Brief Biography Of Stephen Keshi

By OLATUNJI Muhydeen



His full name was Stephen Okechukwu Chinedu Keshi.

He was born on January 23, 1962.
He was from Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State. He played as a defender for Super Eagles of Nigerian and several football clubs.
Apart from the Nigerian national team, Keshi coached the Togolese and Malian national teams. He was the only coach to have taken the Togolese team to the World cup championship till date.

He made 64 appearances for Nigerian national team and scored a total of 9 goals. He played the defensive position.
He played internationally for the following teams

1979 ACB Lagos
1980–1984 New Nigeria Bank
1985 Stade d'Abidjan
1986 Africa Sports
1986–1987 Lokeren
1987–1991 Anderlecht
1991–1993 RC Strasbourg
1993–1994 RWDM
1995 CCV Hydra
1996 Sacramento Scorpion
1997–1998 Perlis FA

He had his own sense of style as he never put on white trousers or a suit. He claimed not just feeling comfortable in them. So often times, he wore just a track suit of Nigerian colours. Keshi was quite a reserved person. He prefered to spend his free time with his wife at home. Even as a young man, he didn’t like partying. Keshi was a person of self-discipline.
He spoke French and English fluently.
Keshi was one of the only two soccer stars, along with Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary, to have won the Africa Cup of Nations both as a player and a coach.
He won the African Nations Cup in 1994 as a captain and as a coach in 2013.
His wife of 33 years, Kate died on December 9, 2015 after losing a long battle with cancer. Keshi is survived by four children and his mother.