Nigeria's World Cup Team at the USA 1994 event emerged as the second best entertaining team behind Brazil. The coach Clemens Westerhof tutored-team advanced to the second round of the competition and were knocked out by Italy. That was Nigeria's first participation at the global mundial.




23 years after, we look at the current profiles of the 22 man team and what they are currently doing. Among those dead are Stephen Keshi, Thompson Oliha, Wilfred Agbonavbare and Uche Okafor. These Nigerian heros remain worthy of celebration.

1. PETER RUFAI

Born on 24 August 1963. He is the son of the traditional ruler of Idimu. Rufai played for Deportivo in Spain among other clubsides and represented Nigeria also at the 1998 World Cup in France. He turned down the offer to succeed his father upon the latter's demise. He is currently based in Nigeria.

Peter Rufai Photo credit: Super Sport
2. AUGUSTINE EGUAVOEN

Born on 19 August 1965 in Sapele, Eguavoen started his professional footballing career at ACB Lagos. He played 49 times for Nigeria and manned the right back position for Nigeria at the 1994 tournament. He returned to Nigeria in 2010 to take over the management of the Super Eagles from Swedish Lars Lagerbäck. He is currently based in Nigeria and open for coaching responsibilites.

Augustine Eguavoen
3. BENEDICT IROHA

Iroha was born on 29 November 1969. Popularly known as the 'over-lapping' defender due to his proficiency in leading the attack from the left wing back. He started his professional career in Bendel Insurance in 1989 and played professionally in Holland, Ivory Coast and Spain among others. Between 2000 and 2006 he was a youth coach at FC Dallas USA. In 2007 Iroha was an assistant coach with the Nigerian under 17s. He is currently with Heartland of Owerri as a staff.

Ben Iroha
4. STEPHEN KESHI (DECEASED)

Stephen Okechukwu Keshi was born in Azare Bauchi State, Nigeria on 23 January 1962 and died on 7 June 2016. He started his footballing career at ACB Lagos in 1979. He captained the Nigerian team at USA 1994 and played as a foreign based pro in Belgium and France as well as in the Ivory Coast.

Late Stephen Keshi
5. UCHE OKECHUKWU

Uche 'The Gentle Giant' Okechukuw was born on 27 September 1967. He played as a central defender. Uche started his career in 1987 with the defunct Flash Flamingoes. He later plyed his trade in Denmark and Turkey where he starred for Fernabahçe and Istanbulspor. He returned to Nigeria in 2007 and played for Ocean Boys of Bayelsa in the 2007/2008 season and moved on to Bayelsa United in the 2008/2009 season. He obtained Turkish citizenship after 13 years of playing in that country under the name Deniz Uygar. He is presently based in Nigeria.

Uche Okechukwu

6. CHIDI NWANNU

Chidi was born in Port Harcourt on 1 January 1967. He played 20 times for the Super Eagles of Nigeria. He stated his football playing career with the Enyimba of Aba in 1983. He moved on to play professional football in Belgium. He won the league twice with Anderlecht. He retired after an unsuccessful spell at RKC Waalwijk. He is currently a pastor in Brussels.

Pastor Chidi Nwannu


7. FINIDI GEORGE

Finidi was born in Port Harcourt on 15 April 1971. He played in the right wing position for Nigeria at the 1994 tourney. He started his football career at the Calabar Rovers FC and moved on to play professional football in Europe with the likes of Ajax, Betis, Mallorca and Ipswich Town. He played 62 times for Nigeria and scored 6 goals. He is known better as the assist master due to the many goals he created from the right wing for Rashidi Yekini. He also payed in the 1998 tournament. He is currently based in Spain.

Goerge Finidi Photo credit: CompleteSports


8. THOMPSON OLIHA (DECEASED)

Oliha was born on 4 October 1968 and died on 30 June 2013. He started his career in Bendel Insurance FC in 1985. He moved on to the Ivory Coast in 1992 where he played for Africa Sports. In 1994 he signed for the Israeli club Maccabi ironi Ashdod and later played for Antalyaspor of Turkey. He won 31 caps for Nigeria and scored 2 goals. His career was shortened by injury.

Late Thompson Oliha Photo credit Futaa.com
9. RASHIDI YEKINI (DECEASED)

Yekini was born on 23 October 1963 and died on 4 May 2012. He started his professional career at UNTL Kaduna. He scored 37 goals for Nigeria, a record that has not been matched by any other Nigerian player for the Super Eagles. He was the African Footballer of the Year in 1993. He palyed 114 times for Vitöria Setübal of Portugal and scored 90 goals in the process for the club.

Late Rashidi Yekini Photo Credit: Sahara Reporters



10. AUGUSTINE OKOCHA

Augustine 'Jay-Jay' Okocha was born on 14 August 1973. He played as a creative mid-fielder for the Super Eagles. He is arguably Nigeria's most talented and skillful footballer. He started his career at Borussia Neunkirchen in Germany. He last played for Hull City in the 2007/08 season. He is a dual Nigerian-Turkish citizen having acquired the latter while playing for Fenerbahçe under the name Muhammet Yavuz. He is currently a business man based in Lagos from where he runs a Night club. In March 2004 Okocha was named as one of the top 125 living footballers by Pele.

