Today, scores of sports lovers have taken to the social media to remember the legendary Super Eagles Skipper and Coach, Late Stephen Keshi who passed on June 7, 2016 at the age of 54. The Nigerian Football icon was reported to have died from heart attack.
Before his demise, the “Big Boss”, as he was fondly called by football lovers and associates had earned 64 caps for the Nigerian Super Eagles, making him the nation's second most capped player in the national team. He captained the super eagles to the 1994 USA FIFA world cup after leading the team to a glorious outing in the 1994 African Cup of Nations where they lifted the trophy. Steven Keshi played in five different countries for different clubs including Anderlect and Perlis FA.
The Big Boss after retiring from active football took up coaching jobs with Togo and Mali from 2004 to 2011. Following his sterling performance in Togo, he qualified the Hawks for the World Cup before he was eventually replaced by a German gaffer, Otto Pfister.
He was handed the Super Eagles job in 2011 and led the team to the victorious 2013 AFCON. He became the first indigenous coach to have won the AFCON as a player and Coach. After the 2013 AFCON, Keshi secured qualification for the Super Eagles in the 2014 world cup, becoming the only coach to have successfully qualified two different teams for the World Cup, having qualified Togo earlier. He was named CAF African Coach of the Year in 2013 after an unparalleled performance.
His contract with the Super Eagles expired in 2015 and was not renewed by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF). Since his exit from the Super Eagles, the team has apparently failed to make its mark at the international scene, failing to qualify for the AFCON back to back. The team is however finding its footing again thanks to the appointment of Gernot Rohr as the new coach.
Sport lovers who have taken time to remember the Big Boss have called on the Federal Government to urgently immortalize him. They berated the government for failing to recognize the contributions of other sports icons, which did the country proud with their sporting feats. They also argued that unless the government pumps money into the sport sector, no meaningful advancement would be made in the sector.
Meanwhile, the NFF has taken to its twitter handle to remember the Big Boss one year after. In a Tweet posted yesterday, the Federation wrote "We say not in grief you are no more, but we live in thankfulness that you were. Rest on BIG BOSS! Late Stephen Keshi (23/01/62 - 7/6/ 2016)".
