Mikel Remains My Captain - Rohr

Mikel Remains My Captain - Rohr By George Aluo Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr has declared that China-based Mikel Obi remains the substantive captain of his team despite missing out in action since after the Russia 2018 World Cup. The Franco-German tactician, who has just qualified Nigeria for the Nations Cup with a match left at hand just as he did for the Russia 2018 World Cup was the special guest at a Sports Editors’ Roundtable, tagged ‘Peak Breakfast with Rohr,’ held in Lagos on Friday. Organised by HS Media Group, owners of the HotSports brand and sponsored by Friesland Campina, makers of Peak Milk, the official Milk of Super Eagles, the event was an interactive session between Sports Editors of selected national dailies, broadcast and online media organisations on current issues in Nigerian football. While speaking on the programme streamed live from the HS Media’s Studio to a global audience via YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, Rohr insisted that Mikel is still in his plans ahead of the 2019 AFCON in Cameroon. Hear him: ”Mikel told me after the World Cup that he wants to take a break and after then he also had an injury that was why he was not invited to the squad. However, he is still the team’s captain and once he is ready to come back, he will still have a place in the team.” Rohr also seized the opportunity of the interactive session to clear the air on his perceived apathy against players of the Nigerian Professional Football League, saying poor organization of the league and lack of adequate training facilities are reasons home based players find it difficult to break into his team. The well attended session is a regular feature in the series of the media event which has in the last ten years featured national team coaches such as; the late Amodu Shuaibu, who qualified Nigeria for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Samson Siasia and late Stephen Keshi, who won the African Nations Cup in 2013, South Africa.