The coach of the national team of Nigeria, Gernot Rohr, has stressed that he won’t allow anyone to force players on him. The Super Eagles‘ coach who recently got his contract extended until 2023, revealed that he has a team he has been working with when it comes to selecting players that will feature for the Super Eagles.
Gernot Rohr noted that there is no room for players who are not good enough as he insisted that it was not part of his contract to accept players who are not good enough into the national team.
His argument is probably connected to the criticism that he has not been looking towards the direction of footballers playing in the country’s local league. There has also been a ranging argument that Gernot Rohr is more interested in Nigerian players born and bred outside the country, especially in Europe. The 66-year-old German coach told Channels TV that all players are invited into the team on merit.
“It is not a part of my contract to take players who are not so good. I can choose my players myself”, he said. “It is the most important [thing]. So, nobody can tell me ‘You have to pick this one or that one.
“I can take the best players and I don’t do it alone. We have a team and our staff. I have my assistant, I have my analyzer.
“Each Monday we have our meetings and we speak about the games played at the weekend and what our players did. We have to take the best ones no matter where they are coming from.”
Gernot Rohr Slams Philip Billing
Weeks ago, FutballNews reported that a Nigerian born Denmark footballer Philip Billing snubbed Nigeria and insisted that his dream is to play for the Denmark national team. The 23-year-old Bournemouth midfielder stressed that his mind was already made up that he prefers to play for Danmark national team.
In reaction to Billing’s comment, Rohr told ESPN that he has never begged a player to play for Nigeria, adding that he only reached out to Billing when his agent reached out to him.
“Billing’s agent called me and he said that he is interested to come to Nigeria because he is not playing so much in Denmark,” Rohr said.
“So he wanted me to call [Billing]. I said I don’t have his number, so he gave me his number. [When I called Billing] he asked me some questions about the Nigerian team.
“And he said, ‘I am very, very interested to come with you, but give me some time. I think the agent is using this interest to give him more importance or more chances to play in Denmark.
“We never beg anybody. But if they want to come, if they are good players, yes. Some players sometimes want to come but we have already better players in these positions.”
He however, added that he is hoping that Queens Park Rangers midfielder Eberechi Eze will play for the Super Eagles.
He said, “we hope Eze will come but you know there is a process to follow. If they play already for the youth team in England or other countries, there is a process, write a letter, go to the Fifa commission, and so on.”
