Ex Super Eagles Players warn Rohr of Algeria’s New Coach Leekens

With Nigeria’s 2018 World Cup qualification square off with Algeria just days off, former internationals, Etim Esin and Edema Fuludu, have warned the Eagles to beware of the Desert Foxes’ new coach, Georges Leekens.

The Algerians on Thursday, announced the Belgian tactician as the replacement for Milovan Rajevac, who was sacked after their 1-1 draw with Cameroon on the opening day of the World Cup qualifiers.

This is the second time Leekens will be in charge of the Foxes following a first stint in 2003 when he resigned for family reasons after qualifying them for the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations.

The crucial encounter is barely two weeks away and former Eagles playmaker, Etim, believes Leekens, 67, who led Tunisia to the quarterfinal of the Equatorial Guinea 2015 Afcon, will be hoping for a winning start on his second stint with the side before leading the Foxes to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

“I know Leekens very well in Belgium and he is a fantastic coach. He is very familiar with the African style of football and Nigeria have to be very careful when playing his Algerian team next month,” Etim-Maradona told Punch.

“What is happening to Algeria happened when we got our German coach too but ours came at a time when we weren’t under pressure to get results. Leekens’ team will be very difficult to beat given that he also has talented players to get the job done for him – players like the Leicester City duo (Riyad) Mahrez and (Islam) Slimani – and Nigeria cannot afford to sit back and watch them steal the points from us at home.

“Our coach should employ the right tactics as he did against Zambia and ensure that a positive result comes out of the match.”

A member of the Tunisia 1994 Afcon winning team, Fuludu, believes Leekens’ appointment will serve as a psychological boost for the Algerians.

“Algeria’s appointment of a new coach is a good thing for them; it serves as a psychological boost for the players because they will be seeking to impress him just like it happened when (Gernot) Rohr was appointed ahead of the Tanzania game.

“The players now have an extra motivation to play and beat Nigeria at home.

“Rohr should be working on his defence because they almost let him down against Zambia. The Eagles attack is okay and strong. The work remains on the defence and partially the midfield. If this is done, the Algerians will surely fall in Uyo with their new coach.”

The Super Eagles take on Algeria’s Foxes in a potentially explosive encounter at the Nest of Champions, Uyo, November 13.