Glowing tributes have continued to pour in from across the continent. South African FA President Danny Jordaan and national team coach Ephraim Shakes Mashaba expressed shock over the untimely demise of late Stephen Keshi.
“Words cannot describe this shocking loss. Keshi was not only a giant of African football but was a global football icon. At 54, Keshi was one of the bright young coaches coming out of this continent and having been a captain and solid player during his playing days, you can’t find a better individual whose life was wholly dedicated to the game of football,” Jordaan said.
Ex-Egypt superstar Hossam Ahmed Mido tweeted: “What a sad news. Stephen keshi has passed away” while ex-South African star Mark Fish also said on Twitter: “Very sad to hear about Stephen Keshi passing away, condolences to his family. An absolute gentleman off the field and a fantastic player. RIP”
Not only was late Stephen Keshi seen as selfless, he was also inspiration to a whole generation of African players.
Erstwhile Super Eagles gaffer, Amodu Shuaibu, said this of Keshi: “Stephen was a brother, friend and colleague and he did his best every time. His candour was one thing that stood him out. No matter what he remains a legend to us.”
“He was a great teammate with a big heart. He was the man who brought great motivation to Nigerian football,” Austin Eguavoen, former teammate of Keshi, alluded.
Fondly called the ‘Big Boss’, Keshi was the commander-in-chief who shouldered responsibilities on and off the pitch of play. Keshi had been a very fine central defender, winning titles in Nigeria and Ivory Coast before moving to Belgium with Anderlecht where he won two cups and a league title. In 1994, he was, in partnership with Augustine Eguavoen, the bedrock of the superb Nigeria side that won the African Cup of Nations in Tunisia.
The nation’s football authorities never liked Stephen Keshi either as a player or as a coach. Keshi’s rebellion was against those piloting affairs of football often centered around preparations to competitions and players’ welfare.
Keshi was appointed as assistant coach to Shaibu Amodu in 2001. The struggle continued. Unpaid allowances, poor welfare, amongst many other problems. The ‘Big Boss’ soon was on a collision course with the authorities. Interestingly, as soon as the 2002 CAF Nations Cup ended in Mail, Keshi and Amodu were shown the exit door out of the national team.
As coach of Togo, who took them to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 2006, Keshi fell out with the authorities and was sacked. He was also sacked as coach of Mali after a poor run of results.
His return to the Nigerian national team in 2011 was triumphant, leading the Super Eagles to win the 2013 Nations Cup in South Africa, after over 19 years of waiting. The icing that decorated the cake was that he is the only second person to win the cup as a player and a coach, following in the footsteps of Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary.
Keshi set a record in African football by being the first African coach to successfully qualify two African nations (Nigeria and Togo) to the World Cup finals. He also helped Nigeria become the first country to achieve an African Cup of Nations trophy and World Cup qualification, both in 2013.
Little had the celebration of this success he gardened subsided than on 30 June 2014, Keshi announced his resignation as Super Eagles coach after the loss to France in a 2014 World Cup Round of 16 match but later reversed the decision after the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) renewed his contract.
In July 2015, following Nigeria’s exit from the World Cup, Keshi’s contract with the Nigerian Football Federation expired and was not renewed.
He could be awkward and some of his involvement in transfer dealings was murky, but Keshi was at international level, the finest African coach of his generation. Without his booming laugh, Cups of Nations won’t be the same.
Chido Nwakanma, a communications consultant had this to say of late Stephen Keshi: “The Big Boss has gone into immortality as one of the icons of African and Nigerian football. We watched from Principal’s Cup days as this courageous and capable man wrote new chapters in Nigerian football. Playing professionally abroad, leading our strongest team in ages to win the African Nations Cup, registering Nigeria’s presence at the World Cup and in excellent fashion, speaking up for players, winning Nations Cup as player and coach, making a statement for Nigerian coaches across Africa, Stephen Keshi did valiantly. So sad his loving heart failed him. I can relate totally with his situation. Sorrow begets more sorrow. Rest in peace, coachito.”
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