Africa mourns former Nigeria captain and coach Stephen the “Big Boss” Keshi

Nigeria has lost one of its soccer greats, former captain and coach of the Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi, popularly known as the “Big Boss”. Keshi was born in Nigeria in 1962 and reportedly passed away in the early hours of today, (8th of June) after suffering a cardiac arrest. He was 54 years old.

Keshi had an illustrious soccer career both as a player, and coach. He captained the Super Eagles and later coached the national team. During his days as a player, Keshi starred as a central defender, in a career which began in the early 1980s until the mid 1990s, winning 64 caps and scoring nine goals donning the green and white. He won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy with the Super Eagles in 1994 and played overseas in Belgium, France, in the U.S. and Malaysia respectively.

After he hung up his boots, Keshi took up coaching and managed Togo on three different occasions. He also coached Mali between 2008 and 2010 before being appointed coach of the Super Eagles in 2011.

The “Big Boss”, as Keshi was popularly and affectionately known led Nigeria to the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament they went on to win, after defeating Burkina Faso 1–0 in the final.

Under the Big Boss’ tutelage, Nigeria reached the knockout stage of 2014 World Cup in Brazil, not a mean achievement.

Keshi is the only Nigerian and second person in the history of the AFCON competition to have won the prestigious trophy both as a player (1994) and as a coach (2013).

The Big Boss indeed leaves an indelible mark and a great legacy and may he rest in perpetual peace.

The continent is mourning the death of one of Africa’s soccer greats and tributes continue to pour in. Social media users have been sending their condolences:

Source: Twitter and Facebook