Who is the greatest Super Eagles Captain? Achievements and Trophies

Being the foreman or the Skipper (captain) of a football team and leading the team to an international tournament like a World Cup, is a feat to be reckoned with. Thus, whoever was able to achieve such a task, deserves some respect as one of the greatest super eagles captains

In the case of the Super Eagles, coordinating the players to qualify and participate in such a tournament like the African Cup of Nations or FIFA World Cup, is considered a thing of pride.

While quite a number of players have been privileged to participate in the Mundial, just a very little fraction have been opportune to go to such outing as a Captain.

The situation doesn’t really vary when it comes to Nigeria’s Super Eagles in which almost a 100 players have made it to the World Cup and with only four captains.

It is important to know that no coach in the history of the Super Eagles, has ever enjoyed the treat of leading the National Football Team to more than one World Cup tournament and amidst those who has captained Super Eagles, none has to lead the national team to two editions of such international outing except one (Read through to find out who broke this jinx).

Interestingly, the Super Eagles of Nigeria can boast of some of the most talented players in Africa who excelled in flying colors playing at home and for various notable international football clubs in Europe, Asia, and America.

Some of these gifted players worked their way into stardom from the cradle, becoming some of the evergreen football legends respected around Africa and the world, a few of which became, not just the captain but the greatest Super Eagles Captains.

A number of these greatest super eagles captains went further to lead the Super Eagles Team as the coach; while some are still alive, quite a few of them have passed on. (Read through to find out the super eagles captain that became coaches and the ones that have passed on).

Now, what are we waiting for? Let us proceed to explore some of the greatest Super Eagles Captains that have left an indelible mark on the sands of times in the field of soccer in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

Etim Henshaw

Etim Henshaw was a great Nigerian Footballer who in time, was reputed to be the first Captain of the Nigerian National Football Team. He was the Captain of the then Marine FC when the club won the Nigerian First F.A Cup.

He also the captain of the National team that toured and represented the then colony at England 1949. He garnered great interest among the English teams especially from a Cardiff football Club after the tour, alongside another famous Nigerian footballer at that time, Teslim Balogun.

He passed on at a ripe old age of 89 years, in the Calabar, the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria

Christian Chukwu

Christian Chukwu Okoro is a retired Nigerian defender who served as a former Super Eagles Captain. During his time as the super Eagles captain, the national team won their first African Nations Cup.

He was reputed to be the first Nigerian and Super eagles Captain to lift the African Nations Cup trophy after the team defeated the Algerian side with a 3-0 victory in the 1980 tournament.

Prior to his career in the national team in the late 70s, he was both a player and a captain of Enugu Rangers Football Club, a local Football Club in Nigeria.

Chukwu was one of the Super Eagles Captains to become the National team Coach; a career he handles from 2003-2005, leading the team to reach the semi-finals of the 2004 African Cup of Nations.

He, however, lost that opportunity owing to the inept coaching and poor management of the National Team during the 2006 World Cup qualification phase, in which Nigeria failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing their two matches – home and away.

Prior to the coaching career in the national team, Chukwu had worked as a coach in Lebanon in the mid-1990s and a coach for Kenyan National football team.

He worked as a coach in his former home club, Enugu Rangers Football club but was sacked in 2009 for failing to reach the club’s target for the season.

In April 2019, the Nigerian Football Federation announced that they have decided to assist Christian Chukwu with his medical bills for treatment in the United States, while a Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola also showed interest offering assistance to him.

Segun Odegbami

Patrick Olusegun Odegbami is a retired Nigerian Footballer with the Super Eagles. He is a graduate of a Nigerian Premier Technical institution, The Polytechnic Ibadan where he studied Engineering.

He was a one-time Super Eagles Captain during his time and guided the team to its first Africa Cup of Nations in 1980. He was known for his speed, the precision of his crosses from the right-wing and skillfulness with the ball and that earned him the name “Mathematical”.

He was a player in the Shooting Stars of Ibadan, a Nigerian-based club, throughout his career which spanned for about 14 years. Segun Odegbami is one of the few Super Eagles captains who would go-ahead to become the coach of the national team.

In 2015, he made known his intentions to run for the FIFA Presidency.

Stephen Keshi

Stephen Okechukwu Keshi is one of those high-flier retired Nigerian Footballer whose impact will not be forgotten in a hurry. He was the Super Eagles Captain during the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in which the Nigerian Team achieves a great victory in the 1994 African Cups of Nations.

Keshi was one of the few Super Eagles Captains who became the National Team coach. Prior to his coaching career of the Nigerian National Team, he has achieved great success as the Togolese National Football Team by helping the team qualify for their first and only appearance in the FIFA World Cup in 2006.

He, however, left the position before the tournament. Keshi has played international club football in five countries including Belgium where he won the Belgian league championship with R.S.C. Anderlecht in 1991 and has earned 60 caps for the Nigerian national football team, making him the nation’s second-most capped player at the time of his retirement.

