Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has declared that he would not allow officials of the Nigeria Football Federation to decide for him any players to be invited to the national team.
Rohr made this known while responding to questions concerning the new conditions to be included in his contract.
It was learnt that the NFF president, Amaju Pinnick, had said the Franco-German coach would be mandated to reside in Nigeria and monitor domestic league match before he would be handed a contract extension.
READ ALSO: I did not Pray For President Buhari’s Death – Osinbajo
Rohr said he invited players based on merit, explaining that he was not bothered about the mood of officials when selecting his team.
Only Enyimba defender Ifeanyi Anaemena made Rohr’s 23-man squad from the domestic league after replacing Bryan Idowu for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches.
Rohr said: “I know he (Pinnick) sometimes has a different opinion like me but then, it is football.
“I never accept it to make a choice coming from the officials; my choice is the choice of sports arguments only, to take the best players.
“Unfortunately, we could not take more players from the local league because they did not play, so it was difficult for them to be fit. I know that some people cannot be happy about my choice but I can tell you it is my choice, it is always honest.”
Earlier, Herald reported that Super Eagles came out for the first game in Russia in their much-vaunted kits to take on a Croatian team boasting some of World football’s best midfield talents and they were bested 2-0 by their opponents.
Explaining the loss, Super Eagles Coach Gernot Rohr said that set-pieces were their problem as none of the goals came from open play.
He also said the team made ‘many mistakes’ “I think the organisation was okay. We didn’t concede from normal play, we conceded from set-pieces,” Rohr said after the game.