…as NFF plans to overhaul technical crew ahead of W/Cup qualifier
Things may have fallen apart in the country’s national team, the Super Eagles, after the disgraceful home loss to South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier recently in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.
Unsettled dirty dust is hovering over the team’s technical crew, led by Gernot Rohr and the Nigeria Football Federation’s top officials following their intention to return psychologist, Dr Robinson Okosun, to the team after they failed to impress teeming fans in Uyo.
And barely few months to another testy tie against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in the FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifier, embattled Eagles seem to be in deep crisis after NFF cut down the power of the team’s Technical Adviser.
The decision has almost torn the team apart as the Franco-German strategist is kicking against anything that would draw the hands of the clock back technically. Rohr is insisting that no new coach should be drafted into the team.
But information has it that NFF consultant, Tunde Adelakun, who is also a football agent to some of the players in the national team, may be wielding immense influence in team selections.
According to a reliable source close to the team, Adelakun, former Editor of African Football magazine, actually recommended all the players born of British background to Eagles’ Franco-German coach.
Concerned Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, had ordered NFF and the Technical Committee, led by Christopher Green, to intervene and scrutinise the selection process of the team.
It has been endorsed that henceforth, Rohr will now submit his list of invited players to the Technical and Development Committee of the NFF for verification before it is made public.
The team has not had a psychologist attached to them since the services of Okosun was dispensed off two years ago.
“The return of Okosun may not go well with Rohr and Adelakun as it may disrupt their initial plans to market the youthful players in the team.
The return of Okosun may not go well with Rohr and Adelakun as it may disrupttheir initial plans to market the youthful players in the team
The technical crew has been blocking the former Psychologist because it will expose all the underground dirty deals in the team.
Adelakun is actually in charge of the team. He has introduced many players who are not mature enough to play in the national team.
We are watching,” the source told The Point. Rohr presented a very youthful lineup in the 0-2 loss to South Africa and the defeat was attributed to lack of experience and leadership in he team.
Rohr was without the services of team captain, Mikel John Obi, first choice goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme and Victor Moses. With the imminent return of the trio and the likes of Odion Ighalo and Brown Ideye getting back to form, Rohr will be looking at the bright side of things.
Carl Ikeme, who has been out for nearly two months has already started gym sessions, which means he is well on the mend. He has worked out on the thread mill and started leg exercises at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Victor Moses, who recently had a successful operation on his toe and reports suggest he is also making a fast and steady recovery, might be ready for the crunch game against Cameroon in August.
The Chelsea man has been one of Nigeria’s leading light since Rohr took over, with some impressive displays. He was also among the scorers in Nigeria’s 3-1 triumph over Algeria in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier last November.
Eagles captain, Mikel is another player currently making progress in his recovery from a successful operation. The Tianjin Teda midfielder has been out of action for about 11 weeks but is nearing a return to the field. He has already started working with the ball and done gym work ,and it will please Rohr if his captain returns to full fitness before the crunch game as it was evident Mikel’s absence was felt during the loss to South Africa.
The Super Eagles currently lead Group B of the Africa zone of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with maximum points after two games. A win against Cameroon in August will give Nigeria an edge over all the teams in her group.
Ex-international, Tijani Babangida, advised Rohr not to completely overhaul the team, saying that it may affect the team’s build up in the World Cup qualifier against Cameroon.
“After the South Africa loss, Eagles should not go to sleep. They should not disrupt the team. I will urge Rohr to just change, may be, three players in each department to beef-up the team. The players are relatively young but we need to add some experienced players to make the format formidable,” Babangida said.
Football pundits had criticised Eagles defensive line-up, describing it as a weak-point the South Africans utilised to defeat Nigeria and they hope the coach would do something about it before the Indomitable Lions match.
Former Under-20 defender, Taye Ismaila Taiwo, also urged Rohr to re-arrange the team’s defence ahead of subsequent matches. Taiwo, who plays for FC Luassane Sport of Switzerland, said,““I feel the coaches should scout for more players especially in defence and particularly at the full-back positions.
“Echjejile is a good player, forget that he didn’t play well against South Africa but I still feel he needs one or two equally good left-backs to fight for the position with him.”
Meanwhile, NFF Technical Director, Bitrus Bewarang, had defended Rohr on the issue of complete black-out for the homebased players in the national team. Bewarang had informed Nigerians to stop clamouring for homebased players, saying that the country’s best players are playing abroad.
He, however, implored football pundits to be patient with Eagles Technical Adviser in the area of inviting players into the national team. Bewarang also said Nigerians must understand that the coach is trying to get a very strong national team in place ahead of qualifiers for the 2019 Africa cup of nations finals in Cameroon and the 2018 world cup finals in Russia.
“Those clamouring for more home based players in the national team must understand that our best legs are based overseas. The quality of home based players in the 1980s and the 1990s are different from the quality of players we have now,” he said.