Along with Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary, Keshi is one of the only two persons that have won the African Cup of Nations as both a player and a coach. Stephen Keshi passed on in June 2016 at the age of 54. The stadium in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria, was renamed after him.

Sunday Oliseh

Sunday Ogochukwu Oliseh is a former player and team manager for the Super Eagles of Nigeria and was active in the 1990s. He was one of the gifted defensive midfielders.

He has played for some of the World famous clubs in Europe like Borussia Dortmund, Juventus F.C. and AFC Ajax.

Sunday Oliseh is mostly remembered for scoring the winning goal for Nigeria in the group stage match against Spain in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, when he took an explosive shot from 25 yards straight into the goal net, to the astonishment of the Spanish Goalkeeper and other spectators.

He was the captain of the Super Eagles during the 2002 African Cup of Nations; however, he was omitted from the nation’s squad for the FIFA World Cup that year for disciplinary reasons.

Oliseh was the super eagles coach in 2015 but he was barely 8 months into the job when he resigns due to contract violations, lack of support, and unpaid wages.

Prior to that, he also served as a coach to some of the football clubs in Belgium after taking 3-years coaching courses and a diploma in Business Management.

Nwankwo Kanu

Nwankwo Kanu, popularly known as Kanu or Papilo (in Nigeria), is one of the most talented and celebrated retired Nigerian Footballer who was a captain of the National team. He has played international football with clubs in different countries in Europe, which include Arsenal, Inter Milian, and Ajax.

In the early stages of his footballing career, he was instrumental in Nigeria’s success at the 1993 FIFA U-17 tournament in Japan and their subsequent 2–1 victory over Ghana in the final.

Kanu came to limelight when he scored the winning goal that secured victory over Brazil at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, thereby winning the gold.

He also participated in 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, however, his career in the national team ended with the exit of Nigeria at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He won 86 caps and scored 13 goals for his country and was the joint most capped Nigerian player of all-time alongside Muda Lawal, until Joseph Yobo surpassed both players in 2012, winning his 87th cap.

Kanu Nwankwo is one of the most decorated African Player both locally and internationally. He once underwent major heart surgery and his miraculous survival inspired the birth of Kanu Heart Foundation; an NGO that sponsors predominantly young African children who suffer heart defects and provide aid for homeless children in 2008.

He is a recipient of Nigeria’s National award of Officer Order of the Niger (OON)

Joseph Yobo

Joseph Yobo is a, ex-Super Eagles captain who has been capped 101 times and participated in the three FIFA World Cup and six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments before his retirement.

He assumed the Captaincy following the retirement of Kanu Nwankwo but was not considered a first-choice player at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations; He, however, lifted the trophy after appearing as an 89th-minute substitute in Nigeria’s 1–0 final defeat of Burkina Faso.

Yobo’s retirement followed after he scored an own goal which led to the defeat of the super eagles by the French team at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Joseph Yobo was sighted as one of the SuperSport guest analysts at the just concluded 2019 African Cup of Nations Cup tournament in Egypt.

Vincent Enyeama

Vincent Enyeama is a Nigerian Professional football and a member of the super eagles as the national team goalkeeper. He joined the National Football Team in 2002 and retired in 2015. He has over 100 caps and is known as Nigeria’s joint most capped player of all times.

He has played for Enyimba Football Club, Heartland F.C; all Nigerian Club; Enyeama moved to Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv and later played for Hapoel Tel Aviv both in Israel, before moving to Lille, a French club side.

Vincent Enyeama was popular for saving penalty kicks and was always substituted before Penalty shootouts. He was the Captain of the Super Eagles from 2013 when he deputized for Joseph Yobo at the 2013 African Cup of Nations, till his retirement in 2015.

John Mikel Obi

John Michael Nchekwube Obinna, popularly known as John Mikel Obi was a Nigerian Footballer who started his career in the national team after participating in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.

He won the Silver ball for the second-best player of the tournament, right behind Lionel Messi of Argentina who was crowned the best player of the tournament.

He was the Captain of the Super Eagles at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil. He has played for Chelsea, a popular English club, Chinese club Tianjin TEDA and is currently playing in Trabzonsporand, Turkey.

John Mikel Obi announced his retirement from the National Team after the Super Eagles came third place at the just concluded 2019 African Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Ahmed Musa

Ahmed Musa is a professional Nigerian footballer who plays for the super eagles and for Al-Nassr, a football club in Saudi Arabia. He is reputed to be the first Nigerian Footballer to score more than once in a FIFA World Cup match when he scored twice against Argentina in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Musa started his football career in GBS Football Academy and later moved to Kano Pillars F.C. in Nigeria. He went on to play in VVV-Venlo, a Dutch club; CSKA Moscow in Russia and Leicester City in England before moving to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

Ahmed Musa is currently the captain of the Nigerian National Football Team. He took over the Super Eagles captaincy from John Mikel Obi after the latter retired from the nation at the end of the 2019 African Nations Cup in Egypt.