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To some, it is folklore; to some, forgotten tales; and to others, it evokes a feel of nostalgia when recounting the 2013 Nations Cup triumph of West-African giants, the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
Over a decade ago, the Super Eagles of Nigeria attained their 3rd continental trophy at the Soccer city.
Then, under the tutelage of the late Stephen Keshi, that Nigerian side ended a 19 year wait for the trophy.
The gaffer in that edition became just the second manager to achieve this feat as both player and coach. Joining Egyptian great Mahmoud El Gohary in elite company.
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Sunday Mba’s lone goal after 40 minutes of action stole the show for the Super Eagles and proved to be all they needed to get past an Aristide Bance inspired Burkina Faso.
Road to final
The Super Eagles began their title challenge in group C with Ethiopia, Zambia and eventual finalists Burkina Faso. Emmanuel Emenike’s goal secured a draw against Burkina Faso in their group opener.
The topman added another in the next fixture to defending champions Zambia. The Chippolopolo stars of Zambia won a late penalty in the 87th minute. Goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene converted by sending Vincent Enyeama the wrong way and denying Nigeria a victory.
The final group game against Ethiopia saw the Super Eagles first victory. Victor Moses- the eventual fair play player and goal of the tournament winner scored two penalties in the final ten minutes to send Nigeria into the knockouts.
Finishing behind Burkina Faso in second place, Nigeria took on Ivory Coast in the quarter finals. Sunday Mba’s 78th minute goal in addition to Emenike’s earlier goal secured victory for the national team in Rustenburg.
In the first semi-final fixture, Nigeria put four past Mali to secure a place in the final. Emmanuel Emenike, Brown Ideye, Ahmed Musa and Elderson Echiejile all got on the score sheet in Durban.
Burkina Faso in the latter tie triumphed over the Black Stars of Ghana via a 3-2 shout-out win after Aritside Bance put them back in the game.
The final affair
The run-up to the final had a lot of drama behind the scenes. This fixture was just the 3rd meeting between both sides. An earlier 1-1 draw in the group stage and a 4-2 victory for Nigeria over then Upper Volta in 1978.
Tournament leading goalscorer Emmanuel Emenike with 4 goals (together with Ghana’s Mubarak Wakaso) had question marks over his involvement in the game.
Eventually Stephen Keshi was forced into a late pre-match change as Emenike still struggling with the effects of a hamstring strain suffered in the semi-final tie against Mali was replaced by Ikechukwu Uche.
In the Burkina Faso ranks, Jonathan Pitropia returned to the team despite his red card in the semi-finals. The booking was revoked after the match referee admitted he was mistaken in the shoot-out win against Ghana.
Game commenced with Nigeria on the strong foot with Brown Ideye somehow blazing wide off-mark having pounced on a spilled cross ten minutes into the game.
Sunday Mba joining Godfrey Obaobona as the only home based players in the squad put Nigeria in the lead just before half time. A well-taken goal in which he flicked over Mohamed Koffi before burying his finish into Daouda Diakite’s goal.
Recall that Sunday Mba also struck in the death of the game to secure a quarter final victory over Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast. Nigeria continued to dominate proceedings for large spells with a superior midfield display and a defensive line marshalled by Vincent Enyeama in goal.
The Burkinabe search for a goal saw them gift too much to the Nigerians. Brown Ideye, Ikechukwu Uche and substitute Ahmed Musa all squandered chances to put the Super Eagles two ahead.
Against the tides of the dying minutes, the Super Eagles remained calm and collected to secure their 3rd championship.
Continental champions
On their tournament conquest in Soweto, gaffer Keshi remarked “winning this is mainly for my nation- when I came on board a year and a half ago, my dream was to construct a great Nigerian team. We’re not there yet, it’s still in process”. On the closing minutes where Burkina Faso had overwhelming pressure on the Nigerian defence, Keshi added “you don’t want to know what was going through my head! To represent Africa at the confederations cup in Brazil is an honour for the nation”
Keshi took Nigeria to the following confederations cup in Brazil and the world cup the following year before he ended his stint as head coach.
Nigeria won her first AFCON against Algeria in Lagos in 1980 and added another in the 2-1 victory over Zambia in Tunis in 1994. The 3rd coming in the 2013 victory over Burkina Faso in the Soweto, Soccer city.
Eleven years from their last triumph, the Super Eagles are at Ivory Coast challenging for their fourth continental glory. Left to see if the Jose Peseiro led outfit have what it takes to entertain success smiles on the faces of the Nigerian faithful.
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