Ekong Extols KESHI.......

[Enugu II]

‘Stephen Keshi is someone close to my heart’- Watford star on late Super Eagles coach
Joba Ogunwale by Joba Ogunwale 8 hours ago in News, NewsNow, Nigeria 0
https://soccernet.ng/2021/11/stephen-ke ... gles-coach

The late coach gave many players a chance in the Nigerian national team, and one of them has expressed his sadness over not getting to spend enough time with him

Watford defender William Troost-Ekong has said that he will never forget late Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi for the rest of his life.

Ekong made the first of his 39 appearances so far for the Super Eagles under the Keshi, and for that reason, he holds the former Togo coach close to his heart.

Speaking in an interview on Watford’s youtube page, Ekong cited Keshi as one of the black men that inspired him as a person.

“Stephen Keshi is someone close to my heart,” Ekong said. He was my first manager with the Super Eagles. I made my debut under, and then sadly, a few months later, he passed away, which is quite shocking at the time.

Before Keshi took over as Nigeria’s head coach, he was formerly a player and was one of the best centre-backs to ever come out of the country.

Ekong, being a central defender himself, revealed Keshi influenced him as a centre-back, saying he was one of the Nigerian players he looked up to.

“And also being a central defender, he was a player I grew up watching and looking up to,” Ekong added.

” He won the AFCON as a player and as a manager, had success with Togo as well.”

The Super Eagles vice-captain also revealed the soft side of Keshi, saying the former Anderlecht defender was a loving person.

“He was just a general very loving and caring person, so yeah, it’s sometimes difficult to come across people in the football industry that you can really relate to have a connection with.”

“But from the first time he called me up to be part of his team when I was 21 or I think 22, it was already something special that I spoke on the phone to a legend.”

“Then a few months later, when I met him, and he actually put me in the team to make my debut, yeah, it was unbelievable.”

However, Keshi passed away a few months after Ekong made his debut, and the 28-year-old feels sad he was not able to thank him for the opportunity.

“So I feel indebted to him for the rest of my life, and yeah, I feel like I didn’t have a chance to really say thank you to him for that moment because he passed so suddenly.

“Because like I said, he is someone very close to my heart and yeah, an idol for me on and off the pitch,” Ekong concluded.

[maceo4]

Glad Ekong did his background, sounds much more knowledgeable here than that previous interview. RIP Big Boss!

[mcal]

...reason why I said on that thread, the interview is them joking.

[deanotito]

Wish these guys would just acknowledge them without telling all these tales. The other day, Osimhen was saying he grew up watching Yekini playing for SE. now, Ekong say him dey watch Keshi.

I senior them well, and I really only remember the tail end of Keshi’s professional career. I know all of una go say ‘YouTube, etc.’…but please. I don’t buy it. There are live games you can watch, with better picture and camera angles…but you go go dey dig up old Keshi games on YouTube??? Abegie

[Damunk]

Wish these guys would just acknowledge them without telling all these tales. The other day, Osimhen was saying he grew up watching Yekini playing for SE. now, Ekong say him dey watch Keshi.

I senior them well, and I really only remember the tail end of Keshi’s professional career. I know all of una go say ‘YouTube, etc.’…but please. I don’t buy it. There are live games you can watch, with better picture and camera angles…but you go go dey dig up old Keshi games on YouTube??? Abegie

Deantito, take am easy nah.
Your own experience is not typical or representative of everyone.
Moreover, they ARE the internet/Youtube generation.
So it is a childhood 'luxury' you and I never experienced.

Did you not grow up wishing you could see more clips of Pele, Cryuff and the great Brazil of the 70s?
Or 'Thunder' Balogun, Achebe, Odiye or even Odegbami, Adokiye and Chairman Chukwu.

Abeg, allow them.

[gochino]

This sounds much better! At least he did some research now, just a few days ago,he didn't even know Keshi won the Nations cup.

[deanotito]

This sounds much better! At least he did some research now, just a few days ago,he didn't even know Keshi won the Nations cup.

Na d same player we are supposed to believe - as a kid - was digging up old Strasbourg and Anderlecht games on YouTube looking for Keshi clips?? Ask him when last we won AfCon? Blank

Iro nla!!!

[deanotito]

Wish these guys would just acknowledge them without telling all these tales. The other day, Osimhen was saying he grew up watching Yekini playing for SE. now, Ekong say him dey watch Keshi.

I senior them well, and I really only remember the tail end of Keshi’s professional career. I know all of una go say ‘YouTube, etc.’…but please. I don’t buy it. There are live games you can watch, with better picture and camera angles…but you go go dey dig up old Keshi games on YouTube??? Abegie

Deantito, take am easy nah.
Your own experience is not typical or representative of everyone.
Moreover, they ARE the internet/Youtube generation.
So it is a childhood 'luxury' you and I never experienced.

Did you not grow up wishing you could see more clips of Pele, Cryuff and the great Brazil of the 70s?
Or 'Thunder' Balogun, Achebe, Odiye or even Odegbami, Adokiye and Chairman Chukwu.

