance of mediocrity as l mentioned in one of my comments. We have folks like Dr.Drey who are statistical analysis but understand little about soccer technicalities. To be honest, you just echoed my mind because l was hoping someone was gonna take over during the tournament. Remain Blessed sir.
let all the pro bono lawyers for Rhor come out and attack Odegbami #10.
Rhor is as insensitive as he is incompetent.
Morocco lost today due to hard luck.
they played better than we played in all three of our Russia 2018 and better than our three matches in AFCON 2019 yet.
if we lost to Ghana in round of 16 playing like morocco played today, I think mostb nigerians who know soccer will be happy with the team.
Gbam! This is what i’ve been extolling. Our style of play is not good to say the least. Even if we were to beat cameroon but play like we have against burundi and guinea, i wont be celebrating.
Hehehehehe! Odegbami’s number is 7, not 10. Abi you wan reinvent Odegbami’s career? Cheers!
@Pompei,
Segun is #7, thanks it was a typo.
it’s about 12.00 am in my part of the world, and it has been a long day.
We have had enough, even Lying mohamed can not convince me otherwise.
#Rhor Must Go!!!!!
If rohrleave today he wil get a job of 150000 dollar per week . Free housing transport health insurance and residents visa in clubs or national team of saudi qatar morroco south African poland etc
Thank you so much Mr. Odęgbami. Ę ęnimumi tayin o because amumitayin, ara ę lontanję.
I have said almost what you just said long time ago. I think you read my comments sir.
This is not about hate. Coach Rohr is not up to the tasks ahead of him. I knew this when Nigeria played Argentina. Since then, I made a U turn (papapa) very quickly and since then, I have been warning Nigerians.
I don’t want to call names. I am expecting this group of people to come out and call Mr. Odegbami names like they did to me. If they refused to do so, they are not relevant on this forum from now on.
I want good things for my darling Country and no matter what, I’m still going to fight for my nation. Mr. Rohr will come and go but Nigerians have no where to go.
Mr. Rohr have destroyed Nigeria image. Mr. Rohr have tarnished our record. Winning this tournament or not, we appreciate him a lot but he must go period. God bless Nigeria!!!
Gernot Rohr said his reason for not fielding five players in the match against Madagascar last Sunday was to rest them since Nigeria had already qualified.
Technocrats would fault that. There are times teams play two matches in a week in Europe. There are times they even play three games in one week. If the Eagles had a match about three days from the encounter with Madagascar one could appreciate his fears to avoid injuries or burn-out of the players.
But even if that was the case, dropping five regulars was indefensible. In a tournament like the Nations Cup, players get better with matches. You have players from different clubs who have probably been together for about three weeks or one month. They blend more with matches.
What Rohr did was to break the rhythm or momentum. But he has never impressed in terms of match planning and reading. The weekend the ongoing Nations Cup started, I wrote here that I hoped he would make up for his Russia 2018 World Cup blunders.
There were flaws I saw in their friendly matches which were not corrected before the World Cup started and I said the Eagles should be celebrated if they reached the second round. They did not.
I knew it would be difficult. They could not play as a unit defensively and offensively. Again, Rohr appeared overwhelmed in the match against Argentina and could not read the game to make the right changes. At a time Mikel Obi and Ahmed Musa were completely burnt out and were no longer running.
Rohr allowed them until Argentina scored the winning goal and he moved to make changes two minutes to time. After we lost to Madagascar, Odion Ighalo, our top striker, complained that he was not getting enough supplies.
That wouldn’t have been so if they were collective in their approach. It’s the same problem I pointed out before the World Cup. But I don’t want to delve in the past. We play Cameroon today in the round of 16.
They are a strong football country, the first African country to reach quarter-finals of a World Cup tournament which they set in Italia ’90. They beat the defending champions, Argentina playing Diego Maradona and only lost to England in a penalty shootout.
They have a stronger and richer football history than Nigeria, having won the Nations Cup more times than Nigeria. Three of the five times they won the African Cup were against Nigeria in the final. It is always interesting to recall history or past meetings in games but what matters is current form. You may argue that the Cameroon we saw in the first round in Egypt looked stronger than the Eagles, especially after the awful outing against Madagascar.
