The reason behind the not too impressive performance of Leon Balogun in Nigeria’s 4-2 win over Argentina has been revealed by coach of the team Gernot Rohr.
Balogun failed to assert himself properly during the course of the game, particularly in the first half where he failed to function properly as the left sided defender of the back three of Nigeria in their 5-3-2 formation.
He was substituted in the second half for Kenneth Omeruo just when many thought he was finally getting back to the level he is capable of all things been equal.
” He wasn’t properly fit for the game. As a matter of fact he was passed fit the morning before yesterday’s game. We should be praising him for playing through the pain barrier in the game”, one of the assistants of the coach told Owngoalnigeria.com.
” Everybody is aware of what Balogun brings, so yesterday was particularly difficult because he wasn’t really fit for the game, and the collision with Ola Aina early in the game further compounded his poor state.
” We feared the worst when he went down particularly considering the fact that he just returned from a cheek surgery but thankfully it wasn’t as bad as initially feared. He is still one of our best defenders “.
Maxwell Pius
