Rohr namechecks three players he loves in Super Eagles squad, picks his favourite to win African POTY

Ahead of his team's matchday five fixture in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Benin Cheetahs manager Gernot Rohr highlighted Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Moses Simon as players he admires within the Nigeria squad.

The former Bayern Munich defender was in the Super Eagles dugout for five years before his acrimonious departure as coach of the national team in December 2021, a month before the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Rohr is familiar with the players in the Nigeria squad, having handed debuts to the likes of Victor Osimhen, Frank Onyeka, Maduka Okoye, Ola Aina and Samuel Chukwueze, who are presently with the national team in Abidjan.

Although the Franco-German coach did not work with Ademola Lookman, he included the Atalanta star in his provisional squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations before he was shown the exit door. 

Rohr reckons Lookman is the best African player at the moment and is backing the Super Eagles winger to win the African Footballer of the Year award ahead of contenders such as William Troost-Ekong, Burkina Faso's Edmond Tapsoba, Côte d'Ivoire's Simon Adingra and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi.

The 71-year-old saw firsthand how dangerous Lookman can be when he played against the Cheetahs in September 2024, inspiring the Super Eagles to a 3-0 win with a brace. 

“We see that in your (Nigeria) list you have Victor Osimhen, Lookman, Moses Simon and all the big strikers but I love these players because most of them were with me few years ago," Rohr told The Nation newspaper. 

"For me, Lookman is the best one in Africa to win the golden award for the footballer of the year, he is a fantastic player.

"But I hope he will not score against us (on Thursday)  like he did in the last game in Uyo."

Looking ahead to the upcoming fixture against Nigeria, Rohr acknowledged that the Super Eagles are all but qualified for the Afcon in Morocco, with two games to spare.

"Rwanda is our concurrent, Nigeria has already qualified practically and so I hope that the match will be good and spectacular (to watch)  like the last one here in Abidjan against Nigeria in June."  

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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