Gabon name Rohr as new coach

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LIBREVILLE, Feb 26, 2010 (AFP) - Former Nantes manager Gernot Rohr on Friday signed a two year contract to coach Gabon, co-hosts of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

Rohr, who succeeds his former Bordeaux teammate Alain Giresse at the helm of the Panthers, has never managed at international level after a coaching career that also included spells at Nice and Tunisian side Etoile du Sahel.

The 56-year-old 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.