Super Eagles of Nigeria may have failed in their bid to win the AFCON 2019, but they bagged a consolation – beating Tunisia to win the Bronze medal.
This provided a heart-lifting beginning for the Super Eagles’ young and fringe players like Victor Osimhen, Samuel Kalu, Alex Iwobi, among others.
As Nigeria fans look forward to a new era which the new generation of players will dominate, MATINS OBIWELUOZO takes a look at the three remarkable things that have taken place since Gernot Rohr took charge of the Super Eagles in the summer of 2016.
1. Players’ Roles (Positions) Conversion
This has taken place in the Super Eagles most especially under Gernot Rohr. Plyers like Chidozie Awaziem, Ola Aina, and John Ogu have seen themselves featuring in roles diffrent from their normal positions.
Eagles lynchpin Oghenekaro Etebo has been converted from his
main position to another one owing to his versatility on the pitch.
This may have produced positive results for players like Chidozie Awaziem and Ola Aina, particularly as the latter gave a good account of himself in the AFCON 2019 Group B game against Burundi with a special assist for Odion Ighalo’s goal.
But the same Rohr’s position conversion has affected John Ogu’s contribution to the team negatively and even made a player of his quality look rather average when he was moved to the left-back in a match, thus denying the Eagles a vital substitution option in the midfield.
Also Read – 2022 FIFA World Cup Race: 28 Teams In Preliminary Round; Eagles, 25 Others Join In Group Stage
2. Eagles’ Coach’s Seeming Inferiority Complex
Gernot Rohr’s reign has been marked by his consistent yielding of
authority to the other teams even before the matches were played.
This has been the bane of the Super Eagles under the gaffer as it has
affected Nigeria’s approach to matches. For instance, imagine Rohr saying that South Africa were the favourite against Nigeria.
This is negative pre-match submission against an opposition, not befitting of Nigeria’s standards and position in African football.
Such a defeatist posture may have cost the Super Eagles a chance of advancing from the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group D – a relatively (negotiable) easy group made of a weak Argentina side, Croatia, and Iceland
3. Conservative Formation Limiting Eagles’ Real Potential
The Super Eagles are brimming with abundant talents as the quality in the squad speaks a lot for itself. But Rohr’s level of conservation might have limited the team’s ability to thrive in transition.
That scenario played out to the disadvantage of the Super Eagles in the AFCON 2019 semifinal match against Algeria.
The manager has proven to Nigerians, that having a good set of players do not necessarily imply you will have a good team. It’s sad that the Super Eagles are in this situation, especially with the plethora of attacking talents available. The Gernot Rohr’s team could not even score from open play against Algeria.
This conservative measure were the reasons why the Eagles lost to
Argentina 2-1 and drew 1-1 with South Africa.
Rohr’s use of the 3-5-2 formation was a clear approach limiting his
team’s attacking strength as offensive players like Victor Moses
(against Argentina) and Samuel Kalu (against South Africa) were busy
defending against oppositions whom they would have confounded with a strong attacking impetus in the final third.
39 Comments
true talk
This writer succinctly summed up all most objective commentators have been positing in this forum but blind loyalty and subjective mentality will not allow obviously brilliant forumites here see reason.
Good evening beautiful people!
Good evening my brother. Yes, the article above was indeed a breath of fresh air.
Very well written. The writer is so so on point!
Thank you sir. You are most welcome!
The future is bright.
We have been saying the same thing over and over.
A team of lions lead by a sheep will ultimately loose to a team of sheep lead by a lion, a clear proof is Nigeria V Madagascar.
Every game is approached with a defensive mentality.
THE BEST FORM OF DEFENSE IS ATTACK.
WE FEAR NO FOE, WE CAN BEAT ANY TEAM.
That was the mentality before the Arrival of mr. Defense Mori(Rhor).
We need a tactically attacking minded coach to take advantage of the plethora of attackers available now.
And please what did we achieve with that fear no foes approach?
