Former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr says he was heavily opposed when he tried to follow the route of Morocco during his time as coach of the Nigerian team, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Morocco have been one of the revelation of the ongoing World Cup with a team largely made up of players born outside the country. A route Rohr toed during his time as coach of the Nigerian team.
Rohr was very aggressive in his approach, but met stiff resistance from section of Nigerians in particular former players who accused him of neglecting players born and raised in Nigeria.
The coach said he is surprise that they are now praising Morocco for a template that he was attacked and opposed during his close to six years spell as coach of Nigeria.
” I identify it ( luring players born abroad) as the way to bridge the gap between teams in Africa and the top teams in the world. The football education is not the same at a certain level, which with all due respect give the players born abroad an edge”, the coach said.
” During my time in Nigeria I was heavily opposed for doing it. Now it’s what many people are praising Morocco for. The approach is normal as long as the players are eligible nationals”, he concluded.
Ade Emmanuel
