TheCable

Sunday Dare, minister of sports, on Saturday, called on the Super Eagles to win their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) round of 16 game against Tunisia in honour of the late Stephen Keshi.

Keshi, whose birthday would have been on Sunday — the match day-  had he been alive, was a former captain and coach of the Super Eagles.

He won the AFCON as a player in 1994 and as a head coach in 2013, one of only two people to achieve the feat — the other being Mohammed El Gohary of Egypt.

Big Boss, as the late Keshi was fondly called, also won silver at the AFCON in 1984 and 1988 as well as a bronze medal in 1992.

“Keshi was one of the greatest icons of the Africa Cup of Nations as a player and coach in Nigeria. He would have been 60 on Sunday and we can celebrate him posthumously with another good performance and a sweet victory against Tunisia in Garoua,” Dare said.

Augustine Eguavoen, the current Eagles coach, was team mates with Keshi in 1988, 1992 and was his assistant captain in 1994 while the goalkeeper coach, Alloy Agu, was in the 1990, 1992 and 1994 teams.

Ahmed Musa, captain of the current Eagles, and defender Kenneth Omeruo were in the 2013 squad that won the tournament in South Africa while Joseph Yobo who was the captain of that team is an assistant coach in the present set up.

Keshi was born in Azare, Bauchi state on January 23, 1962. He passed away in Benin City, Edo state on June 7, 2016.