The Nigerian senior national football team threw away a four-goal lead to draw 4-4 with their Sierra Leonean counterpart on Friday to the chagrin of the head of the country’s sport ministry
Sierra Leone’s remarkable come-from-behind 4-4 draw against Nigeria at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium on November 13 shows head coach Gernot Rohr is not technically competent enough to handle a team as blessed as the Super Eagles, insists Sports Minister Sunday Dare.
The three-time African champions found the back of the net four times in the opening 30 minutes of their Afcon qualifier on Friday.
But Sierra Leone, thanks to coach John Keister’s tactical changes, secured an unlikely comeback to force a draw and earn a point at the home ground of their illustrious opponents.
While former international midfielder Garba Lawal and a few angry fans are convinced Nigerian players should be blamed for the disappointing result, some others believe coach Rohr is the architect of the Super Eagles’ misfortune.
Nigeria’s Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Sunday Dare, however, agrees that the German tactician should bear the blame for his team’s second-half collapse in Benin City.
“What transpired in the game where the Eagles squandered a 4-0 lead has given credence to Minister’s position that Rohr lacks the technical competence to manage a big team like the Super Eagles,” said Kola Daniel, special assistant, media to the Minister, as per The Nations.
“The Super Eagles had gone four goals up in the first 30 minutes of the game, conceded one before half-time, only to concede three more goals in the second half with a coach who earns huge income from taxpayers income remaining rudderless on the touchline.”
It would be recalled that Minister Dare was not in support of the Nigerian Football Federation renewing the contract of Gernot Rohr earlier in the year.
The minister has often called for the hiring of one of the best coaches in the world as Nigerian footballers play in some of the best clubs in the world and are trained by some of the game’s finest tacticians.
