Former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr says the decision of the Super Eagles technical crew not to include Innocent Bonke in the Super Eagles squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations came as a shock to him.
Rohr handed Bonke his competitive debut while he was still in Sweden turning out for Malmö and prior to his sack included the 26 year old in his preliminary list of players for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Following the sacking of Rohr, the new technical crew led by Austine Eguavoen didn’t include him in the list of players for the tournament, where Nigeria crashed out in the round of 16 losing 0-1 to Tunisia.
Bonke moved to French Ligue 1 side Lorient in the January transfer window and in his first start for the team he showed why he is on the way to becoming one of the first names on the team sheet for games.
Speaking on his adaptation, Rohr said he saw the same qualities hence his debut for the Nigerian team away to Cape Verde, where they won 2-1 in the World Cup qualifiers.
” He has energy to go up the pitch and also has tactical awareness to close it at the back. We saw him in the UEFA Champions League for Malmö and his quality won us over. He love to tackle and he doesn’t shy away from duels in the air. I was shock when he didn’t make the Nigerian team to AFCON”, the coach said