Good question, Greenturf. Fear no foe approach, and we were absent in two Afcons consecutively! Yes, we can beat anybody, but the fact is we are not a global soccer giant. Look at our infrastructure. Our league is barely functional. So, what we have achieved in the last couple of years is indeed great, given our background. We have to be fearless, but also cautious when playing matches. Too much fearlessness will cost us dear against some of the world’s best teams. Recall Germany destroying Brazil 7-1 in 2014? Unless the argument is that we are better than Brazil, I’d say we continue to proceed with reasonable caution!
Don’t mind them. They didn’t even qualify for the last two Afcon games. Thanks for the NFF for steaking with Rohr who has revived the National football to be respected among other Nations. Morocco is begging Rohr to come over with better pay. With out Rohr, Nigeria will not qualify for the next Afcon in Cameroon
You guys have forgotten, before GR came in , the boys were called super chickens.
The team under GR has gotten stability and I wonder why the writer can’t even mentioned that. The team can only get better.
Yes, but given the teams we’re up against any wise Coach will do what Rohr did. Are you expecting Nigerian team to attack Argentina in that Win or Burst match?
Against SA, given the account of their showing against Egypt, I wasn’t expecting The Eagles to go all out. The Egyptians were outclassed by the flare of the South Africans. We had our choice and we managed it well, Even Pep grinds out results when need be. Don’t expect tiki taka always.
The Algerians, if you saw the games before I can say Eagles should have been more brave, but it was all about game management which to me they did but didn’t do it well. That’s football, even Pep got it wrong against Spurs at the Tottenham Stadium and we know the result. So to me, he’s done well so far, although we can do better.
Fantastic comment, Bee.
Walahi. Una think say e easy. Ok o. I played football in college here in America. I realized that football is not easy. You can’t afford to switch of at all especially with quick players with guoleand trickery. That’s what happened against algeria.It can be grimmy and dirty. Also you need luck sometimes. If the guys went all to attack and lost 4-3, 3-2, una go complain. I prefer this approach. We just need more attacking varieties, tactics, options and impetus.
This is what I call positive analysis n not starting to abuse, discredit a decent man who yes,may have some weaknesses but have done really well with SE. Rohr wants the best n he listens, n proved it by using almost every player that went to AFCON unlike a case where two foreign base u-17 could not get a minute game time even in a dead rubber third place game. if people come with positive analysis like this,I trust Rohr to think about such. All said, he remains the best to continue n if any changes,then probably some of his assistants need go, while more vibrant ones join him.
Well said my brother. I thoroughly enjoyed the thought process that went into preparing the article.
Really good.
Nice one, Glory. The team just needs a little tweaking to become really great. Most of the boys are truly young, and have not yet peaked in maturity. If we can fix our goalkeeping problems, and if we work on our goal scoring (which is not bad currently, but should be better), we will surely reap bountifully from this squad as they fly like eagles into the future! (Hope I have Ayphillydegreat’s permission to use his catchy expression) 🙂
Moving forward, Rohr should try and look out for an attacking midfielder in the form of Jay Jay Okocha to complement the plethora of attackers at our disposal now
Unfortunately Michael Olawale, the Jay Jay Okocha types come once in a blue moon. We may not see a talent like that again in our lifetime.
Please, send a copy of this article to the coach. His praise singers won’t tell him the truth, but not everyone is a blind loyalist.
Blind loyalists keep reminding us that we didn’t qualify for two AFCONS. They conveniently forget that our football history dates back beyond those two seasons.
Those two seasons do not sum up our football pedigree. We remain among the top 5 football nations in AFCON history.
Does that not count anymore?
Please guys, stop dressing up an average coach in the attire of a Messiah. It doesn’t look good on him.
Please, read the article again before you crucify me.
Good night.
Bros, let’s present solutions. Wow do you think aouldreplace rohr or how an we proceed?
Even blinder and possibly deaf and dumb pessimists refuse to give praise were it is due, irrationally expecting perfection when the structures to achieve perfection have not been deployed! When we failed to qualify for the last 2 Afcons, did our “football pedigree” mean anything then? Did CAF award us a WILD CARD participation ticket because of our past glory? Pedigree is good, but it counts for nothing in the present! Rohr an average coach? Well, his results have been anything but average. Even if we had hired PEP GUARDIOLA, I don’t think he could have achieved much more than Rohr has with this set of players, and with our administrative and other issues! Of course, Rohr needs to improve. But his achievements thus far are commendable, and will be the foundation for future success.
