Former Super Eagles coach, Christian Chukwu is dead

Pius Ayinor

Former Super Eagles coach, Christian Chukwu is dead. He died this morning, Saturday, April 12, at 74.

Even though the detail surrounding his death was yet to be announced as of the time of this report, Chukwu’s former Nigeria teammate and friend, Dr. Olusegun Odegbami, confirmed the sad news in a WhatsApp message he shared with this writer.

Odegbami wrote, “I just received the news that between 9:00 and 10:00 this morning, ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu, MFR, my bosom friend and teammate, one of the greatest football players in Nigeria’s history, has passed on.

“Babuje, Emmanuel Okala, MON, gave me the sad news a few minutes ago. May ‘Onyim’ find peace with Our Creator in Heaven and console his family.”

Chukwu is one of those Nigerian footballers that both played and coached the national team. He was the captain and a central defender with the 1980 Green Eagles (now Super Eagles) team that won the Africa Nations Cup at the Lagos National Stadium. He would later lead the Super Eagles as head coach in the early 2000s.

In 2021, false reports of Chukwu’s death had circulated widely, prompting the legendary coach to refute the rumors during his 70th birthday celebration on January 4, 2021.