A player of the senior national team of Nigeria says Rangers of Scotland defender Leon Balogun has little or no regards for coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr.
Balogun didn’t make his international debut for Nigeria under Rohr but he became a mainstay of the team under the German coach forming a formidable partnership in defence with William Troost Ekong enroute qualification for the last World Cup in Russia.
The partnership famously referred to as the “Oyibo Wall” played a big role on the pitch in helping Nigeria qualify for the World Cup but it has since been broken up by Rohr , no thanks to Balogun’s poor form at his previous club Brighton and Hove Albion.
Speaking on the rekindling of the partnership, a member of the team who spoke with this portal on the condition of anonymity said it’s not possible because Balogun’s relationship with Rohr has hit rock bottom.
“ Rohr has tolerated Balogun a lot. They are always quarreling. That many of us believe made Rohr to pick Ekong ahead of him as captain. From our point he doesn’t seem to have respect for Rohr.
“ Most times when they disagree in training it’s in German so we don’t understand what exactly is the issue but during team meetings or reviews of past games we see how they exchange words.
“ The once quiet Balogun is now the most vocal and difficult to handle. I think that combination with Ekong is dead. However knowing how Rohr treats us as a father he might give him another chance. For now he is a back up defender”.
In April this year during a live chat on Instagram monitored by Owngoalnigeria, Balogun confirmed that he is usually involved in heated arguments with the coach, which according to him surprises most of his teammates.
“I do challenge the coach sometimes, it helps that we both speak German,” he said.
“Sometimes, when the discussions are heated, the other players will say ‘this Balogun is crazy oh’, but it’s all for the good of the team and constructive”.
Attention: This story was first published on the 1st of October 2020.
