Apparently basking in the euphoria of the qualification of the Super Eagles for the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup, Super Eagles chief coach, Gernot Rohr has been speaking on a number of issues including the place he intends to camp his team, the type of preparation he wants as well as what his wards did differently to qualify ahead of reigning African champions, Cameroon, Algeria and Zambia. He also spoke of his interest in Nigerian food and other things. He spoke to Correspondent Jude Opara in Abuja.
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BY JUDE OPARA, Abuja

Congratulations on yourqualification for the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup, what was the secret of your team.

Ans: There is no secret other than playing together in harmony and unity. The players are having more confidence and that resulted in the superlative outing against Cameroon and Zambia. The players are having good feelings and played according to our instructions. We won our first game in Zambia, which really gave us a lot of confidence. It is always important to win the first game. Actually, in the beginning most people did not believe we could do it. I had told them of the need to be loyal and follow the instructions of the technical crew and that is what they did. Since we arrived on August 16, our aim was to introduce a lot of young players into the team and they blended with the older players as well as the staff.

Who among your players do you consider the most valuable?

All my players were impressive, but I will say that Victor Moses has a slight edge because he has a lot of creativity, quickness, anticipation and alertness. He is a very special player and you always see how it goes when he is not available. In fact these players we have now are really a determined set and that is why they did what they did and everybody is happy. But haven said that, we must continue to work hard to get better players.

Victor Moses

Do you think you have a team to favourably compete in the World Cup?

The 23 players we have today are very good but there could be injuries which means we must continue to look for more quality players in case there is an injury. The game in Algeria is very important to us because it will serve a dual purpose. We will like to use it to experiment on some other players we have not really seen and at the same time, we want to also win so as to improve our rating in FIFA ahead of the draws that will be coming up in December. The next game on November 10 is almost at hand and we will release the team list in two weeks. Also we will request to play one or two international friendly matches after Algeria and it is our hope to use these matches to appraise some other players who may join the World Cup team. We intend to have 23 or 26 players to also showcase what they can do.

The goalkeeping area has been a source of concern for your team especially with the injury of Carl Ikeme, what are you doing to address it ahead of the competition?

Yes the goalkeeping area became a very tasking one for us because all of a sudden Vincent Enyeama left, Carl Ikeme became sick, Daniel Akpeyi was injured and we were only left with the option of relying on the fourth choice keeper, Ikechukwu Ezenwa. In fact we decided and I must confess that it was a bright idea from the president himself to bring another good goalkeeper trainer to join Alloy Agu to train the keepers and that worked very perfectly. So we had a good goalkeeper coach who is right foot and we found another good one who is left a foot, so I think that the good quality compliment made it easier for the team to stand firmly. So going to the World Cup, we will continue to work with what we have and I am optimistic that with the performance of Ezenwa recently, we will not have any anxious moment in Russia.

So you were impressed with the performance of Ezenwa?

Very fantastic, he did exceptionally well. You could see from what he did against Cameroon and Zambia that he has started growing in confidence. I think he is now stronger than he was before. We know that this is a very crucial position but at the moment, we are happy with what we have.

Are we likely going to see Vincent Enyeama in the World Cup?

Vincent at the moment is injured but we are having a good communication with him and also with the coach of Vincent before who is also the technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), so together with the technical staff, we are putting heads together to solve all the problems of the team, not only that of the goalkeeper. We must have to get the players in the right mood for a competition like the World Cup because you cannot play unless you are fit. We also hope that after this injury, may be in January that Vincent will be able to find another club because we will only have the best players. There is no other criterion but to have the best legs for the country. Also the players must be ready to work harmoniously with each other and with the entire staff and crew.

Will you give some untested players opportunity to play in Algeria?

Now it is possible to use it and see other players. We have some players like John Ogu, Wakali, Ola Aina and many others. If you do a first game, it will be easier to see all of them but with only one game, you can only see a limited number of players. I also know that we can take a good risk of playing some unseen players but as I said earlier, we also want to get results because you know that FIFA rankings are very important for the draws.

What are you doing about your left full back because there are a lot of concerns about that area?

When you take a critical look at what happens on the pitch, you will realise that Echiejile is doing a great job for the team. You saw him against Zambia and against Cameroon who are reigning African champions, don’t forget that everybody did a great job in the first game and you saw him. But I think everybody is asking a lot of question about his position because he appears to be injured but if he is fit, and playing in his club, he has this disposition of doing a great job all the time. Yes, we have these younger players and they too are doing well, so it is entirely a good thing when you have viable options.

Since we have already qualified, will you rest some players like captain Mikel Obi and striker Odion Ighalo?

I will say it is also important for us to finish the qualifiers without losing a match. It will be great for us to play the six matches without losing one game. Yes we will want to marry the two situations of not losing the game and also giving an opportunity to some other new players to showcase their skills. Also remember that before then, some players might be fit while others may not, also those coming from China have a long journey to make and when their league resumes, they will not have the extra two weeks like they had when we played Cameroon. So the week will be long for them and they will not have a enough time to recover. That means we will not want to risk them having injuries and so it is possible that for the China based players, it will be difficult to start the game.

What will be your target at the World Cup?

My first goal now is to have a united voice not only around the team but also around us. When I say united team, I mean everybody around the federation should be thinking in the same direction. If you want to do something and get good result, you must prepare well for that. We want the same solidarity as we have in the team because the team and the staff have a united solidarity and we wish to have the same around because this is the first major outing we are going to make. The foundation of how we will fare at the World Cup is here. It will be good if we don’t have any money problems about the bonuses and the usually African problems as we have severally seen in each World Cup. I think we don’t really need those distractions, we should rather have a conducive environment to prepare for the matches. On our part as the technical crew, we have resolved to give our best. But we want to clear from the president that all will be agreed before starting the championship.

 I will still want to know your personal target going to the championship

Talking about target, I know Nigeria has gone up to the second round, but first we wish to be in a group that will not be so difficult (laughter). The second target will be to be tops of the group. Then being in the round of 16 will be a wonderful thing but first we must have to see what the draws will look like on December 1. We have to be a united family and not people who only want to come in for money. I think we have a good staff and good people, if we need somebody more, I should have them like a psychologist, a second physiotherapist for the physical preparation during the camping for the World Cup.

Where will you like to camp your team before going to Russia?

For me it is sure that we have to start the first camping in Abuja. The first camping must be in the country, then we must spend the first money to the people of Nigeria in this country. It is important that we show respect to the government and people of the country that are sponsoring us, so we have to start in Abuja. I have already spoken to the president that we should start here before going to other places and also to play a friendly game here before going to play elsewhere. We will also select and present the 23 players to Nigerians here and to say good bye to them as a team before going to Russia.

Are you thinking of playing some friendly matches as you prepare for the tournament?

We want to play Tunisia after Algeria because they are at the same zone. They also need about one point to qualify. We can play in Sousse and they have good pitches there. Morocco will not be possible because they will be playing in Senegal at that time.

Now let me go a bit personal, you have been in Nigeria for over one year. What do you say you enjoy about the people including their food and may be girls, are you hooked by anyone?

Well I will sincerely say that I enjoy working in Nigeria. I like the enthusiasm of the people and   their industry. They are a loving and friendly people. As for the food, I like some of their soup like the egusi and edikaikong but it must not be too spicy. As for the other one you talked about (general laughter), I don’t discuss it in the media.