When we beat Burundi 1-0 and Madagascar played 2-2 with Guinea, I told Christian Chukwu who has been monitoring the games in Egypt from his London hospital that the standard Guinea and Madagascar displayed was higher than what I saw of Eagles and Burundi.
I was disappointed we lost to Madagascar, but I was not surprised going by their game against Guinea. Does Genort Rohr monitor opponents? I hope he has watched the matches of the Indomitable Lions in the ongoing games in Egypt.
I saw in them a very strong, physical side with a lot of pace. They run, and they are quick. They move almost with the pace of the ball. But they lack the finesse Eagles have in passing the ball. They also come short of the Eagles in individual skills. The Eagles made a lot of wrong passes in the game against Madagascar, something I attribute to the discord that resulted from the changes Rohr made. He was wrong.
Can he get it right against Cameroon? He has his game plan. I wish it works for us. But based on what we saw of Cameroon, Eagles could be outrun and physically overwhelmed if they don’t play many players behind the ball so that Cameroon would not find space to use.
Having many players behind the ball will create room for a passing game and breakaways. If they leave space between the midfielders and defenders, the game may even be over for us in the first half.
Cameroon could muscle them. But when they have many players behind the ball and many players around the ball when necessary, they can beat Cameroon. In attacking, they should be collective, and that’s what having players around the ball when attacking creates. I’m not their coach.
I make these points based on what I saw of the two teams in this tournament. I recommend the Cameroon/Benin Republic match to Rohr to watch and to see how Benin, without high-quality players but with good tactical play, withstood Cameroon. Cameroon’s coach, Clarence Seedorf even gave credit to the bench of Benin for shutting every space in their area. This piece was written before their match against Morocco last night. But they are a team with quality coaching.
Rohr has the players to beat Cameroon, but I can’t vouch for his tactics. And I hardly see him passing instructions to the players other than urging them on to keep up the tempo without specific instructions on how to do that. I wish all that could change today for us to move on. Goodluck Nigeria.
The news above will help Mr. Rohr in today’s match. I wish you the best of luck Oga Rohr. God and make Nigeria proud. God bless Nigeria!!!
Easier to analyse tactics and matches than to be on the hot seat as a coach.Henry & co can tell.
it’s like we have 2 omo9ja on this forum, the one that murders English and the one that writes with good English…. lol
It’s this hypocrisy that I can’t bear. How can one explain the disparity in the write-ups? Who is fooling who?
HOW I WISH THE NFF CAN EMPLOY THE COACHING SERVICES OF UNCLE SEGUN ODEGBAMI, SO WE CAN SEE THE TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL SERVICES MAGIC HE WILL PERFORM. I BET ANYONE WHO DESIRES TO CONTEND WITH ME, THAT UNCLE SEGUN WILL DO WORSE AND NOT BETTER THAN KESHI OF BLESSED MEMORY AND ROHR HAVE DONE. UNCLE SEGUN IS LIKE ANY OTHER POLITICIAN IN NIGERIA, WHO WILL CONDEMN IN TOTALITY, THE GOOD EFFORTS OF AN INCUMBENT GOVERNMENT BUT ONLY TO DO THE WORST AND MESS UP IN GOVT WHEN FINALLY ELECTED. NIGERIANS ARE GIFTED POLITICIANS EVEN IN SOCCER. ROHR IS NOT PERFECT ALL BUT HE DOESN’T DESERVE THE HETEFUL BASHINGS HERE. WHETHER HE IS STAYING OR GOING AWAY AFTER THE AFCON, HE DESERVES SOME KUDOS. I STILL REMEMBER THE LOWEST DUNGEON OUR NATIONAL TEAM WAS BOXED AND SQUIZZED INTO BEFORE THIS ROHR CAME.AT LEAST, HE HAS BEEN ABLE TO BRIGHTEN AND CARRY OUT A CORRECTIVE SURGERY ON THE VIOLATED AND BATTERED FACE OF THE SINKING,IF NOT SUNK EAGLES. ROHR IS NOT THE WORST IN THE LIST OF COACHES THAT HAVE HANDLED EAGLES. WHERE WAS UNCLE SEGUN THE SELF ACCLAIMED TACTICIAN AND TECHNICIAN WHEN THE NATIONAL TEAM WAS REDUCED TO ASHES? WHERE WAS HE WHEN NIGERIA COULD NOT QUALIFY FOR 2 CONSECUTIVE AFCON EDITIONS? WHY HAS THE NIGERIA FOOTBALL HOUSE NOT COSIDERED HIM GOOD ENOUGH TO HANDLE EAGLES AS THE CHIEF? APART FROM HIS PLAYING DAYS, WHAT PRACTICAL OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS HAS HE MADE IN THE CORRIDORS OF NIGERIAN FOOTBALL AND NATIONAL TEAM? EASIER SAID THAN DONE POLI-TACTICIANS. THE TRUTH IS THAT, UNCLE SEGUN HAS NEVER AND CAN NEVER ACHIEVE WHAT ROHR HAS ACHIEVED IN AND CONTRIBUTED TO NIGERIAN NATONAL TEAM AS A COACH.I EXPECTED UNCLE SEGUN TO CRITICIZE ROHR CONSTRUCTIVELY AND AFTER-WARDS SUPPORT HIM AND THE TEAM IN EGYPT. THE FOOTBALL HOUSE HAS THE RIGHT TO DECIDE ROHR’S FATE AFTER THE AFCON.NO ONE IS CAMPAIGNING FOR ROHR HERE. BUT HE NEEDS OUR CONSTRUCTIVE ASSESSMENT AND SUPPORT WHILE THE TOURNAMENT LASTS AND NOT OUTRIGHT CONDEMNATION AND CRUCIFIXION. HONESTLY, TO SAY THE LEAST, I AM HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED IN ‘ALMIGHTY UNCLE SEGUN.’
Terrific response. I have been wondering how Según Ọdegbami never managed to become the NFF president all this while. With all his knowledge in football and journalism. If you ask me there’s something unusual about him that made him never to have accomplished anything meaningful in football administration apart from journalism which we all know can be manipulated with any iota of lies.
I wonder my brother this omo9ja that wrote this piece is sound ooo. Are u sure this is the popular and controversial omo9ja
We have a confused and a clueless coach who will field Moses simon or Samuel kalu ahead of Samuel Chukwueze
Well said the ‘mathematical’ odegbami. To all them rohr supporters, there is something call pride and history.If you don’t see anything wrong with losing scandalously to Madagascar and your coach disrespecting the Nigerian people, sorry is your name.
Everytime I read people saying whether Rohr win AFCON or lose, he should go,I just see a people that can never move forward. This definitely explain why Nigeria with all its wealth,sadly, is still in such a state of a beggarly society. One step forward, 100 steps backwards. Why not wait till d end of the tournament before making decisions? Even in making dat very sensitive decision of bringing in another manager, loads of very important issues must have to looked into. Is there not a chance of getting Rohr to work with other superb Nigerian coaches like Oliseh, Siasia, Amunike etc? Was Rohr’s management era a smooth sailing one? which I think is not, going by d many FIFA ban threat,occasioned by criminals like Dalung/ Chris Giwa. How have people quickly forgotten where we were few years ago; when sponsors were running away from our SE? Could all these situations have affected Rohr giving d team his best shots. Will the so called new man everyone wants to see be able to thrive under such difficult terrain? Ok if the so called new man now starts struggling with such bad working environment, will fans be willing to be patient with him or will they get rid of him n go for another? Rohr might be making some mistake here n there but we will be doing shadow chasing to put all blames on him. Those his few mistakes, in my opinion, are what NFF n few intellects in d game,like Segun Odegbami,Kanu etc should try assists him with at d end of the tournament and definitely not sacking. But if he says he wants to leave, then so be it and even then we should be civilised enough to thank him as appreciation for his time with us. But if he agrees to stay, due to his age, we can start gradually easing him out by attaching much younger Nigerian coaches, d likes of Amunike, Oliseh etc to him. These ones will continue when Rohr eventually leaves.
