A former international, Tajudeen Disu, has challenged Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr on his continued disregard for home-based players.
Nigeria will face Mexico in an international friendly in the United States on July 3 but Rohr has excused himself from that clash.
Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) Technical Director, Austin Eguavoen, has been drafted in to prepare the home-based Eagles for the international friendly.
Speaking with The Guardian during the week, Disu wondered why Rohr would refuse to handle the home-based Eagles in the friendly against Mexico.
“In the two friendlies Super Eagles played against Cameroun in Austria, I expected Rohr to test the two home-based players in his squad since the matches were friendlies, but he did not do that. Rohr refused to use Enyimba’s John Noble in any of the two games, while he brought in Anayo Iwuala for a few minutes in the second half.
“Rohr is comfortable featuring players from Cyprus’ leagues, Hungary and some countries, where their leagues are barely known to us.
“And our NPFL players, who are supposed to be the foundation of our team, are relegated to the background.
“In the goalkeeping position, for instance, we have seen Maduka Okoye in action likewise Francis Uzoho.
“So, the question you ask yourself is why is Rohr denying us the chance to see Noble also in action?
“I expected to watch Iwuala start one of the games to prove to us why he was picked ahead of others from the NPFL.
“The NPFL boys were not given that chance even in a friendly situation because Rohr thought differently,” he said.
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Disu is the welfare officer of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN).
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
