In a manner suggesting lack of confidence in the team, the Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, has said the present Super Eagles team lacks ‘star players’ like it used to in the past. He made this statement during an interview on Tuesday 19th March, 2019 where he stated that the present Super Eagles squad only has team spirit “but lacks star players like Austin Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu”.
When asked if he could win the next African Cup of Nations with the Super Eagle, he flatly answered by saying:
“We have to be optimistic but if you look at our players, how many of them are playing for big clubs? Who among them is playing in the Champions League?
“I watched the last champions’ league games and no Nigerian players. We don’t have the big players like we used to have in the past; the likes of Austin Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Vincent Enyeama and the rest,” he said.
In a fashion unbecoming of a football coach, Gernot Rohr talked down on the Super Eagle players by saying that the Super Eagles squad does not have star players like it used to have in time past that he has to rely on is the team’s “team spirit.”
Gernot Rohr stated in the interview by saying, “What we have now is team spirit; we don’t have the stars again. We have young players like Alex Iwobi playing for Arsenal in the Europa League even though he was on the bench in their last game. Our strength is the team and I hope it will take us far in Egypt.”
