The Man Stephen Keshi

• Stephen Okechukwu Keshi was born on 31 January, 1961 in Azare, Bauchi state. 
• He died on June 8, 2016 after a heart attack. 
• During his life time, he had been a footballer and a manager. He was a defender in the Nigerian national team.
• Most of his club playing days was in Belgium.
• He went to USA to be educated in coaching.
• The first team he managed was Togo in 2004 - 2006 and 2007 - 2008. He proceeded to coach Mali and finally Nigeria.
• While in Togo, he succeeded in taking them to their first world cup appearance during his 2004 - 2006 spell with the club. He, however, was replaced by German coach Otto Pfister prior to the world cup finals following the dismal performance of the team in the 2006 African Cup of Nations in Egypt.
• Following Togo's controversial World Cup campaign in which Otto Pfister did not last beyond the competition, Keshi was re-engaged in 2007.
• Keshi became coach of Mali in 2008. He, however, did not have any significant achievement and was sacked two years after.
• As coach of Nigeria in 2011, he enabled Nigeria's qualification for the 2013 African Nations Cup. He also led Nigeria to the Confederations Cup in 2013 and secured the 2014 World Cup qualification.
• He is the first coach/African coach to qualify two African nations to a world cup final.
• He and Mahmoud El-Gohary of Egypt, are the only two people to win the African Nations Cup as both player and coach.
• He has been married for 30 years to late Mrs Kate. She died in December 2015 due to cancer. He has four children.
• He died en route to the hospital in Benin City after he suffer a heart attack. He was aged 55.