A 40th minute goal from Sunday Mba secured a 1-0 victory for Nigeria over a very resilient Burkina Faso team to ensure that the Super Eagles were once again crowned as the Champions of Africa, ending a nineteen year wait.
READ: Super Eagles are Nations Cup champs!
The team had to endure lots of criticisms and an initial lack of support from the fans and stakeholders alike, who faulted Keshi's selection of relatively inexperienced players, with only about six players out of his twenty-three-man squad having had previous Nations Cup experience.
With this victory, Keshi has now equalled the record set by Egypt's Mahmoud El-Gohari as the only (living) player to have won the Nations Cup both as a player (1994) and as a coach (2013).
CLICK HERE for a gallery of last night's action!
The late El-Gohari won the Africa Cup of Nations as a player in 1959, finishing as the top scorer in that year's edition with three goals all of which came in a game against Ethiopia. He later coached Egypt to victory at Burkina Faso in 1998, with the Pharaoh’s defeating then defending champions South Africa in the final by two goals scored by Ahmed Hassan and Tarek Mustafa.
On his part, Keshi captained the Nigerian team that were crowned African champions at Tunisia in 1994, and his victory nineteen years later has left him as the only man alive to hold the record.
Keshi is also the third West African coach to lift the Nations Cup trophy. Following in the footsteps of Ghana's Charles Kumi Gyamfi who led the Black Stars win the African Cup of Nations trophy three times (1963, 1965 and 1982), and also Yeo Martial who led Ivory Coast to their only Nations Cup title in 1992.
CLICK HERE for a gallery of last night's action!
Keshi is now the most successful indigenous coach in Nigerian football history. Europe may have found a 'Special One' in Portuguese coach, Jose Mourinho, but here in Nigeria and Africa at large we know who the 'Big Boss' is.
Your comments on this story...
We know that Qaures Qouras or whatever his name was has always been an assistant coach but hey SAFA made him a head coach. We know that Stuart Baxter was an under 17 coach all his life, you guessed correct again because our clever SAFA made him a head coach.
We know that Paul Put was banned for match fixing in Belgium, but hey he has navigating West Africa countries just to revive his career.
Steven Keshi qualified Togo for the first time in World Cup- but was fired for a foreign coach. I am a nationalist and very much a patriotism type of a person. it is better to lose a game being coached by a national than a foreigner. It is common knowledge that globalization has taken over but there are certain things you can’t afford to commoditize.
Africa for our pride let’s start having faith in our own, if need be lets have African coaches couching African countries if we believe we don’t have depth. I respect Cape Vrede more than Burkina Faso, cos their achievements was a national pride. We have seen it happening with our Rugby. The national coaching job can never be given to a foreigner.
Despite the fact that I love Nigeria as a country, yesterday mine was sentimental and personal. African couch v/s Foreign couch and yes I was watching the game with my Nigerian friends because they are Fonny and very foony people.
Proudly South African ( In Nigeria for CONFED I trust)
Well done to Nigeria, you were uncompromising and was not here to make friends. You meant business!
Failure is not in failing itself but not rising after failing. Keshi (The Big Boss) can write a book on this
Segun
GOD BLESS NIGERIA !!!
South Africa was blessed with leaders who had foresight and could rise beyond hate and anger for the better of all South African. As a country we managed to turn a very negative and dangerous scenario into a positive story.
South Africa achievements and peaceful transition is used a case study for doctorate students and model followed by many countries and enemies globally. South African is the only country that has managed to restore the pride of the Continent. The world sat and noticed that not all Africans are primitive and barbaric. Not all Africans use Machete and Guns to force their way, and in that the Nigerian can a learn a thing or two
That is RSA even today is not living under the siege of extremist like Boka Haram because South African is for all who live in it. You might think that we don’t know but some of us know that Non Muslim Nigerian have been the slaves and are still the slaves of Muslim Nigerian. This is well documented in Nollywood where you find a human been opening gate when the master come home. We don’t have that in South Africa. Nigerian oil is concentrated on the North part ( Niger delta) which is densely populated by the non Muslim Nigerian, but the control is in the hand of Muslim. Nigeria has been led by Muslin Leader for many years, and only his Excellency Goodluck Jonathan is the president but still he is under siege because Muslims do not approve of him being the president, hence the alleged coup. So Nigeria focus on stabilizing your government, entrench democracy and maintain peace and most importantly try to stay in Nigeria in order to rebuild that decapitated country of yours
I know Lagos and Abuja very well and it does not compare anywhere near South Africa major cities.
Proudly South African who loves Nigerians
The best of its kind..lol
Na wah! o, some haters of progress has suddenly gone cold... common weldon, they be witch?
With all due respect to you as i have always appreciate your comment but you should realize that most Nigerians here respond to the rubbish which your country men post here. Lagos and Abuja you said might not be compared to anywhere in South Africa but they were built,develop and run by Nigerians and not by Whites which are the case of your most cities. Congratulation Big Boss,PROUDLY NIGERIAN.
Ride on my man...you are a man and not boy