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Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr believes Victor osimhen can become the new Didier Drogba if he continues with his geometrical progression at Italian Serie A side, Napoli.
Rohr, the former Bordeaux of France defender who played against Diego Maradona in the UEFA Cup 1988-89 told Italian Sports magazine, Ilnapolionline, that Osimhen will deliver for Napoli when the new season starts next weekend.
”Osimhen is a great player and he is very important for us [the Super Eagles] and he will be even more so thanks to the experience he will be able to have in a top club like Napoli,” Rohr told Ilnapolionline, insisting that the former FIFA U-17 World Cup top scorer has a lot of qualities which he will start unleashing when the season gets underway.
When asked if Osimhen is the new Didier Drogba – the Chelsea player who ruled the English Premier League with his goals and dominant displays from the mid-2000s, the Nigeria coach says not yet, but that the Napoli new signing has the potential.
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“He is not yet like Drogba, he could become one by working hard to enhance his skills. I saw in the Champions League how Napoli plays, Victor will be able to take advantage of the spaces created by his new teammates. He is intelligent and prepared, he knows how to adapt to his companions and the game system. Deadly in spaces, he can play as first striker or with a partner. He has physique and speed, excellent left and right and above all great feeling with the goal,” said Rohr.
The Super Eagles coach also revealed Osimhen contacted him before signing for Napoli.
”When the negotiations with Napoli started, Victor asked me what to do and I suggested that he talk to the coach: I think that with Gattuso there is already a good understanding. We are happy with this Italian experience of Osimhen, but I remember that there is a good representation of Nigerians in Serie A: Troost Ekong, Ola Aina and Simy,” said a delighted Rohr who allays fears the Nigerian could be subjected to racist attacks.
”I don’t think this will be a problem for him. He already had experiences in Germany, Belgium and France, where there have been difficult situations. He is very strong mentally .”
7 Comments
Osimhen is Osimhen. Again the Coach should not be telling a player with Big dreams “how to become like a new Drogba”. Instead he should be telling him you have the potential to be better than Drogba. Also I remember getting frustrated with Rohr By saying Nigeria doesn’t have stars other African teams are stronger yet, we have players like: Wilfred Ndidi (Best DM in Europe, Victor Osimhen (most expensive player in Nigerian History and second most expensive in African History, not to mention Smauel Chukwueze and Kelechi Nwakali. If Rohr can’t see that we have atleast players with Star quality currently then what another shame. Also look at what Onyekuru is doing now at Monaco and how the new coach Niko Kova is talking about him
Real matter my guy God bless you
Nothing wrong here. After all, Sir Alex Ferguson called Rooney the white Pele
Ugo you’re a comedian now!
Oshimen is not the new Drogba
He’s a new breed of striker that will one day and hopefully win the world player of the year , Ballon D’Or ,African player of the year . He’s the great big thing. He’s higher than Drogba.
The coach should stop saying that not only to him , but also to other young players . Period
I don’t see any problem with Rohr comparing Osimhen to Drogba. All young players look up to somebody, and Drogba is not a bad role model. I myself on this site recently compared the two strikers, and in my opinion, the only edge Drogba has over Osimhen is freekick expertise. I submit that if Osimhen practices and becomes proficient at freekicks, that would make him even deadlier than he currently is.
It is also important to note that Osimhen’s job is not only scoring goals. He is tasked with creating assists and helping the team as well, in any way required. For instance, Giroud is not a prolific scorer, yet the French coach Deschamps is ready to die with him, because of his work rate and unselfishness. The way Giroud plays is obviously vital to Deschamps’ system, playing with his back to goal and combining with others. Drogba, in addition to scoring goals, was also important defensively for Chelsea, yes, defensively! Whenever Chelsea was defending corner kicks or freekicks, Drogba was usually deployed in the vital area, because of his aerial power. In the end, it’s all about helping the team as much as possible.
So in my opinion, even if Osimhen is not scoring as regularly as expected, as long as he is contributing to the overall success of the team, he has done his job.
I am a fan of him. He is intelligent and prepared, he knows how to adapt to his companions and the game system.