However, blind sentimentalists will not see that the immediate future is very bright. No body is dressing up an average coach like a messiah. Every one knows that Rohr is not Pep or Klopp. Westerhof was an average coach before he eventually created arguably Africa’s best ever collection of talents. All we need is a coach who understands that we’re not Germany, France, Brazil, or Argentina, but we can always stand our own against them with modesty.
We are a top 5 country at the AFCON and we proved that by winning the bronze medal in a 24 team tournament. I’m sure every lessons are being learnt going forward. Building a team from scratch takes time to blossom, but we’ve qualified for the last two major tournaments after reaching bottom since 2014. We moved from 67th in the world after failure to qualify for two consecutive AFCON to 33rd in the world. That alone is enough to keep him and I believe he’s earned that right irrespective of what enemies of progress think about him.
As long as the SuperEagles are ascending into the glory days Rohr remains. #FLY LIKE AN EAGLE INTO THE FUTURE# SUPEREAGLES ON THE ASCENDANCY.
Exchange Rohr with Morocco, and bring in your favorite curropt Headmaster coach who is always found of, pay to play, from the players, like Aigbogun. Lets see how you will even qualify for Cameroon and the Africa World Cup Qualifiers.
Another anti rohr bad belle with a pen. Not all writers are supposed to be writers. A fool with a pen and paper can be one and might garner for himself a couple of sheep followers..
A beg you go sit down somewhere. What do you know?
Headmaster.
Where is my Luomo joor? Xxx
Slashy na u be this?? Lol…where have u been hiding since??? Na cell u dy abi u go exile, which one???? Lol….abeg,I need to know…
Although football is not my profession but Nigerians have to appreciate quality of Rohr. He is very good in transition of team and that is major problem of Africa coach. For me in a tournament now adays not every team you will attack and win. I observe in history any time we play Ghana with attacking mind we loose. Rohr saying South Africa is favorite team is not bad statement. Nigerians should appreciate good things.
Remember if the present nigeria coach (Rohr) was to be a local coach, that comment as to South Africa to Nigeria is enough to remove him but because is white no one read meanings to he said., which is ridiculous
.What had he done for the last 3 years that our local coaches had not done,rather worsen the whole system., (1) Amodu saibu won nigeria bronze medal (2) Augustine Eguavo won the bronze medal award (3)Stephen Keshin won Gold medal award for Nigerian. What about Sampson Siasia who won many medals on different occasions Silver medal from
when i look at some people comments about this truthful article enh, i wanted to vomit.
people like @ayphilydegreet and edoman what is wrong with you guys? its not a must for you to comment on every articl na.
@edoman dont ever put ur comment here again. wats wrong with u?
is it rohr that took us to the past afcon? and the 3trophy?
we missed the last 2 edition due to the mismanagement and little average players….this present future baloon,dor nominees is able to qualify for any tournament without a single coach.
Good write up. Rohr has done a good job, but this is clearly where his competence ends. He has brought stability to the side and through his excellent scouting network, we now have a core of exciting young talents committed to the Nigerian cause. However, if we want this team to upgrade from a ‘nearly there’ team, we need a manager with passion and better tactical know-how. I don’t care about the coach’s nationality or skin color, just a passionate and tactical manager.
@Oakfield, Please let’s inculcate the habit of respecting people’s side of the coin whether twist of straight, cos when u do, you simply respect journalism which is the peak of this platform. Jah Bless…….
@Kel, if you watched Chris Ohehen live, listened to Ernest Okonkwo commentary, watched Maroc ’88, the Biyik brothers; Oman Biyik and Cannon Biyik, then you belong to our generation.
Good football is the only tonic that unites nigeria, although these Bokoharam beasts don’t give a damn.
They attack even viewing centers.
Growing up there were no viewing centers but we had communities.
We clustered around the vew black and white Tvs and very special times we watched on cenimas with projectors.
Good old days.
Reading through this article over and over again and I still don’t believe NFF are not seeing what we are seeing?
“That scenario played out to the disadvantage of the Super Eagles in the AFCON 2019 semifinal match against Algeria.
