It appears that the days of Ogenyi Onazi in the national team are numbered after he was dropped by Super Eagles head coach, Gernot Rohr as one of the vice captains.
Onazi who has always deputised in place of substantive captain Mikel Obi during matches involving the team is no longer part of the structure which now has Ahmed Musa and William Troost-Ekong.
In the new order, Musa and Ekong who captained the team against Poland in a Pre-World Cup friendly will play the role of first and second vice captains to Mikel.
Rohr who did not disclose his reasons for omitting Onazi, however explained he picked the players as a result of their leadership qualities which he noted transcends beyond the pitch.
“Musa’s leadership of the team has worked very well because he brings the right spirit to the group, which is very important. He is a younger man than Mikel with a different mentality.
“The captain is very important because he can help me to bring to the team not only the right spirit, but also the right organisation on the pitch and off it.
“We spend about 22 hours of the day and perhaps two hours on the pitch. He also helps in the hotel and in the travelling, which is very important.
“Mikel is also a fantastic captain. He brings a certain calm to the team and the players respect for what he has achieved. We are blessed because in his absence Musa has done well. Even if Musa is not around we have our third captain, Troost-Ekong, who is also a very good character and an example for all these young players we have now,” Rohr told owngoalnigeria.
Read Also: I have no rift with Onazi–Rohr
Recalled that Rohr played down any rift with the Turkey based midfielder after omitting his name from his list of players that faced South Africa in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier last month and the international friendly against Uganda.