Gernot Rohr, former coach of the Nigerian national football team, has signed a three-year deal with the Benin Football Association.
According to reports, Rohr takes over from Moussa Latoundji, who was the caretaker coach after Frenchman Michel Dussuyer was sacked following the team’s failure to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Benin Republic becomes the fifth African team that the Franco-German will coach, after Gabon, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria.
Rohr, a member of the Girondins de Bordeaux club 1881 committee, expressed his eagerness to rebuild the Squirrels squad, saying, “It’s an interesting mission to rebuild a team (the Squirrels) with younger players.”
Rohr’s first game in charge of the Squirrels will be a Group L 2023 AFCON qualifier against Rwanda in Cotonou next month.
Currently, Benin is at the bottom of Group L after two defeats in their opening two games, with Senegal leading the group with six points, followed by Mozambique in second with four points, and Rwanda in third with one point.
Rohr sees this as a challenge and hopes to revive the team. “I will be in Cotonou soon to prepare the next match against Rwanda. It’s a real challenge that I have accepted. We have to try and get something to revive the team,” he said.
Rohr, who recorded 35 wins and 16 draws in 64 games while on the Nigerian technical bench for five years, before he was sacked in December 2021, is the longest-serving manager in the country’s history.
He helped the three-time African champions claim the bronze medal at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
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Joseph Omoniyi
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- Tags: Benin Republic, Gernot Rohr, Super Eagles