The manager has proven to Nigerians, that having a good set of players do not necessarily imply you will have a good team. It’s sad that the Super Eagles are in this situation, especially with the plethora of attacking talents available. The Gernot Rohr’s team could not even score from open play against Algeria.
This conservative measure were the reasons why the Eagles lost to
Argentina 2-1 and drew 1-1 with South Africa.
Rohr’s use of the 3-5-2 formation was a clear approach limiting his
team’s attacking strength as offensive players like Victor Moses
(against Argentina) and Samuel Kalu (against South Africa) were busy
defending against oppositions whom they would have confounded with a strong attacking impetus in the final third.”
Here is my rating for Oga over the 3 years.
Team management: Oga Rohr scored 100%
Tactics, 20/100
Late Substitutions: 5/100
Corruption: None yet
Super Eagles performances: 40/100
So therefore, for me Oga Rohr have done his best but its quite unfortunate that his best wasn’t enough for our team.
I do not hate the coach but we needs a change.
God bless Nigeria!!!
Oh my, just “Put your money where your mouth is!”. I don’t have enough time to break this down for you. The writer is missing some vital points about Rohr’s intentions, the Team’s Cohesion, Depth, Quality and ill Luck. Allow this family more time, until we can afford A-grade coaches and have better “…faster and stronger” solutions that are actually consistent. Am not saying you shouldn’t have your say though, but he did beat Seedorf and Kluivert’s Cameroon though.
Get Michael Emenalo.Though,I love Germany.Heil Deutschland.
@Joshua, but Emenalo has never coached or managed in football before. He has gone from chief scout to Assistant manager for six months to Technical Director at Chelsea.
Six months Assistant manager (even if of a big club like Chelsea) is not enough to justify taking charge of a national team. I have, though, thought he could do a good job either at the league management Company or as Technical staff in the NFF though.
Give him a brief for a year to three years to either improve the standard of the local league, set up the youth system for player development, or recruiting and scouting for the various national teams.
But an inexperienced hand to manage the Super Eagles? No. Lets use his skills and knowledge where it will work best for both him and the country
We need a good Dutch coach not a German.
We play free flowing siccer like the Dutch.
Even if the coach is from the dutch leage but has a flair for free flowing attacking football and a ton of self belief and talent development and man management.
That us really what we need now.
Assistants Amuneke (under 20), Garba (under 17).
The head coach should be responsible for the SE and under 23 Eagles.
With Emenalo as NFF tech director, Odegbami as the NFF Chairman or sports minister.
But in a Fulani republic of nigeria.
We need a good Dutch coach not a German.
We play free flowing soccer like the Dutch.
Even if the coach is from the dutch leage but has a flair for free flowing attacking football and a ton of self belief and talent development and man management.
That is really what we need now.
Assistants Amuneke (under 20), Garba (under 17).
The head coach should be responsible for the SE and under 23 Eagles.
With Emenalo as NFF tech director, Odegbami as the NFF Chairman or sports minister.
But in a Fulani republic of nigeria, can merit and patrotism ever be promoted?
This has to be one of the most ridiculous article about the Super Eagles under coach Gernot Rohr.
1. When will Nigerians come to terms with the fact that WE DO NOT HAVE WORLD CLASS PLAYERS ANYMORE? No single Nigerian player is a super regular in their clubs. One-on-one, the Guinea team is even a better side. The present coach has been superlative in maximizing the young potentials he has at his disposal, instilling confidence in them, and preparing them for a time when they would really thrive.
2. In sports psychology, you lower expectations on your Team so as to give your opponent a false sense of security, and you hit them hard. In boxing, it is called rope-a-dope. When the coach lowers expectations, it does not mean he feels inferior. Instead, he takes the weight of expectation off the shoulders of his young players, relieves them of tension, and allows them to play without inhibitions.
3. Even with the absence of a top class goalkeeper in the Nigerian Team, we have been able to compete well against top sides in the world. This is all due to the ingenuity of the German tactical and disciplined approach.
4. Let’s take a cue from England, Belgium and the Netherlands who built new Teams from a bunch of young players who exploded at the last World cup. Nigeria’s time will come. Let’s be patient and let the coach go about his work. And let these armchair critics go drink a glass of juice.