TheCable

After the Super Eagles’ last two games it’s obvious that coach Gernot Rohr has taken us as far as he can. To put bluntly, Rohr is an average coach who has no business coaching the Super Eagles a day longer. He has turned full cycle and lacks new ideas to take the team forward.

The question is how did we get here? how did we end up with a Grade-E gaffer, coaching arguably the best team in the African continent? Come to think of it, how did Rohr who has never achieved success at the coaching level land the number one coaching job in Africa?

Regrettably, since he was appointed Eagles coach in 2016, Rohr has not improved the team in any way. He led Nigeria to a third-place finish at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations which is not an achievement as finishing 3rd place at the tournament was a failure. The Super Eagles’ 3rd place finish at the tournament was their eighth third-place finish in Nations Cup history which is a record. Nigerians fans deserve better.

Last year, the Super Eagles finished the year without a win.

To be sure his coaching career has not been stellar, In 1996, he managed Girondins de Bordeaux to the UEFA Cup final, where they lost to Bayern Munich over two legs, 0–2 away and 1–3 at home. Bordeaux’s run to the final included a famous 3–0 win over AC Milan in the quarter-finals. From October 1998 until April 1999 he was sports director of Eintracht Frankfurt.

Rohr was fired by Étoile Sportive du Sahel following a third-place finish in the league, outside of the 2010 CAF Champions League places, on May 15, 2009. On June 9, 2009, he was named as the new head coach of the Ligue 2 team FC Nantes, his contract valid till June 30, 2011.

On December 3, 2009, he was fired by FC Nantes and replaced by Jean-Marc Furlan. On February 21, 2010, Rohr replaced French coach Alain Giresse at the helm of the Gabon national football team. He became manager of the Niger national football team in September 2012. He resigned in October 2014.

On December 22, 2015, he was sacked by Burkina Faso national football team as manager. He was shortlisted for the Guinea national team job in July 2016 but was not given the job.

It is instructive to note that in 106 games as a coach, he has won 43, drew 29, lost 34 games with a winning ratio of 40 percent. This is poor and not acceptable.

Indeed, since the golden era of 1994 to 2000, we have arguably the best squad now since that era. We have the likes of Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi, Senior Man Kelechi, Emmanuel Dennis, Chukweze, Onachu, and some bunch of the other talented players. A world-class coach will do wonders with this set of boys. You don’t need superstars in your team to win a tournament. Italy proved it in Euros, with a squad of many unknown gunmen, Roberto Mancini led the team to Euro glory.

I know one of the reasons the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) is reluctant to sack Rohr is because of his huge payout fee. Do we because of his compensation fee stick to this mediocre coach and suffer another Nations Cup early ouster or not even qualify for the World Cup.

Over the years football is one sport that brings Nigerians together irrespective of ethnicity, religion, or political affiliations. It should remain so.

And the news I heard that the NFF is preparing to give a Serbian that I cannot even spell or pronounce his name the Super Eagles job is depressing, to say the least. If it is true, I want to know the brand of weed people in NFF are smoking. Maybe Buba Marwa should beam his searchlight on NFF because they are definitely not thinking or under the influence.

Personally, I would prefer an ex-international to be our coach. Emmanuel Amunike is not a bad option. Amunike coached the Nigeria national U17 football team to win the World Cup in 2015. He qualified Tanzania for the 2019 Nations Cup. Given a free hand, I think he will do well as Super Eagles coach.

Another option is former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Ndubuisi Egbo, who guided Albania’s KF Tirana to top-flight triumph in their centenary year. He made history as the first African coach to lead a European team to a league title, and qualification for the UEFA Champions League — or any European competition, for that matter.

Even if we want to hire a foreign coach, why not go for one of the best. A coach with a proven track record of winning and improving his teams.

Man City’s coach Pep Guardiola said he wants to coach a national team when his contract expires in 2023. What stops us from going for Guardiola. We are allowed to dream. Aren’t we?