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| Adieu Keshi |
One
of African football's best-known figures, Stephen Keshi, has died at the age of
54, the Nigeria Football Association has said.
A
former captain of the Nigeria national team, Keshi was one of only two men to
win the Africa Cup of Nations both as a player and a coach.
He
also managed Togo and Mali, and his playing career included a spell for Belgian
club side Anderlecht.
He
is thought to have suffered a heart attack, local media reported.
As
a player, Keshi was part of the Super Eagles team that won the Nations Cup in
1994 and narrowly missed out on a World Cup quarter-final place the same year.
He
coached the national side over three spells, leading Nigeria to the 2013
Nations Cup title in South Africa and the last 16 at the 2014 World Cup in
Brazil.
His
contract was not renewed after the World Cup but he later returned on a
match-by-match deal following the team's failure to reach the 2015 Nations Cup
finals.
He
was then sacked as caretaker coach but reinstated after intervention from then
Nigeria president Goodluck Jonathan. He was sacked for a final time last July.
Keshi
was rumoured to be in the running to take over as coach of South African giants
Orlando Pirates.
Sports
broadcaster Robert Marawa told Talk Radio 702 on Wednesday morning that he received
messages at around 3am that Keshi had died.
Marawa
said he called all he knew to confirm the rumours and it was confirmed Keshi
had died.
Marawa
said he had been speaking with Keshi’s agent on Friday as there were moves for
him to get a job in South Africa.
In
his last job with Nigeria‚ he won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and reached
the round of 16 at the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil.
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