Augustine Okocha
11. Emmanuel Amunike

Emmanuel was born on 25 December 1970 in Eziobodo Nigeria. He played as an outside left for the Super Eagles. He started his career in 1990 for Concord FC and moved on to play in Egypt for Zamalek and later Europe for other clubsides including Barcelona where he played for 19 times and scored one goal. He is currently the coach of Khartoum FC in Sudan.

Emmanuel Amunike
12. SAMSON SIASIA

Samson Siasia was born on 14 August 1967. He started his football career in 1982 for Juius Berger FC. He played professional football in Europe for Lokeren, Nantes among others. He was previously the manager of the Under 20s and the Under 23s. In 2017 he was shortlisted to manage the Rwandan national team. He is based in Nigeria and available for coaching opportunities.

Samson Siasia
See more after the cut
13. CHUKWUEMEKA EZEUGO

Emeka Ezeugo was born on 16 December 1965 in Aba, Nigeria. He played both as a defender and a midfielder for Nigeria. He started his career at East Bengal in 1986 and played for 16 other clubsides. He is presently a football coach. He lives in New York.

Emeka Ezeugo
14. DANIEL "THE BULL" AMOKACHI

Daniel Amokachi was born on 30 December 1972. He started his football career in 1989 playing for Ranchers Bees of Kaduna. He was the youngest member of the Super Eagles at Algiers 1990 when he was just 17. He played in Europe for Clube Brugge, Everton FC and Besiktas. In 2002 he mmoved to the United States where he signed for Colorado Rapids. He is currently the coach of JS Herculs.

Daniel Amokachi

15. SUNDAY "THE PASS MASTER" OLISEH

Sunday Ogochukwu Oliseh was born on 14 September 1974. He started his playing career in 1989 when he joined Julius Berger FC. He moved on to Europe and played at various times for RFC Leige, Reggina, FC Köln, Ajax, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and Genk. He retired as a professional footballer in 2006. He was the Nigeria manager from 2015 - 2016 and resigned after contract problems with the FA. He is currently the manager of Fortuna Sittard in Holland.

Sunday Oliseh
16. ALLOY AGU

Alloysius Agu was born on 12 July 1967 in Lagos, Nigeria. He started his playing career at NEPA FC. He played in Europe for MVV Maastricht, RFC Liege and Kayserispor. He played 28 times fo r Nigeria but was an unused substitute in the USA tournament. He was a goal keeper. He is currently with the Nigerian national team as goal keeper trainer.

Alloy Agu
17. VICTOR IKPEBA

Victor Nosa Ikpeba, also known as the Prince of Monaco was born on 12 June 1973. He started his playing career in 1989 with ACB FC. He played for RFC Liege, Monaco, Borussia Dortmond, Al Ittihad among others and was African Footballer of the Year 1996. He was an unused substitute at the 1994 tourney but played a significant part in the 1998 world cup.

Victor Ikpeba
18. EFAN IKOKU

Efangwu Goziem Ekoku was born on 8 June 1967 in Cheetham Hill, Manchester in England. He started his career with Sutton United and payed as an attacker. He is currently a commentator for the Premier League Productions which produces world feed commentaries. He is also a weekly guest on Football Dynamics on Bloomberg Africa. He is also a licensed UEFA coach.

Efan Ikoku Photo credit: ESPN

19. MICHAEL EMENALO

Michael Emenalo was born on 14 July 1965 in Aba, Nigeria. he started his playing carrer in 1985 when he signed for Enugu Rangers FC. He played in the US for Boston University and in Eurpoe for Molenbeek, Eintracht Trier and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Between 2010-2011, he was an assistant coach for Chelsea FC. In 2011 he was appointed the Chelsea's Technical Director. He resigned in November 2017 to take up the position of Technical Director at AS Monaco.

Michael Emenalo Photo Credit: Daily Mirror
20. UCHE OKAFOR (DECEASED)

Uche Okafor was born on 8 August 1967 in Owerri, Nigeria and died in Little Elm, Texas in on 6 January 2011. He played as a defender. He started his career with ACB Lagos in 1986 and retired after a spell at Kansas City Wizards. He was a school boys coach and also worked as a pundit for ESPN before his death.

Late Uche Okafor

21. MUTIU " THE HEADMASTER" ADEPOJU

Born on 22 December 1970 in Ibadan, Nigeria, Mutiu started his playing career as a midfielder for Shooting Stars. He moved on to Spain to star for Real Madrid B, Racing Santander and Real Sociedad as well as others. He retired in 2006. Adepoju played 48 times for Nigeria scoring 48 goals in the process. He is presently on the staff of 3SC of Ibadan.

Mutiu Adepoju
22. WILFRED AGBONAVBARE (DECEASED)

Willy Agbonavbare was born in Lagos on 5 October 1966 and died on 27 January 2015. He started his playing career in 1983 when joined New Nigeria Bank FC of Benin. He played as a goal keeper. He moved to Europe in 1990 to join Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish La liga. He played 15 times for Nigeria. He retired from football age 31 due to lack of offers from any club. He returned to Madrid after training to keep fit in Nigeria. While in Madrid he worked as a delivery man and a goal keeper coach. In January 2015 it was revealed that he was ailing with cancer. He succumbed to cancer at the age of 48.

Late Wilfred Agbonavbare

Source: http://nairachronicles..co.uk/2017/12/current-status-of-members-of-nigerias.html

1994

Too many of these guys died and all of them way too young!