Gernot Rohr Comments On Bournemouth’s Phillip Billing’s Refusal To Play For Nigeria

Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, has stated that he will never beg any player to play for the national team after Bournemouth midfielder Philip Billing said in a recent interview that he doesn’t want to play for Nigeria.

23-year-old Billing was born to a Nigerian father and Danish mother and has represented Denmark’s youth team, but is still eligible to feature for the Super Eagles having not played for Denmark’s senior team.

Last month, Billing denied reports he had agreed to play for Nigeria saying he felt more like a Dane than a Nigerian, and Rohr has now accused Billing of using him to get the attention of the Danish national team manager.

“Billing’s agent called me and he said that he is interested to come to Nigeria because he is not playing so much in Denmark,” Rohr told ESPN.

“So he wanted me to call [Billing]. I said I don’t have his number, so he gave me his number. [When I called Billing] he asked me some questions about the Nigerian team.

“And he said, ‘I am very, very interested to come with you, but give me some time. I think the agent is using this interest to give him more importance or more chances to play in Denmark.

“We never beg anybody. But if they want to come, if they are good players, yes. Some players sometimes want to come but we have already better players in these positions.”

Besides Ola Aina, Leon Balogun and Alex Iwobi, who have switched allegiances to play for the Super Eagles in the past, Rohr is also hoping Queens Park Rangers midfielder Eberechi Eze, who has been in top form in the Championship this season, will switch to the Super Eagles.

“We hope Eze will come but you know there is a process to follow. If they play already for the youth team in England or other countries, there is a process, write a letter, go to the Fifa commission, and so on,” Rohr added.