- Stephen Keshi
Infobox Football biography
playername = Stephen Keshi
fullname = Stephen Keshi
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1962|1|31|df=yes
cityofbirth =Lagos
countryofbirth =Nigeria
height =
position = Defender
currentclub = Mali
clubnumber = Manager
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1979
1980–1984
1985
1986
1986–1987
1987–1991
1991–1993
1993–1994
1995
1996
1997
clubs =ACB Lagos New Nigeria Bank Stade d'Abidjan
Africa Sports
Lokeren
AnderlechtRC Strasbourg
Molenbeek
CCV HydraSacramento Scorpions Perlis FA
caps(goals) =
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
manageryears = 2004–2006
2007
2008–
managerclubs = Togo
Togo
MaliStephen Okechukwu Keshi (born
January 31 ,1962 inLagos ) is a former football defender fromNigeria .Playing career
An important player for Nigeria, Keshi was "Skipper" of the squad for the
1994 FIFA World Cup and played in five differentAfrican Nations Cup tournaments, helping to win the1994 African Nations Cup .His last club was Perlis in
Malaysia . In 2000 atestimonial match was arranged for him in Lagos.Coaching career
After a playing career mostly with Belgian clubs, Keshi went to the
United States to be educated in coaching.In 1996 he was joined by
Augustine Eguavoen , who presently coaches the Nigerian national team. They played together in California as the backbone of the defense for the short lived Sacramento Scorpions. Keshi has been a part of the coaching staff for the Nigerian national team, most notably as head coach for the Junior Eagles at the 2004 Olympic soccer tournament.Between 2004 and 2006 Keshi coached the
Togo national football team , unexpectedly bringing them to their first World Cup tournament, Germany 2006. Having secured Togo's unlikely qualification, he was promptly replaced by German coachOtto Pfister prior to the World Cup finals, after Togo showed a dismal performance and failed to advance to the tournament stage in2006 African Cup of Nations inEgypt .However, Pfister did not last beyond a controversial World Cup campaign that nearly resulted in a player's strike over pay and Togo remained without a manager until February 2007 when they re-engaged Keshi in time a friendly against Cameroon.
He is currently manager of the
Mali national football team , after being appointed in April 2008 on a two-year deal. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/7325571.stm|title=Keshi opts for Mali national team|accessdate-2008-04-06|date-2008-04-02|publisher=BBC]External references
* [http://www.nigerianplayers.com/player.asp?pID=253 Nigerian Players]
References
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