Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr passed on the chance to meet with German-Nigerian defender Kevin Akpoguma during his last trip to Germany when he watched the 25 year old in action for Hoffenheim who were beaten 0-6 by Bayern Munich.
Akpoguma was a 75th minute substitute in the game which Rohr watched from the stands to run the rule on not just the defender but also Dutch-Nigerian forward Jonathan Zirkzee.
Rohr confirmed the players he met during his last trip to Germany but didn’t mention the former youth team captain of Germany who has played 62 times from German U16 to U21. The coach tried to lure the player two years ago.
” It was in the news that he was in the stands to watch the game. Talks were all about meeting with Zirkzee and nothing was said about Akpoguma. Even Rohr didn’t mention him among the players he met while in Germany despite watching him”, German based journalist Roland Mark told Owngoalnigeria.
Tied to Hoffenheim till the summer of 2024 after signing an extension to his deal in January 2020, Rohr tried to lure him to the Nigerian team before the World Cup but Akpoguma said he was focus on making the grade with the German national team.
Last year he also confirmed that he will consider Nigeria when he gets to a certain age and has no hope of playing for the senior national team of Germany but it appears Rohr is no longer keen on him after ignoring the chance to meet with him last month.
Osas Mahawi
