Gabon Football Association, GFA picked their new French Coach ahead of others because of his commitment and desire to face new challenges. This much was disclosed to Africansportsdigest.com by an official.
The 56 years old, former Nantes manager Gernot Rohr, who on Friday signed a two year contract to coach Gabon, co-hosts of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations has never managed at international level after a coaching career that also included spells at Nice and Tunisian side Etoile du Sahel.
However, Gabon football authority would not bother about Rohr lacked of national team experience as the task before the coach has been exclusively spelled out which include taking the team to the second round of the 2012 Nations Cup.
‘We know what we want and have worked assiduously towards it with good intent. We’ve employed a coach good enough for us and no one can dispute that,’ our GFF sources said.
Penultimate week the fedration president Placide Engadzas, has said that Alain Giresse, the former coach’s contract would not be renewed.
Rohr, who succeeds his former Bordeaux teammate Alain Giresse at the helm of the Panthers was under no illusions about the mammoth task facing him, but said he hoped to entice Europe-based footballers eligible to play for Gabon to join up with the side.
“We are going to try to convince players and their agents that it is sometimes worth more to be a first-team Gabonese international rather than play at amateur level in England or France,” German-born Rohr said.
There was widespread disappointment in the small central African state when the national team was eliminated after the first round of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola last month.
As co-hosts with Equatorial Guinea, Gabon automatically qualify for the 2012 Nations Cup.