First indigenous Super Eagles Coach, Adegboye Onigbinde, dies at 88
Adeola Fasina
The first indigenous coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Chief Festus Adegboye Onigbinde, is dead.
His passage was announced in a statement signed by Mrs Bolade Adesuyi, on behalf of of the Onigbinde family, on Monday evening.
The statement reads, “WITH GREAT GRATITUDE TO GOD FIR A LIFE WELL SPENT WE ANNOUNCE THE PASSING OF THIS GREAT MAN, A MODAKEKE HIGH CHIEF, THE 1ST INDIGENOUS NIGERIAN SUPER EAGLES FOOTBALL COACH, FATHER, HUSBAND, GRAND FATHER, GREAT GRAND FATHER, BROTHER, AND FRIEND *HIGH CHIEF FESTUS ADEGBOYE ONIGBINDE* WHO PASSED UNTO THE GREAT BEYOND A COUPLE OF MINUTES AGO.
“WE THANK GOD FOR THE FULFILLED LIFE AND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NIGERIA NATION AND THE WORLD AS A UNEQUAL FOOTBALL COACH.
“WE PRAY THAT YOUR SOUL WILL REST PERFECTLY IN THE BOSSOM OF YOUR & OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
“GOOD NIGHT TILL WE MEET TO PART NO MORE.”
ABOUT ONIGBINDE
Onigbinde was born in Modakeke.[citation needed] He coached Nigeria national team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup,[2] an achievement he had already gotten, between 1982 and 1984. In 1984, Onigbinde took Nigeria into the final match of the 1984 Africa Nations Cup. Nigeria lost 1–3 to Cameroun in that match. Later in 1984, he took over as coach of Shooting Stars Sports Club in Ibadan and took the Club to the final of the Africa Club Champions Cup. They lost the finals to Zamalek of Egypt.
Onigbinde took over the Nigerian national team after the sack of the coaching crew of Shuaibu Amodu following what was considered a disgraceful performance of the Super Eagles at the 2002 Africa Nations Cup. Onigbinde took a team that consisted largely of young and inexperienced players. But the Japan/South Korea edition was the worst Nigerian performance in the World Cup history: for the first time in this competition, Nigeria did not win a single match and was knocked out of the tournament in the first round.
In the first game they lost 0–1 to Argentina, after a goal of Gabriel Batistuta. In the second match, against Sweden, Nigeria lost 1–2 after leading 1–0, meaning the elimination of the World Cup. The third game was a goalless draw to England.
After the World Cup, some Nigerian players, like Jay-Jay Okocha and Julius Aghahowa, criticized Onigbinde for nominating the wrong players.
However, some of the players remained in the Super Eagles for many years. Onigbinde remains a highly respected Nigerian soccer tactician. He has served as CAF and FIFA Technical instructor.
According to Onigbinde himself, on BBC Sport Online, Adegboye is not one of his original names: ‘I dropped my baptismal name ‘Festus’ in 1960 through Nigeria’s Daily Times newspaper and have been answering [no ‘to’] Adegboye Onigbinde…I discovered Festus didn’t mean anything, so I changed to ‘Adegboye’, meaning ‘a child born to reclaim a chieftaincy title.
