Iconic Nigerian player and manager Stephen Keshi dies aged 54

ByReuters

Updated 09/06/2016 at 09:14 GMT

Former Nigeria defender Stephen Keshi, who won the African Nations Cup as both a player and a coach, died of a suspected heart attack on Wednesday, the country's football association has confirmed.

Nigeria's coach Stephen Keshi looks on before the start of their 2014 World Cup round of 16 game against France at the Brasilia national stadium

Image credit: AFP

The 54-year-old coached Nigeria to the Nations Cup title in South Africa in 2013, 19 years after lifting the trophy as a player, only the second man after Egypt's Mahmoud El-Gohary to achieve the feat.

Keshi is regarded an iconic figure in a golden generation of Nigerian players that includes Finidi George, Rashidi Yekini, Jay-Jay Okocha, Samson Siasia, Daniel Amokachi and Sunday Oliseh, captaining the team at the 1994 World Cup in the USA.

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During a 20-year playing career, Keshi had spells in France and Belgium, most notably for Anderlecht, and also in the US during the Sacramento Scorpions' brief existence in the mid-1990s.

He found almost instant success as a coach, leading Togo to surprise qualification for the 2006 World Cup, one of three spells in charge of the side. He also had a two-year stint with Mali.

He took over the Nigeria national team in 2011 and while overseeing an overhaul of the squad, took a young team to the continental title two years later.

Despite a strong showing at the World Cup in Brazil in which the side lost in the second round to France, Keshi did not have his contract renewed, though he did later return to lead the team on a match-by-match basis.

His tenure with the team was finally ended in July last year.

Keshi's wife Kate died last December after a three-year battle with cancer. The couple had four children.

**Editor's note: This story was originally published with an incorrect photo. This was due to a photo agency labelling issue, and we apologise for this error**

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