Abeg, allow them.

Na Fabu!!

And no, I didn’t grow up wishing to see those guys. As an adult, I have sought out Odegbami and Etim Esin clips, but probably less than 5 times. And the clips were so grainy and unsatisfying, it really wasn’t worth it. It would be another thing entirely for me to be growing up in Holland/England seeking YouTube videos of Uche Okechukwu. Na fabu be dat one

[Damunk]

Wish these guys would just acknowledge them without telling all these tales. The other day, Osimhen was saying he grew up watching Yekini playing for SE. now, Ekong say him dey watch Keshi.

I senior them well, and I really only remember the tail end of Keshi’s professional career. I know all of una go say ‘YouTube, etc.’…but please. I don’t buy it. There are live games you can watch, with better picture and camera angles…but you go go dey dig up old Keshi games on YouTube??? Abegie

Deantito, take am easy nah.
Your own experience is not typical or representative of everyone.
Moreover, they ARE the internet/Youtube generation.
So it is a childhood 'luxury' you and I never experienced.

Did you not grow up wishing you could see more clips of Pele, Cryuff and the great Brazil of the 70s?
Or 'Thunder' Balogun, Achebe, Odiye or even Odegbami, Adokiye and Chairman Chukwu.

Abeg, allow them.

Na Fabu!!

And no, I didn’t grow up wishing to see those guys. As an adult, I have sought out Odegbami and Etim Esin clips, but probably less than 5 times. And the clips were so grainy and unsatisfying, it really wasn’t worth it. It would be another thing entirely for me to be growing up in Holland/England seeking YouTube videos of Uche Okechukwu. Na fabu be dat one

Well, this is why I say you can only speak for yourself.

‘Shoot!’ Magazine, ‘World Soccer’ magazine and Nigeria’s own ‘Complete Football’ magazine were like hot akara back in the day and sold out on the streets in no time.
If YouTube had existed back then, it would probably have outstripped all three combined by way of followership.
I for one devoured every tv clip of the old football greats I could find.

‘The World At Their Feet’ was the first football documentary I watched dozens of times just to see Pele, Jairzinho, Tostao, Rivelinho etc do their thing.
Sotay, I rushed to watch ‘The Boys From Brazil’ only to find it was a science fiction thriller film that had nothing to do with football!!!
I was so disappointed.

[deanotito]

Wish these guys would just acknowledge them without telling all these tales. The other day, Osimhen was saying he grew up watching Yekini playing for SE. now, Ekong say him dey watch Keshi.

I senior them well, and I really only remember the tail end of Keshi’s professional career. I know all of una go say ‘YouTube, etc.’…but please. I don’t buy it. There are live games you can watch, with better picture and camera angles…but you go go dey dig up old Keshi games on YouTube??? Abegie

Deantito, take am easy nah.
Your own experience is not typical or representative of everyone.
Moreover, they ARE the internet/Youtube generation.
So it is a childhood 'luxury' you and I never experienced.

Did you not grow up wishing you could see more clips of Pele, Cryuff and the great Brazil of the 70s?
Or 'Thunder' Balogun, Achebe, Odiye or even Odegbami, Adokiye and Chairman Chukwu.

Abeg, allow them.

Na Fabu!!

And no, I didn’t grow up wishing to see those guys. As an adult, I have sought out Odegbami and Etim Esin clips, but probably less than 5 times. And the clips were so grainy and unsatisfying, it really wasn’t worth it. It would be another thing entirely for me to be growing up in Holland/England seeking YouTube videos of Uche Okechukwu. Na fabu be dat one

Well, this is why I say you can only speak for yourself.

‘Shoot!’ Magazine, ‘World Soccer’ magazine and Nigeria’s own ‘Complete Football’ magazine were like hot akara back in the day and sold out on the streets in no time.
If YouTube had existed back then, it would probably have outstripped all three combined by way of followership.
I for one devoured every tv clip of the old football greats I could find.

‘The World At Their Feet’ was the first football documentary I watched dozens of times just to see Pele, Jairzinho, Tostao, Rivelinho etc do their thing.
Sotay, I rushed to watch ‘The Boys From Brazil’ only to find it was a science fiction thriller film that had nothing to do with football!!!
I was so disappointed.

Part of your challenge, I suspect, was that contemporary football was so hard to find in Nigeria, that all you had was daydreams about legit global superstars, whose marketing had built them up in your eyes. So of course you lived for ‘World at their feet’

If you could watch Messi to your fullest at the click of a remote, and are looking for old grainy clips of Haruna Ilerika, I would have to ask if everything was okay.

Keshi was a good defender in France/Belgium. I watched him a few times. But he was certainly not considered elite to the best of my knowledge. By 94, his European career was essentially over. Here comes Ekong - born in 1993…and as a 7 year old in 2000, is searching EBay Europe for old tapes of Stephen Keshi games???

Okay.

[jette1]

Na Lagos “evening Times” dey chop my money back then for football news.