‘You turned my young football career around’- Super Eagles star pays respect to Rohr

The German tactician was sacked as the coach of the three-time African champions, but he still has the well-wishes of some of his ex-players

Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye is the first Nigerian star to pay his respect to former Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr.

Rohr was relieved of his duties on Sunday evening after more than five years in charge of the Super Eagles. The 68-year-old had been in charge of the team since 2016, leading the team to the 2018 World Cup and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, where Nigeria finished third.

However, the team’s poor performance over the last 12 months made Rohr’s position untenable. And on Sunday, The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) decided to part ways with the former Burkina Faso manager.

And Following the news, Okoye took to his social media to thank Rohr for turning his career around. The 22-year-old shot-stopper made his Super Eagles debut under Rohr in a 1-1 draw against Brazil in November 2019.

Since then, he has gone on to become Nigeria’s number one and also secure a move to Watford from Sparta Rotterdam, where he is the club’s number one ahead of the move next summer.

Okoye knew all these achievements would not have been possible if not for the chance Rohr gave him, and he has shown his gratitude with a thank you post.

You turned my young football career around, helped me and gave this career a big boost!
You let me do what I always dreamed of, Playing for my fatherland Nigeria.
Thank you for almost 3 amazing years, your support and your trust.
I’m wishing you all the best Coach Rohr! pic.twitter.com/fccBdFebKj

— Maduka Okoye (@OkoyeMaduka) December 13, 2021

Okoye is currently out injured with a shoulder injury, but he should be fit for Sparta’s Cup game this week.