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Enyeama’s return to Eagles dangerous, Owolabi tells Rohr

By Samuel Ifetoye
04 November 2017   |   4:31 am
“Let Enyeama stays retired as far as the national team is concerned. It will be good for Nigeria if he is asked not to come back. And if he is asked to come back, sincerely it is going to spell doom for the country,” he said.

Vincent Enyeama

Former Green Eagles winger, Felix Owolabi, has warned against the return of Vincent Enyeama into the national team saying: “It may spell doom for the country at Russia 2018 World Cup.”

There are strong indications that Coach Gernot Rohr is unsatisfied with the goalkeepers in the Super Eagles and has extended invitation to Deportivo La Coruña goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho and afterward Enyeama, as he steps up his preparation for the Mundial.

According to Owolabi, after Enyeama called it quit from the national team, he should be allowed to enjoy his retirement after serving the nation well.

“Enyeama for me has no business in the Eagles again. The fact that he has called it quit from active football for the nation and coupled with the controversies surrounding his forced retirement, I believed there should no clamour for his return.

“Let Enyeama stays retired as far as the national team is concerned. It will be good for Nigeria if he is asked not to come back. And if he is asked to come back, sincerely it is going to spell doom for the country,” he said.

Recounting an incident in 1982, the former IICC Shooting Star of Ibadan player said that any controversy that precedes a tournament always end in a disaster.

“Previous experiences have shown that when there is a controversy over stay or do not stay on a particular player when he decides to come back, it does not speak well for the entire team.

“A similar thing happened in 1982 when I was in the Eagles. I will not mention names, but at the end of the day we lost out. Several events have unfolded pertaining to a player coming back from retirement. For God sake, Enyeama has gone on retirement and let it remain so.

Rohr as a good coach must be able to mold whatever material he has available at his disposal. It is not as if we do not have good goalkeepers, after all a journey of a thousand miles starts with a step.

“Most of us were able to find our way into the national team because we were given just one match as a test and we went through it and we passed. It is like an examination,” he stated.

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