Gbam! “…….criminals like Dalung/Chris Giwa ….”
HOW I WISH THE NFF CAN EMPLOY THE COACHING SERVICES OF UNCLE SEGUN ODEGBAMI, SO WE CAN SEE THE TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL SERVICES MAGIC HE WILL PERFORM. I BET ANYONE WHO DESIRES TO CONTEND WITH ME, THAT UNCLE SEGUN WILL DO WORSE AND NOT BETTER THAN KESHI OF BLESSED MEMORY AND ROHR HAVE DONE. UNCLE SEGUN IS LIKE ANY OTHER POLITICIAN IN NIGERIA, WHO WILL CONDEMN IN TOTALITY, THE GOOD EFFORTS OF AN INCUMBENT GOVERNMENT BUT ONLY TO DO THE WORST AND MESS UP IN GOVT WHEN FINALLY ELECTED. NIGERIANS ARE GIFTED POLITICIANS EVEN IN SOCCER. ROHR IS NOT PERFECT ALL BUT HE DOESN’T DESERVE THE HETEFUL BASHINGS HERE. WHETHER HE IS STAYING OR GOING AWAY AFTER THE AFCON, HE DESERVES SOME KUDOS. I STILL REMEMBER THE LOWEST DUNGEON OUR NATIONAL TEAM WAS BOXED AND SQUIZZED INTO BEFORE THIS ROHR CAME.AT LEAST, HE HAS BEEN ABLE TO BRIGHTEN AND CARRY OUT A CORRECTIVE SURGERY ON THE VIOLATED AND BATTERED FACE OF THE SINKING,IF NOT SUNK EAGLES. ROHR IS NOT THE WORST IN THE LIST OF COACHES THAT HAVE HANDLED EAGLES. WHERE WAS UNCLE SEGUN THE SELF ACCLAIMED TACTICIAN AND TECHNICIAN WHEN THE NATIONAL TEAM WAS REDUCED TO ASHES? WHERE WAS HE WHEN NIGERIA COULD NOT QUALIFY FOR 2 CONSECUTIVE AFCON EDITIONS? WHY HAS THE NIGERIA FOOTBALL HOUSE NOT COSIDERED HIM GOOD ENOUGH TO HANDLE EAGLES AS THE CHIEF? APART FROM HIS PLAYING DAYS, WHAT PRACTICAL OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS HAS HE MADE IN THE CORRIDORS OF NIGERIAN FOOTBALL AND NATIONAL TEAM? EASIER SAID THAN DONE POLI-TACTICIANS. THE TRUTH IS THAT, UNCLE SEGUN HAS NEVER AND CAN NEVER ACHIEVE WHAT ROHR HAS ACHIEVED IN AND CONTRIBUTED TO NIGERIAN NATONAL TEAM AS A COACH.I EXPECTED UNCLE SEGUN TO CRITICIZE ROHR CONSTRUCTIVELY AND AFTER-WARDS SUPPORT HIM AND THE TEAM IN EGYPT. THE FOOTBALL HOUSE HAS THE RIGHT TO DECIDE ROHR’S FATE AFTER THE AFCON.NO ONE IS CAMPAIGNING FOR ROHR HERE. BUT HE NEEDS OUR CONSTRUCTIVE ASSESSMENT AND SUPPORT WHILE THE TOURNAMENT LASTS AND NOT OUTRIGHT CONDEMNATION AND CRUCIFIXION. HONESTLY, TO SAY THE LEAST, I AM HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED IN ‘ALMIGHTY UNCLE SEGUN.’
God bless u our great Mathematical Odegbami. Rohr is technical deficient & not good enough to take Super Eagles to the next level.lf the duo of Oyekuru & Osimen are not good enough as attacking option in the match against Madagascar when we had only one shot at goal, then why are they in Egypt. His exit will be a good riddance to bad rubbish.
I was rather surprised to read the write up of Mr Odegbami in the article above not so much about the ‘content’ but more about the ‘tone’, ‘delivery’, ‘timing’ and one-sided nature of the article.
I cannot begin to compare my football knowledge with that of the national Icon (our own Gary Linekar in my view) but I think I am well within my rights to offer a critique on any article – including that of Honourable Odegbami.
Everyone is entitled to their own view, I get that, but how we express such opinions should reflect how we are perceived and the sort of influence we have in such a manner that our right-ups could shape narratives and set agendas.
At a time when faith in Rohr is perhaps at its lowest ebb among fans, the last thing needed is an influential figure like Mr Odegbami writing a rather one-sided article that would do more to damage morale further.
Rohr is not my cup of tea and I can’t (hand in heart) say I am fan of the German. However, there is a time and place to vent certain frustrations hence, I question the medium and manner that Mr Odegbami has selected.
For all criticisms of the German, he now has a hattrick of qualifying the Super Eagles for higher stages of tournaments with a game to spare. These are: 1)qualification of 2018 World Cup, 2) qualification for 2019 Afcon and 3) qualification for the second round of the 2019 Afcon – all with a game to spare.
That is a phenomenally under-valued legacy that is unlikely to be surpassed for many seasons to come.
Now, does Rohr has his shortcoming? Hell-Yes!
For over two years of his reign, I am yet to identify a distinct identity in the manner of the team’s play. He is atrocious at game-management, sticks to the same core of players and plays a brand of football that scarcely excites me.
Defeats to South Africa, Croatia and Madagascar were regrettable not so much because of the outcome but because Rohr’s stubbornness were complicit in those outcomes.
But, looking at it from a balanced approach, one cannot help but be thankful for the good things that Rohr has done and after his tenure, look ahead to a new era for the Super Eagles that none of us can predict with any degree of accuracy!
In this Afcon, defeat to Madagascar was regretful; defeat today to Cameroon will be totally unacceptable but overall, Rohr’s tenure hasn’t been all that bad. It could have been better, it could also have been far worse.
If you speak or write about Rohr in a manner that only elucidates his shortcomings, that is an incomplete account of his tenure – he has done some good things.
Mr Odegbami, you are a legend of Nigerian football and sports journalism and I have nothing but admiration for all that you have done. In your piece above, you said: “If I was (in charge of NFF), Gernot Rohr would either be history by now, or (depending on the content of his contract) be sitting out the rest of the AFCON championship from the sidelines. At best, he would be rendering advise to whoever takes over from him in Egypt.
I will not want him also anywhere near the bench for fear of spreading whatever coaching ‘virus’ infected him during the match against Argentina at Russia 2018 that may have relapsed last weekend in Egypt when Nigeria played against Madagascar.”
How I wish those statements had been tempered with follow up words that provide ‘BALANCE’.
@deo
I think the mathematical one is speaking from the passionate angle of being a Nigerian that just watched his team beaten by a team much much lower than them in status,class and quality(and this is with all due respect to Madagascar).
Segun Odegbami is infruirated by the nature of the loss,cause (even if far fetched,since no one knows tomorrow ),but such loss could be prevented if the coach has used the right calibre of players(which he has at his disposal).
The legend was even more pissed,with the response Rohr gave to the press after the loss.He took it in with no remorse,like it is normal to lose to Madagascar!
He indirectly went as far and stated he gave away the match because Nigeria has already qualified.and that feels totally disrespectful to Nigerians;and even to the team he played against,which He underrated.
Segun Odegbami is pissed cause of who we lost to,how we lost and the response after we lost.
And I believe most Nigerians are as well.
I was a Rohr’s apologetic;I respected the way he managed the team and he got the results.
But I never saw him as a tactician;yes he is a great man manager,but he doesn’t have it technically.and that came to bare against Madagascar.
I am very sure Rohr never intended to lose that game,even when he made those 5 changes.he thought he set up the players enough to win the game.but that’s where he failed tactically.the set up for that match showed his flaws.and then he lost..
For me,and like most Nigerians( even if I appreciate him for his work so far),that loss was unacceptable. It still hurts. If I had a column like Odegbami here,I could lose my professionalism and speak with emotions,forgetting balance,just because I am human and I am Nigerian..
But what is ,is what is..
We have a game today,still in the tournament.let’s see how it goes..
