Rohr's 'Chinese' disdain must change
 |
|
|
|
A couple of years ago, Belgium was the top destination for Nigerian footballers looking to make inroads in foreign lands.
The late Stephen Keshi led that exodus in the mid 80’s to the European country where the likes of Samson Siasia, Peter Rufai and Etim Esin strutted their stuff with different teams in Belgium.
A new trend looks to be emerging in global football and Nigerian players are looking to cash in on the new popular destination, some for sporting reasons and some, of course, for the money.
The Chinese Super League has welcomed many star names over the past 18 months, with more looking to join the bandwagon.
Brazilian star Oscar left Chelsea to join CSL side Shanghai SIPG for a whopping £60 million, following in the footsteps of his compatriot Ramires who also left the London club about 12 months ago for Jiangsu Suning.
Axel Witsel, Hulk, Gervinho and Demba Ba are some of the names on the roster of CSL sides, which shows that the Chinese do mean business.
Super Eagles skipper Mikel John Obi looks to have opened
a new vista for Nigerian players who are now looking to head East to China.
Not that he is the first Nigerian in the newly formed CSL (Obafemi Martins takes that honour) to make that transition to the Asian country, but his pedigree as the skipper of the national side has added a new dimension to it.
Mikel had offers from France, Italy and Germany but chose to move to Tianjin Teda in a move that came as a surprise to many pundits and fans alike.
He insists that the move wasn’t about the money, a stance that is difficult to believe considering the ludicrous amounts spent by Chinese clubs to lure players to the CSL.
The 29-year-old says it was basically for sporting reasons and his desire to help Nigeria’s quest for a place at the 2018 Fifa World Cup.
Weeks after Mikel signed for Tianjin Teda, former Super Eagles striker Chinedu Ogbuke has also joined the train, inking on the dotted line for Shenzen FC.
Watford striker Odion Ighalo, who is a subject of a bid from an unnamed CSL side is likely to make the move to China, with a £27 million offer tabled for him.
If the rumour mill is to be believed, a bevvy of Nigerian players will soon be heading to the Chinese Super League in the coming weeks.
An unlikely destination a few years ago, China is likely going to be the ‘Belgium’ of today, with Nigerian players looking to make the move and join other stars in the Asian country.
The cash incentives will sound like music to the ears of Nigerian players, but Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr won’t be the happiest man on the planet.
He has not hidden his disdain towards lower leagues and wouldn't want to have his wards play in the Chinese Super League, a league which he doesn’t believe is competitive enough for his team-building plans with the Super Eagles.
Despite publicly supporting Mikel’s move to China, Rohr won’t exactly be thrilled with Ighalo’s impending move to the PSL.
Rohr has sounded out warnings to his players that they will not be selected if they don’t have club minutes under their belts or play in ‘lesser’ leagues.
That stance, though with noble intentions, has put Rohr in a conundrum. Odion Ighalo’s lack of game time necessitated his move to China, albeit a step down in quality but with guaranteed playing time.
This begs the question: is sitting on the bench at a ‘big’ club is better than playing regularly in a league considered of lower quality?
With a lot of Nigerian players casting an eye at the Chinese Super League, maybe it’s time Rohr changes his tune.
The CSL is improving all the time with top players and managers doing their business there. Quality players like Hulk, Axel Witsel, Gervinho, Paulinho and Ramires all ply their trade there, which will definitely improve the quality of the league.
Coaching will also improve with Sven Goran Eriksson, Manuel Pellegrini, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Mano Menezes all part of the Chinese revolution.
With recent developments and the potential movement to the CSL by Nigerian players, maybe it’s time Rohr changes his focus from where players play to how much they play.
The late Stephen Keshi led that exodus in the mid 80’s to the European country where the likes of Samson Siasia, Peter Rufai and Etim Esin strutted their stuff with different teams in Belgium.
A new trend looks to be emerging in global football and Nigerian players are looking to cash in on the new popular destination, some for sporting reasons and some, of course, for the money.
The Chinese Super League has welcomed many star names over the past 18 months, with more looking to join the bandwagon.
Brazilian star Oscar left Chelsea to join CSL side Shanghai SIPG for a whopping £60 million, following in the footsteps of his compatriot Ramires who also left the London club about 12 months ago for Jiangsu Suning.
Axel Witsel, Hulk, Gervinho and Demba Ba are some of the names on the roster of CSL sides, which shows that the Chinese do mean business.
Super Eagles skipper Mikel John Obi looks to have opened
a new vista for Nigerian players who are now looking to head East to China.
Not that he is the first Nigerian in the newly formed CSL (Obafemi Martins takes that honour) to make that transition to the Asian country, but his pedigree as the skipper of the national side has added a new dimension to it.
Mikel had offers from France, Italy and Germany but chose to move to Tianjin Teda in a move that came as a surprise to many pundits and fans alike.
He insists that the move wasn’t about the money, a stance that is difficult to believe considering the ludicrous amounts spent by Chinese clubs to lure players to the CSL.
The 29-year-old says it was basically for sporting reasons and his desire to help Nigeria’s quest for a place at the 2018 Fifa World Cup.
Weeks after Mikel signed for Tianjin Teda, former Super Eagles striker Chinedu Ogbuke has also joined the train, inking on the dotted line for Shenzen FC.
Watford striker Odion Ighalo, who is a subject of a bid from an unnamed CSL side is likely to make the move to China, with a £27 million offer tabled for him.
If the rumour mill is to be believed, a bevvy of Nigerian players will soon be heading to the Chinese Super League in the coming weeks.
An unlikely destination a few years ago, China is likely going to be the ‘Belgium’ of today, with Nigerian players looking to make the move and join other stars in the Asian country.
The cash incentives will sound like music to the ears of Nigerian players, but Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr won’t be the happiest man on the planet.
He has not hidden his disdain towards lower leagues and wouldn't want to have his wards play in the Chinese Super League, a league which he doesn’t believe is competitive enough for his team-building plans with the Super Eagles.
Despite publicly supporting Mikel’s move to China, Rohr won’t exactly be thrilled with Ighalo’s impending move to the PSL.
Rohr has sounded out warnings to his players that they will not be selected if they don’t have club minutes under their belts or play in ‘lesser’ leagues.
That stance, though with noble intentions, has put Rohr in a conundrum. Odion Ighalo’s lack of game time necessitated his move to China, albeit a step down in quality but with guaranteed playing time.
This begs the question: is sitting on the bench at a ‘big’ club is better than playing regularly in a league considered of lower quality?
With a lot of Nigerian players casting an eye at the Chinese Super League, maybe it’s time Rohr changes his tune.
The CSL is improving all the time with top players and managers doing their business there. Quality players like Hulk, Axel Witsel, Gervinho, Paulinho and Ramires all ply their trade there, which will definitely improve the quality of the league.
Coaching will also improve with Sven Goran Eriksson, Manuel Pellegrini, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Mano Menezes all part of the Chinese revolution.
With recent developments and the potential movement to the CSL by Nigerian players, maybe it’s time Rohr changes his focus from where players play to how much they play.
No comments: