Coach Sebastine Broderick-Imasuen who led the Golden Eaglets to win the inaugural U16 World Cup (now U17) in China in 1985 is dead.
Brodericks died on Wednesday morning, 3 January, 2023.
The late coach had been bed-ridden for months now.
He was reportedly suffering from stroke and diabetes.
The former footballer also led the Golden Eaglets to the second edition of the cadet World Cup in Canada in 1987 where they finished in second position after losing to the defunct Soviet Union in the final via penalty kicks after the match ended 1-1 after full and extra time.
He was also in charge when the Golden Eaglets were eliminated at the quarter-final stage by Saudi Arabia two years later in Scotland.
Nicknamed Sabara, the popular gaffer was also once an assistant to former Super Eagles Technical Adviser Clemens Westerhof.
Popularly called ‘Sabara’, his biggest moment as a club player was when he scored the winning goal in the 3-2 victory for Bendel Insurance in the replay of the 1972 Challenge Cup with Mighty Jets of Jos at the Liberty Stadium – the first time the national cup final was held outside Lagos.
Brodericks handled the Midwest junior side to win gold medal at the inaugural National Sports Festival in 1973.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation has expressed deep shock at news on Wednesday morning of the death of the first man to lead an African team to win a FIFA World Cup win, Coach Sebastian Brodricks-Imasuen, at a hospital in Benin City, Edo State.
The 85-year tactician, according to his family, was undergoing treatment for stroke and diabetes but gave up the ghost at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital in the early hours of Wednesday, 3 January 2024.
“The NFF and the entire Nigeria Football fraternity are sorely pained by the demise of Coach Sebastian Brodricks-Imasuen. He worked very hard at his craft and was tireless in his efforts to bring honour to the homeland through the various National Teams he worked with. No one can ever forget how he led an unsung group of boys to China to win a first-ever FIFA World Cup for Nigeria and Africa,” NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, said on Wednesday.
