5 players who will never forget former Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi.
The entire football fraternity in Nigeria and many parts of the world were thrown into serious mourning following the death of former Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi. And since the day he died, many football lovers, players, journalists have been battling to cope with the rigors of his death considering his achievements and closeness to many.
Even in the grave, Stephen Keshi remains the only Nigerian who has won the African Cup of Nations as a player and coach. Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary is the only African who shares the same success with the man who was popularly known as ‘Big Boss’.
Many players played under Stephen Keshi when he was the Super Eagles coach, and here we take a look at some of them that were badly touched following the demise of the former Togo and Mali coach.
Ogenyi Onazi: Super Eagles defensive midfielder Ogenyi Onazi currently plays for Turkish club Trabzonspor and he will never forget the role Stephen Keshi played in his career. Onazi was not given the chance in the national team until Stephen Keshi gave him the chance against Venezuela on November 15, 2012 in which Nigeria won 3-1 and Onazi even scored the third goal at the last minute. Today, history can bare witness that Ogenyi Onazi is a regular player in the Super Eagles, thanks to the late Stephen Keshi who gave him the opportunity when no one believed in him.
Sunday Mba: Sunday Mba is a Nigerian football star whose career seems to have gone to oblivion, but he would ever be remembered for scoring the goal that helped Nigeria win the 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa. Stephen Keshi faced the heat from top sports administrators and even journalists when he included Sunday Mba’s name among his wards for the 2013 Nations Cup, but the former Enugu Rangers’ man did not disappoint the Big Boss, instead he became a hero.
Gabriel Reuben: If Stephen Keshi is alive today and still remain Super Eagles coach, then it is expected that Gabriel Reuben will be in the Super Eagles considering the love Keshi had for the former Kano Pillars’ star. Keshi even exemplified his love for Gabriel Reuben and was nonchalant to severe criticism when he was injured as he took him to the Nations Cup and also the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Kenneth Omeruo: Kenneth Josiah Omeruo is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Kasimpasa on loan from English club Chelsea and also the Super Eagles. Keshi gave Omeruo the confidence and took him to the 2013 African Cup of Nations where he was superb.
Godfrey Oboabona: Godfrey Itama Oboabona is a Nigerian international footballer who plays for Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli as a defender, and he came to limelight when late Stephen Keshi took him to the 2013 African Cup of Nations as an home based player.
FA Cup
West Ham v C/Palace
Swansea v Arsenal
Huddersfield v Liverpool
Everton v Leicester
Newcastle v Burnley
Southampton v Brighton
Chelsea v Bo’mouth
Stoke City v Watford
Man City v West Brom
Tottenham v Man Utd
Sheffield Wed v Reading
Yeovil Town v Man Utd
Peterborough v Leicester
MK Dons v Coventry City
Hull City v Nottingham
Notts County v Swansea
Mid’brough v Brighton
Southampton v Watford
Millwall v Rochdale
Huddersfield v Birmingham
Sheffield Utd v Preston
Wigan v West Ham
Newport v Tottenham
Liverpool v West Brom
Chelsea v Newcastle
Cardiff City v Man City
LALIGA
Athletic v Eibar
Deportivo v Levante
Valencia v Real Madrid
Málaga v Girona
Villarreal v Sociedad
Leganés v Espanyol
Atlético v Las Palmas
Sevilla v Getafe
Barcelona v Deportivo
Celta Vigo v Real Betis
BUNDESLIGA
Frankfurt v M’gladbach
Dortmund v Freiburg
RB Leipzig v Hamburger
Bayern v Hoffenheim
Stuttgart v Schalke 04
Köln v Augsburg
Bremen v Hertha
Leverkusen v Mainz
Hannover 96 v Wolfsburg
