Former Super Eagles skipper, Jay-Jay Okocha, has revealed that the team needs a more natural offensive presence in midfield to succeed at the highest level.
The three-time African champions have struggled to find adequate replacements in midfield since Okocha retired fourteen years ago.
The Super Eagles have since seen the likes of John Obi Mikel, Joel Obi, Alex Iwobi, and recently Joe Aribo in the position but all have struggled to live up to expectations.
Nigeria dropped three places on the last FIFA rankings after being forced to two consecutive draws against unfancied Sierra Leone in the AFCON 2022 qualifiers.
Okocha, 43, has advised on how Gernot Rohr’s team can enjoy better performances in their subsequent games.
“What the Eagles need now are natural midfielders who can create chances and change the course of a game,” He told a local radio program in Lagos.
“We need midfielders who can run at defenders and a pick their teammates with good passes,” Okocha continued.
“We have good midfielders but not in at that level at the moment. Some of them are just scared and the fact that they are being compared to the 1994 Eagles brings a bit of pressure on them.”
Okocha also said he has been impressed with the Super Eagles manager Gernot Rohr since he took over four years ago.
Rohr guided Nigeria to the Russia 2018 World Cup as well as the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt where they finished third.
“For now, I will score him seven out of 10 because when he came in, things were not steady, and he has steadied the ship now,” he continued.
“He inherited an abandoned team, and so for now, he is following his own direction. He has created his own team.”
“But we all know football is about results, of course, if the results don’t go his way, our people will criticise him, you know everybody in Nigeria is a coach.”
“But if results go his way, of course, we will praise him. Even if you are the best coach, if you don’t get results, you will be under pressure.”
The former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder also expressed his thoughts about the recent contract extension handed to Rohr by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and believes it will help the Super Eagles’ stability.
“I’m in support of the contract extension because for every country to be successful, you need continuity, and you need direction,” he added.
Jay Jay would know. He was one of the greatest midfielders.
That’s a fact