@Hush. Hush please, I intend to disagree with you on Uncle. We are all Nigerians and we all mourned the loss to Madagascar. We all were emotional but didn’t veil the fact that things like this can happen to any team. Let me ask you this: As good as he was in his playing days, didn’t he lose a number of matches? Am sure he played in more than one AFCON EDITION but how many of the trophies did he win? The brooding question is this:Considering his self-acclaimed level of tactical soundness of Nigerian football, Why hasn’t the Nigerian soccer house invited him for the job of SE Coach? For me, he convulsed a total trash of an epistle that lacked a TRUE BALANCE.
@Danurch.
I guess we both have to disagree to agree;
I do share your point of view.
But I think you totally misconstrued my write up.
I am not standing for Odegbami’s criticism.
I am just saying it is within his right to.
And I was trying to bring out the reason he wrote such a piece ,losing his professiolism and getting carried away by emotions.
Yes;Nigeria has lost before.
And would still do definitely(hopefully not today or in this tournament); but playing the devil’s advocate and looking at it from Odegbami’s angle, he was totally carried away by emotions and it is ok for him to. We were all angry by that loss to Madagascar,due to the facts I stated in my earlier write up ..
But yes.
You and Deo are right in the sense that,he should be more “balance” in his piece,and try to look at things from all angle being an ex footballer of this great country. He should have weathered the storm and be more understanding.
So yes,on that aspect he might be too overdrawn in his criticism;
He gave away his position(of one who doesn’t like Rohr) by bringing in the World Cup loss to Argentina ,which I think is uncalled for in this regard..
That said,
This is his column,his point of view is his and his alone;it doesn’t change the fact that Rohr is still coach and still have a job to do.
Even if I am one who was disappointed by the loss to Madagascar;
But as I said,in my round up,
It is what it is;
We are still in the tournament.
We should stay focus and see how it goes.
Criticism is allowed and would arise.especially when we fail.
The man they call zero yesterday,can always be called hero today.
It all depends on how Rohr proves himself to those that doubt him,and those that doesn’t doubt him.
We all want one thing.( at least I think so)
To see Nigeria win…
@Hush. OK. Thanks I get your point now.
God bless You! This is indeed a constructive criticism…God bless You!
A round of applause for you @deo. The article is really regrettable and in bad taste coming from a public sports personality. I have issues with Rohr too, but this was extreme, please. He lost to Madagascar, and so he has to be crucified? Germany (as defending champions) lost to South Korea 0-2 at Russia 2018, SA lost home and away 0-2 to Cape Verde during the World Cup qualifiers, and just yesterday Benin booted fancied Morroco out of Afcon. The coaches of these teams have not been sacked. Please let’s always temper emotions when expressing ‘views’. It’s the thin difference between offering genuine criticisms and attempting to sabotage someone. Mr Odegbami, this was sooo below the belt. I read Mumini Alao’s piece yesterday and that sounded more appropriate.
Joseph
Mr. Seguin Odegbami, you were a footballer I watched you playing as a member of green eagle then when Algeria beat us 2-0 in National Stadium.
I was surprised the way you talked against Nigeria coach.
A team that won 2 matches, losing last match, for Christ Sake.
After all Senegal lost a match.
Now, Morocco that won ther 3 matches was beaten in the round of 16 by Republic of Benin.
Mr. Seguin I watched you playing in those days while playing for IICC Shooting Stars and Green Eagle.
How many goals you score in all match you have played.
Destiny, you are just incredible. Segun Odegbami is an household name in Nigeria. Well respected. I thought you will be sorry and retract your initial write-up against Rohr. I don’t want to join issu
es with you. I am afraid that if you continue this way, may God help you.
To be honest, as a people, we Nigerians have a very very very long way to go. Truly our problem is not others but is with us; OUR ATTITUDE n UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE. It’s frustration from such attitude, that drives many to start watching n supporting every other foreign leagues n national teams instead of our own, albeit saddly, born out of d wish Nigeria as a nation is making same progress.
Mr. Seguin was a Chairman of National Sports Commission. What has done to improve Sports as a Chairman?
Bad write up, you wanted him to be crying that he lost, that’s maturity being displaced by Rohr