Many Nigerian football lovers have called for the head of Gernot Rohr for the decision to bring back Odion Ighalo to the Super Eagles in the remaining 2022 World Cup qualifying matches.
Ighalo, 32, quit playing for the Super Eagles after he guided them to a bronze medal at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nation in Egypt.
The fans in their views felt the coach is using the national team to re-launch the footballer’s ailing career. They felt if the team could cope without Ighalo for the past two years, why would Rohr bring him back now.
The Super Eagles already have Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanacho, Paul Onuachu, Taiwo Awoniyi, etc, in the central striker position, and are not doing badly, they argued.
However, the German tactician explained why he brought back the former Manchester United player to the national team after retirement.
The coach said the team missed Ighalo’s leadership, experience, and goals. He reiterated that Osimhen still remains the number one striker but that Ighalo is needed to help guide the young players in the squad.
It is quite disturbing Nigerians have not learned how to allow a coach to do his job even contracting him for the same purpose. One of the things these fans have forgotten in a hurry is the fact that they asked the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to give the coach free hands to manage the team.
The fans insisted then that giving the foreign coach free hands would enable him to pick players who are willing to play and not necessarily the expected ones.
And if this is the case, why are they crying fouls over what they recommended. That is to me, speaking from both sides of the mouth, and this is wrong.
Over the years we have seen countries call back their retired footballers as occasions demand. In 1994, Cameroun called back Roger Milla on the country’s journey to the Mundial. Coming out of retirement for the 1994 World Cup, Milla, then 42 years old, became the oldest player to score a goal in the World Cup finals.
Earlier this year Sweden had to call back Zlatan Ibrahimovic after his retirement, and the Swedish coach was not crucified.
Read also: NFF, Premier Lotto sign partnership agreement in Lagos
Dani Alves, the legendary Brazilian full-back was recalled to the Brazil international squad after an absence stretching to 18 months. Tite, the national coach of Brazil was allowed to make his choice. They had other good players in that very wing that were playing regularly for their clubs.
It is on record that Lionel Messi called it a quit with the Argentine national team, but was urged to recline the decision. Today, he is playing for his beloved country.
Asamoah Gyan of Ghana retired from national team assignment after he missed a crucial last-minute penalty at the 2010 World cup in South Africa. He took several exiles, with one lasting for over a year and an official second international retirement was announced in May 2019 but Gyan reversed his decision just a year later after discussing with Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The list of footballers who retired from national duties and were recalled is inexhaustive. The important thing here is the ability of the coach and player to live up to expectations. Nigerians must learn how to allow coaches to do their work.
Luiz Felipe Scolari, the national team manager of Brazil in 2002, laid a good example of what the job of a coach should be. He refused to invite Romario to his team prior to the tournament build-up, and when pressure was mounted on him to bring in the player, he maintained that he will only play the players he considered good enough. And that the country can judge him after the tournament.
He went to the tournament and came back with a trophy without Romario in his team.
Aimé Étienne Jacquet in 1998 did a similar thing when he dropped Eric Cantona and David Ginola who were doing great in both Manchester United and Tottenham football clubs then. Though some fans in France then were not pleased with his action, he shut their voices with the trophy.
Nigerians should wait to see how things turn out with Gernot Rohr ahead of the Qatar 2022 World cup before crucifying him. The major duty of a coach is to achieve results and not to dance to the tunes of fans.
Odion Ighalo is a Nigerian and has the right to represent his fatherland if invited. So let us all encourage our players to patriotic and not otherwise!