SERIE A
Sassuolo v Atalanta
Chievo v Juventus
SPAL v Inter
Genoa v Udinese
Napoli v Bologna
Crotone v Cagliari
Torino v Benevento
Fiorentina v Hellas Verona
Milan v Lazio
Roma v Sampdoria
LIGUE 1
Dijon v Rennes
PSG v Montpellier
St-Étienne v Caen
Toulouse v Troyes
Angers SCO v Amiens
Guingamp v Nantes
Metz v Nice
Lille v Strasbourg
Bordeaux v Lyon
Marseille v Monaco
Premier League
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Man City 24 21 2 1 70 18 52 65
2 Man Utd 24 16 5 3 49 16 33 53
3 Chelsea 24 15 5 4 45 16 29 50
4 Liverpool 24 13 8 3 54 29 25 47
5 Tottenham 24 13 6 5 47 22 25 45
6 Arsenal 24 12 6 6 45 31 14 42
7 Leicester 24 9 7 8 36 32 4 34
8 Burnley 24 9 7 8 19 21 -2 34
9 Everton 24 7 7 10 26 39 -13 28
10 Watford 24 7 5 12 33 44 -11 26
11 West Ham 24 6 8 10 30 42 -12 26
12 Bo’mouth 24 6 7 11 25 36 -11 25
13 C/Palace 24 6 7 11 22 37 -15 25
14 Huddersfield 24 6 6 12 19 41 -22 24
15 Newcastle 24 6 5 13 22 34 -12 23
16 Brighton 24 5 8 11 17 33 -16 23
17 Stoke City 24 6 5 13 25 50 -25 23
18 Southampton 24 4 10 10 24 35 -11 22
19 West Brom 24 3 11 10 19 31 -12 20
20 Swansea City 24 5 5 14 15 35 -20 20
LALIGA
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Barcelona 20 17 3 0 57 9 48 54
2 Atlético 20 12 7 1 29 9 20 43
3 Valencia 20 12 4 4 41 21 20 40
4 Real Madrid 19 10 5 4 39 18 21 35
5 Villarreal 20 10 4 6 28 22 6 34
6 Sevilla 20 10 2 8 26 28 -2 32
7 Celta Vigo 20 8 4 8 35 28 7 28
8 Eibar 20 8 4 8 25 32 -7 28
9 Getafe 20 7 6 7 25 20 5 27
10 Girona 20 7 6 7 29 29 0 27
11 Real Betis 20 8 3 9 33 41 -8 27
12 Athletic 20 6 8 6 23 22 1 26
13 Leganés 19 7 4 8 17 19 -2 25
14 Espanyol 20 6 6 8 16 25 -9 24
15 Sociedad 20 6 5 9 34 36 -2 23
16 Alavés 20 6 1 13 16 29 -13 19
17 Levante 20 3 9 8 16 28 -12 18
18 Deportivo 20 4 4 12 22 44 -22 16
19 Las Palmas 20 4 2 14 16 47 -31 14
20 Málaga 20 3 3 14 14 34 -20 12
BUNDESLIGA
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Bayern 19 15 2 2 44 14 30 47
2 Leverkusen 19 8 7 4 39 27 12 31
3 Schalke 04 19 8 7 4 30 25 5 31
4 RB Leipzig 19 9 4 6 31 28 3 31
5 M’gladbach 19 9 4 6 30 30 0 31
6 Dortmund 19 8 6 5 40 25 15 30
7 Frankfurt 19 8 6 5 24 20 4 30
8 Augsburg 19 7 6 6 28 25 3 27
9 Hoffenheim 19 7 6 6 29 27 2 27
10 Hannover 19 7 6 6 28 29 -1 27
11 Hertha 19 6 7 6 27 27 0 25
12 Freiburg 19 5 8 6 20 33 -13 23
13 Wolfsburg 19 3 11 5 22 24 -2 20
14 Stuttgart 19 6 2 11 16 24 -8 20
15 Mainz 05 19 5 5 9 24 33 -9 20
16 Bremen 19 3 7 9 16 25 -9 16
17 Hamburger 19 4 3 12 15 28 -13 15
18 Köln 19 3 3 13 14 33 -19 12
SERIE A
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Napoli 21 17 3 1 45 13 32 54
2 Juventus 21 17 2 2 50 15 35 53
3 Lazio 20 13 4 3 53 25 28 43
4 Inter 21 12 7 2 36 16 20 43
5 Roma 20 12 4 4 31 15 16 40
6 Sampdoria 20 10 3 7 39 30 9 33
7 Milan 21 9 4 8 27 28 -1 31
8 Atalanta 21 8 6 7 31 27 4 30
9 Udinese 20 9 2 9 34 28 6 29
10 Torino 21 6 11 4 29 28 1 29
11 Fiorentina 21 7 7 7 30 24 6 28
12 Bologna 21 8 3 10 26 30 -4 27
13 Chievo 21 5 7 9 21 37 -16 22
14 Sassuolo 21 6 4 11 14 31 -17 22
15 Genoa 21 5 6 10 16 23 -7 21
16 Cagliari 21 6 2 13 19 33 -14 20
17 Crotone 21 5 3 13 16 38 -22 18
18 SPAL 21 3 7 11 22 39 -17 16
19 Hellas 21 3 4 14 18 44 -26 13
20 Benevento 21 2 1 18 13 46 -33 7
LIGUE 1
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 PSG 22 18 2 2 68 17 51 56
2 Olympique Lyonnais 22 14 6 2 51 22 29 48
3 Olympique Marseille 22 14 5 3 45 22 23 47
4 Monaco 22 14 4 4 51 22 29 46
5 Nantes 22 10 4 8 19 21 -2 34
6 Nice 22 10 4 8 28 31 -3 34
7 Montpellier 22 7 10 5 20 15 5 31
8 Rennes 22 9 4 9 27 30 -3 31
9 Guingamp 22 8 5 9 24 29 -5 29
10 Strasbourg 22 7 6 9 27 37 -10 27
11 Caen 22 8 3 11 14 24 -10 27
12 Bordeaux 22 7 5 10 24 31 -7 26
13 Amiens SC 22 7 4 11 20 24 -4 25
14 Dijon 22 7 4 11 31 45 -14 25
15 Troyes 22 7 3 12 22 31 -9 24
16 Saint-Étienne 22 6 5 11 20 37 -17 23
17 Angers SCO 22 4 10 8 25 32 -7 22
18 Lille 22 6 4 12 19 33 -14 22
19 Toulouse 22 5 5 12 20 32 -12 20
20 Metz 22 4 3 15 18 38 -20 15
