Ex-Nigerian footballer and sports
administrator, Segun Odegbami, Thursday urged the Super Eagles coach, Gernot
Rohr, to drop captain John Obi Mikel from Nigeria’s 2019 African Cup of
Nations, AFCON, squad.
Mikel Obi is yet to play for
Nigeria since the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia but Odegbami wants Rohr not to
include the midfielder in Super Eagles’ squad that will represent Nigeria in
Egypt this summer.
Odegbami believes the
Middlesbrough star has done his part for with Super Eagles and should be
allowed to move on.
“Recall Mikel? History is against
such a decision. Mikel is not the player he once was. We have seen his best and
it cannot be recreated or better. What did it fetch?
“The last time we brought back a
captain it ended in a disaster that halted the country from going to its first
World Cup in 1981. Why are we not taking lessons from history? Why do we keep
doing the same things based on sentiments and expecting a different result?
“If old players do not retire new
players cannot emerge. Some of the best players in our history came into being
by been thrown into the deep end of a big competition and discovering their
best-hidden ability. I am a good example. I took over from Baba Otu Mohammed
after he had just been named Africa’s best right-winger but was disappointing
in a few games. One match did the transformation.
“Nigeria shall not win AFCON 2019
because of Mikel. We can diminish our chances or even lose it because of him.
Let him be, and let’s throw up new talent. We won’t know how good a player is
until we give them a chance at a high level,” Odegbami said in an interview
with ThisDay.
The Super Eagles will know their
AFCON 2019 group stage opponents on Friday evening at the draw ceremony in
Cairo, Egypt.
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