Among the Africa Cup Of Nations legends such as countries and players that have won the trophy many times, which player scored many goals, which player to look out for in the 32nd edition if the tournament 2019 kicking off in June in Egypt, there are are also another kind of the competition’s heroes.
Nigerian football icon Stephen “Big Boss” Keshi will be remembered forever, him being one of only two men to win the Africa Cup of Nations as both a player and coach.
He played for the Nigerian National team at the FIFA World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations, where he took home the title in 1994. In 2011, he began coaching the national team of his native Nigeria. He led the team to a victory at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013.
Keshi believed in fairness when it came to selecting his squad. He once said that in order to be able to be on his team you need to work hard, adding that “there are no guaranteed shirts for anyone”.
In 2016, Keshi suffered a heart attack and died en route to the hospital in Benin City, Nigeria. He was 54 years old.
We can never forget all you did for Nigerian football, we miss you Stephen Okechukwu Keshi 'Big Boss.' pic.twitter.com/kDhxqySyIX
— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) January 23, 2018
The other player to ever win ACON as a player and a coach is Mahmoud El-Gohary. Egyptian football fans used to chant Mahmoud El-Gohary’s name whenever the national team stumbled, confident that the rescuer will be always there to give the ailing side a much-needed lift.
Known for his resolute defensive tactics, El Gohary also steered Egypt to the Africa Cup of Nations title in 1998. He won the title as a player in 1959.
El-Gohary defied doubters on several occasions en route to his outstanding success that, arguably, could only be matched by the three consecutive African Nations Cups Egypt won under Hassan Shehata in recent years.
El-Gohary was sacked after Egypt suffered an embarrassing 5-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia in the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup in Mexico but the Egyptian Football Association brought him back less than one year later after French coach Gerard Gili was shown the door for some poor displays at the 2000 Nations Cup.
Egypt narrowly missed out on a place at the 2002 World Cup following a tough qualifying campaign and were eliminated by Cameroon at the Nations Cup quarter-finals, marking the end of El-Gohary’s era as the national team manager.
It will take some years to see another man join the two legends in winning the tournament as a player and as a coach.