Rohr Expresses Concern over Musa’s Frame of Mind

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

Super Eagles Franco-German Coach, Gernot Rohr, has expressed concerns that the Super Eagles Assistant Captain, Ahmed Musa, is not psychologically ready for the forthcoming 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier against South Africa in Uyo next month.

The coach, according to decent sources at the Glass House in Abuja, echoed this sentiment while exchanging perspectives with officials of the Technical Department of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) ahead of the Group E match against South African on June 10.

The tactician’s major worry is that the winger has been unsettled by private issues outside the football field, wondering that such could potentially distract him and affect the fortunes of the team.
Rohr wants all his players to give100 per cent to the national cause against the Bafana Bafana next month and is bothered if Musa will rise to the moment in view of the prevailing situation.

The Leicester forward has been trending in the social media after coming under scrutiny since the middle of last month when he was alleged to have divorced his wife and mother of his two children, Jamila, and revealed plans to marry a second wife.

Before that drama bludgeoned, reports claimed he was invited and detained by the police, who raided his home in the UK, after neighbours complained of domestic violence and abuse.
NFF issued a rebuttal in support of Musa, while the player even threatened to institute litigation against the source of the reports.

But it emerged last night that Rohr is not too pleased with the saga and the fact Musa sought and got permission from him to leave the Eagles camp in London, when Nigeria played Senegal in a friendly on March 23, for the introduction to his new bride, Juliet in Lagos on March 25.

The coach wants the distractions around the player promptly resolved before the team opens camping in France after all major leagues across Europe would have ended their seasons later this month.
Meanwhile, Ola Aina, a young defender on the books of Premier League giants Chelsea, is reported to have applied to FIFA to switch his international allegiance from England to Nigeria.

The 20-year-old, who was born in England and has represented the Three Lons at U-16 and U-20 levels, is eligible to play for the Super Eagles but he must get FIFA approval first.
“The documentation has been done and will be submitted to FIFA for approval this week,” an official of the Nigerian Federation told scorenigeria.com.ng.

“How fast FIFA and the FA in England work on this will determine how soon his application will come through.”
Aina trained with Gernot Rohr’s team when they were in London during the international window in March.