Izuchukwu OkosiFormer Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has recalled a bizarre incident during his time as head coach of the Nigerian senior national team as he was made to allow former Minster of Sports Sunday Dare to be part of a training session with his team.
Rohr who is now the coach of Benin Republic had memorable experiences in charge of the three-time African champions but singled out that incident as not a pleasant one.
Rohr granted an exclusive interview with FC Bayern where he revealed that the experience could have possibly led to his sacking as coach of the side.
Fearing that he could be sacked if he refused to accommodate the Minister’s request, Rohr and his team swiftly arranged a mini ball-playing session, known as a “rondo,” to appease the Minister’s desire to participate.
“Two years ago in Nigeria: suddenly, the Minister of Sports showed up at the training with 40 or 50 journalists and wanted to participate.
“I was perplexed. My assistant told me that we had to let him participate; otherwise we would all be sacked the next day. Without further ado, we organized a rondo for him, and everything went well.”
Rohr had playing career that included stints at Bayern Munich and Girondins Bordeaux before he went into coaching after retiring in 1989.
The septuagenarian who turned 70 years old recently led Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup with a game to spare and guided the team to a bronze medal at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations held in Egypt.
Rohr was sacked barely a month to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon over differences in his salary payment.
Rohr worked as coach of north African side, Tunisia’s Étoile Sportive du Sahel in 2008 then served as the Technical Director for national teams in Gabon, Niger, and Burkina Faso before assuming the role of Nigeria’s head coach in 2016.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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