My Story: Stephen Keshi

“Winning this tournament is an honour. I came on board a year and a half ago, and my dream was to make all Nigerians happy,” said Keshi in a post-match press conference
.
“We’re not there yet; we’re still in the rebuilding process. We have been praying for this. It’s not for me alone. I hope that more African coaches will get to this position and make their nation proud.

“There is a lot of potential in this team, but we have to be patient. I’m so, so proud of what they did in this tournament. They kept their concentration, and I’m happy about that. I hope it continues.”
Asked about what was going on inside his head in the final five minutes as Burkina Faso searched for an equaliser, he added, “You don’t want to know. So many things were going through my head in the final five minutes. But, the way the boys were working, it kept me going, I knew we’d get there.”
Keshi was heavily criticized in the build-up to the African Cup of Nations for his squad selection after he dropped Obafemi Martins, Peter Odemwingie and Taye Taiwo.
Big Boss, as the captain of the 1994 title-winning side is affectionately known, was hitting the continental jackpot as a coach at the third time of asking, after first-round knockouts with Togo in 2006 and Mali in 2010.
Part of the key to the Super Eagles’ 2013 success has been the 51-year-old’s bold yet heavily criticised gamble in calling up local-based players.
Keshi had described his players as ‘his Hollywood Stars’ after they sent Didier Drogba and company packing – but he, too, deserves an Oscar for defying the tens of millions of ultra-critical wannabe national managers back home in Lagos.
At times charismatic, belligerent, terse and witty, but never dull, the former bull of a centre-back gained entry to an exclusive club of those to be crowned kings of Africa as both player and coach.
The only other man to accomplish that feat was the late Egyptian Mahmoud El Gohary, who helped his country defeat Sudan 2-1 in the 1959 final and guided the Pharaohs to a 2-0 victory over South Africa 39 years later.
As a player, Keshi triumphed with a golden generation of Super Eagles in a 2-1 victory against a Zambia team rebuilt one year after the plane crash off Gabon that wiped out the national squad.
Reflecting on the differences between then and now, Keshi, who spent most of his playing career in Belgium, said: “The 1994 squad was unbelievable. We were brothers; there was a great spirit in the team.
“Now there is the talent, but we need a strong mentality and character. That takes time (to build).”
This win also laid to rest the bitter memories of the 1996 Nations Cup, when Keshi and his fellow Eagles were denied a shot at defending their title on South African soil when a political spat between the South African and Nigerian governments kept them at home.