Stephen Keshi
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stephen Okechukwu Keshi | ||
| Date of birth | 23 January 1962 | ||
| Place of birth | Azare, Bauchi State, Nigeria | ||
| Date of death | 7 June 2016 (aged 54) | ||
| Place of death | Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979 | ACB Lagos | 10 | (1) |
| 1980–1984 | New Nigeria Bank | 42 | (4) |
| 1985 | Stade d'Abidjan | 13 | (2) |
| 1986 | Africa Sports | 22 | (2) |
| 1986–1987 | Lokeren | 28 | (6) |
| 1987–1991 | Anderlecht | 99 | (18) |
| 1991–1993 | RC Strasbourg | 62 | (9) |
| 1993–1994 | RWDM | 40 | (1) |
| 1995 | CCV Hydra | 20 | (1) |
| 1996 | Sacramento Scorpions | 16 | (3) |
| 1997–1998 | Perlis FA | 34 | (4) |
| Total | 386 | (51) | |
| National team | |||
| 1981–1995 | Nigeria | 64 | (9) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2004–2006 | Togo | ||
| 2007–2008 | Togo | ||
| 2008–2010 | Mali | ||
| 2011 | Togo | ||
| 2011–2014 | Nigeria | ||
| 2015 | Nigeria | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Stephen Okechukwu Keshi (23 January 1962 – 7 June 2016) was a Nigerian football defender and manager.
During his playing career, Keshi earned 60 caps for the Nigerian national football team, making him the nation's second-most capped player at the time of his retirement. He represented the country at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations, captaining the Super Eagles to victory in the latter. He also played club football in five countries, most notably Belgium, where he won the Belgian league championship with R.S.C. Anderlecht in 1991.
As a manager, Keshi achieved success by qualifying Togo for the only FIFA World Cup appearance in its history in 2006. However, he left the position prior to the tournament and was replaced by Otto Pfister. He later coached his native Nigeria, where he became one of only two people, along with Egypt's Mahmoud El-Gohary, to have won the Africa Cup of Nations as both a player and a coach.
After a playing career mostly with Belgian clubs, Keshi went to the United States to be educated in coaching.
In 1996 he was joined by Augustine Eguavoen, who once coached the Nigerian national team. They played together in California as the backbone of the defence for the short-lived Sacramento Scorpions. Keshi has been a part of the coaching staff for the Nigerian national team, most notably as head coach for the Junior Eagles at the 2001 African Youth Championship which also served as qualification for the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship, without success.
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