As against popular opinion coach of the Nigerian team Gernot Rohr called up Lobi Stars left full back Ebube Duru as against the opinion of many who thought Enyimba’s Ikouwem Udoh should have been called up.
Udoh who is the captain of the Nigeria U20 team has been heavily involved with both the Nigerian youth team and Enyimba in their CAF Confederation Cup campaign unlike Duru who hasn’t played in three months.
Duru like most players in the Nigeria Profesional Football League were caught up in the web of the leadership tussle of the Nigeria Football Federation ( NFF) , which put a halt to the league resuming after the World Cup and subsequently it was declared concluded with 14 matches left to play.
However Duru did enough to convince Rohr of his ability in the friendly game for the B team of the Super Eagles against Atletico Madrid as he was among the players who impressed in the 2-3 loss suffered by the Nigerian team.
Rohr watched the game and marked Duru down for invitation to the senior team in the future and didn’t hesitate to call him when the opportunity came even though he hasn’t been active for months.
Osas Mahawi
