By Sab Osuji
Gernot Rohr appears to have hit the ground running despite not yet signing his contract extension which he agreed with NFF last week, Orient Sports reports.
In a move suggestive of a man in a rush to catch the fast moving train, Rohr has assigned roles to his backroom staff, including Joseph Yobo, his assistant, just as he embark on early ride to meet the double mandate of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification and 2021 AFCON title handed to him by his employers.
Orient Sports reports that Yobo was handed the task of monitoring the domestic league, NPFL, and scouting for players therefrom for the senior national team.
Yobo was engaged by NFF in the capacity of assistant coach, replacing erstwhile junior international, Imama Amapakabo early this year, precisely in February.
While Yobo would be Criss crossing the length and breadth of the country’s league venue searching for quality legs for the Super Eagles, Rohr mandated his other backroom staff, to monitor the Eagles players in Europe.
Nabil Trabelsi, (video analyst), Jean Luc Royer (fitness coach), Tunde Adelakun (chief scout), Joseph Yobo (assistant coach), Alloy Agu (goalkeeper coach), Ibrahim Gyaran (Team doctor) and Anaemeka Anozie (team physio) are all members of Rohr’s backroom staff.
“On Sunday, I had a video conference with all my staff, medical and technical staff,” Rohr said.
“I introduced Yobo, the new assistant coach to them and I spoke with my doctor, my physio and my assistant Tunde (Adelakun) as well.
“We are preparing for the future and we want to know how we can win the Africa Cup of Nations but let’s qualify first for the AFCON and then let’s say we want to win it”.
“Trabelsi is based in Germany, so he monitors Nigerians playing in the Bundesliga.
“Jean Luc Royer, who is in France, does same for our players in the French and Belgian leagues.
“My assistant (Adelakun) and myself will oversee other leagues where our players are playing in”, Rohr said.
However, Yobo has said he would work with Rohr to make the Super Eagles a force to be reckoned with.
“We have been discussing on the phone. I have not met him personally and he does not know me personally”, Yobo said.
“But we have spoken to each other on phone. We have already discussed some ideas and already I have some ideas of what he wants.
“I am only going to be one of his assistants. That means I am going to work with other people in the backroom staff and I will try the best I can.
“We will all work together to succeed and I will do the best I can to make the team better”.