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Nigeria narrowly qualified for the playoff round of the 2022 African World Cup qualifiers after a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Cape Verde in their last group game, a performance that has angered fans and stakeholders. Ikpeba opined that sacking Rohr less than two months before the start of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations is not a brilliant idea, and will spell disaster for the three-time African champions. Ikpeba said:
“It is less than 48 days before our first game against Egypt at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. The speculation about his sack has been intense and I’m really surprised. I know what happened in 2002 and in 2010. Rumour of people going to the Sports Ministry and the Presidency calling for Rohr to be sacked.’’
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The former Monaco of France star advised the NFF to wait until after the AFCON before taking any decision on the fate of the German and his technical crew. Ikpeba said Nigerians must remember that the country was confronted with a similar scenario in 2002 and 2010, and sacking the then Super Eagles boss Amodu Shuaibu spelt doom for the country.
“Why not wait till after the AFCON and take a decision on his future. It will be a disaster if that happens now. If you sack Rohr and employ another coach, if the team fails at the AFCON who takes the blame? What will the new manager change? What changed in 2002 and in 2010? It was a disaster. This will happen again if Rohr is sacked now. My worry is that we forget history and we should not. Those who sacked the late Amodu Shuaibu twice said he was not good enough. Gernot Rohr has been too soft with the players the NFF can help him.” Victor IkpebaSource: Complete Sports Featured Image Source: Nigeria Galleria
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