Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia striker, Odion Ighalo, says it was “one hundred percent a disastrous decision” to have sacked Gernot Rohr as manager of the Super Eagles of Nigeria in December 2021, a few weeks before the delayed 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon.
NEWSBREAK reports that according to Ighalo, a former Udinese, Watford and Manchester United forward, Rohr already understood the team and would have qualified the team for Qatar 2022.
Recall that Rohr, a German tactician, was sacked by the Amaju Pinnick-led Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) board despite qualifying for the 2021 AFCON and the final round of qualifying for the World Cup playoffs. He was replaced with Austine Eguavoen, who would also be later relieved of his duties following the world cup qualification failure.
But revisiting the issue recently, Ighalo, who thrived under Rohr, said the NFF erred.
“It was one hundred percent a disastrous decision to have sacked Rohr. Gernot would have qualified us for the world cup,” Ighalo said in an interview on OmaSportsTV.
“People say he is old, he is this, he is that, but we got results.
“Before we qualified for the Russia world cup (2018), we have two games to go. He (Rohr) would have qualified the team because in this team, we have younger and more vibrant players. It was a wrong timing.
“It was not proper, at the middle, you remove the coach that has been there for years and who understands the team.
“This football that you see, it is not only running on the pitch. There are so many things that happens inside that is transferred to the pitch. So if the inside is not okay, the outside cannot be okay. So, even if you carry 10 Messi and 10 Ronaldo on the pitch [sic], if you have problem internally, it would affect them outside.”
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