TheCable

Gernot Rohr, former Super Eagles, says he once had to choose between losing his job or allowing Sunday Dare, former minister of sports, to train with the team.

Rohr spoke in a chat with the Bayern Munich media team in celebration of his 70th birthday.

The Franco-German was appointed as the Super Eagles’ head coach in 2016. He held the role for five years until he was sacked in 2021.

The duration of his tenure made him one of the longest-serving coaches in the team’s history.

Speaking on the cultural shock he had experienced throughout his managerial career, Rohr narrated how Dare “showed up with 40 or 50 journalists at training and wanted to play along”.

The former Bayern defender added his “assistant said we have to let him join us, or we’ll all be gone tomorrow”.

Rohr said he had to let the minister join the training following the warning.

“Two years ago in Nigeria: the sports minister suddenly showed up with 40 or 50 journalists at training and wanted to play along,” he said.

“I was perplexed. My assistant said we have to let him join us, or we’ll all be gone tomorrow. Without further ado, we added a circle game for him, and everything was fine.”

In 2020, TheCable reported how Dare and Amaju Pinnick, former president of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), trained with the Super Eagles ahead of their 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

The training session was in preparation for the double-header clash against Sierra Leone, the first of which ended 4-4 at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City. The Super Eagles also failed to win the second leg which finished 0-0 in Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone, four days after.