No Difference : Eguavoen, Rohr

IKENWA NNABUOGOR maintains Eagles would still have missed the Qatar flight if former coach Gernot Rohr was in charge…

Sacked coach Gernot Rohr would still have led Eagles to lose the Qatar 2022 World Cup ticket to Ghana had the Franco-German coach not been fired.

Austin Eguavoen had inherited a fairly manageable bunch from Rohr with very little time to book Nigeria’s seventh World Cup appearance ticket but his best was not good enough as equally bruised Black Stars of Ghana only managed a passage via an unforgettable away goal rule to Qatar, leaving millions of broken hearts behind in Abuja and elsewhere.

Rohr’s exit was inevitable and only took a decisive hammer by the Nigeria Football Federation to fall on the embattled 69 year old former Nice manager to make way for Eguavoen on the interim basis to try to put the disjointed bunch together.

But it appeared ‘Cerezo’ was only marking time on a long walk to defeat after giving up the Qatar World Cup ticket to arch rivals in Kumasi in the first leg of the double header, leaving shattered minds and images to sulk a wicked fate of the much talked about defeat in Abuja in the reverse tie of the exciting double header.

Nothing could have changed if Rohr had been allowed to see out the tall order handed him by the NFF, and the order, indeed, remained tall as the Eagles lost their wings to fly in the hot Abuja evening.

Technically and tactically, Rohr appeared lost as his wards only clinged on to just luck and a little respect for their big name tag from opponents to unconvincing wobble into the playoffs.

It appeared things were practically not going to get better for Rohr not only on the pitch as he also appeared to have lost the dressing room, leaving the team struggling even against supposed minnows, as the NFF hammer was just about the time.

Losing the dressing room was also returning same on the pitch as seen in the unattractive tactical and technical approach that opposing teams had no problems in containing and repelling with superior methods that left Rohr and Eagles galloping like a sick horse.

Rohr’s Eagles were in bed with struggles as even the minnows could easily dissect his plans in the drawing board and return to play Rohr and his men like the game of chess with plenty of shadows to chase.

Recalling when Eagles looked clueless and lacked ideas for total annihilation against supposed less illustrious opponents can only be imagined reading Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels but Rohr stared us the unthinkable right there to the faces of millions of fans, with lacklustre performances that would not increase their fan base.

Could this same Eagles’ who were suspect super under Rohr have twisted the arms of Ghana to wrestle the ticket to Qatar?

Rohr would not forget the bitter lessons Sierra Leone and Central African Republic came here to teach his team and the sad reality that trailed was the fact the Eagles were not super.

However, ‘Cerezo’ brought back smiles again in his first three games to restore hopes that Eagles could be super again but surprising resurrected Rohr’s ghosts when it mattered most, starting from the regrettable second round loss to Tunisia at the last African Cup of Nations in Cameroon, and ultimately losing the World Cup ticket right there in their closet.

The former Sunshine Stars’ coach never recovered from the wicked fate of the AFCON shock ouster and failed to redeem himself for the sudden AFCON exit by allowing Ghana, who also failed their fans back home by crashing out of the AFCON with just a point, to snatch the ticket to Qatar.

Ideas breaking down the resolute Ghana defence for that lone “golden” goal to hit Qatar took a walk as Eagles surrendered both the midfield and the wings to the rejuvenated Black Stars especially in the second half of the ill-fated Abuja encounter.

There was also something about the team’s psychology that was not adding up to the quest for the lone ticket to Qatar, a la Rohr’s regime, as captain William Troost-Ekong and men “refused” to play like their lives depended on the ticket, leaving the bragging rights in their hotel rooms.

Could there be anything wrong somewhere that Rohr and ‘Cerezo’ were not revealing?

Could they have thought the away goal rule didn’t apply and there was time to kill their adversaries off in the extra time after all?

Sense of urgency forced it’s way to the back seat as Eagles seemed to be fulfilled enjoying the pegging back by the resolute Ghana defence led by Strasbourg central defender Alexander Djiku?

Too many questions begging sadly but the deed had been done and Eagles are not flying to Qatar come November.

Ghana showed they hungered more for the ticket even in our Abuja backyard and played like their lives depended on it and perhaps, God rewarded them for their more hunger, seriousness and drive?

Experts also argued that Eguavoen’s selection and substitutions added to the team’s problems, same offence they heaped on the shoulders of Rohr, who they maintained never fared any better in that regard.

Rohr launched an unprecedented phenomenon of playing more diaspora players in the team, which ‘Cerezo’ raised the bar by finally hurriedly throwing in Leicester City winger Ademola Lookman in the deep end, who had only been cleared for the Eagles’ switch, amidst a barrage of criticism.

The pages of the media were very unkind to ‘Cerezo’ on his decision to play Lookman, as well as playing another diasporan, Glasgow Rangers’ Calvin Bassey, in the crucial game, heavily criticising him on the grounds that both UK-based players were not grounded well enough on the nitty-gritty of playing against bitter rivals, Ghana, in a harsh African soil.

Both players grasped for breath under the baking hot weather, leaving ‘Cerezo’ to further chase the Black Stars’ shadows as the clock wickedly ticked down.

‘Cerezo’ backed down and returned to his former position as the head of the NFF Technical Committee and waiting for his fourth return to the helms sometimes in the future.

The drawing board will be visited again for the way forward but the absence in Qatar will take a long time to forget because the Eagles were so near yet criminally far.