He is strong, towering and dependable. Super Eagles stand- in skipper, William Paul Troost- King remains eternally grateful to Stephen Keshi for bringing him to the national team. And the young man is gradually following the strides of the Big Boss.
Troost-Ekonng’s goal against Guinea Bissau in Garoua made it a second consecutive African Nations Cup goal. He had scored in his Afcon debut against South Africa at Egypt 2019.
Before Ekong, Keshi did exactly the same. Big Boss scored(twice) against Ethiopia in his Afcon debut at Libya ’82. Nigeria won 3-0. Skippo also netted a goal against Egypt in the semi finals of the Cote D’Ivoire ’84 African Nations Cup.
The Pharaohs were two goals up in 38 minutes before Keshi reduced the tally in the 43rd through a penalty. Bala Ali drew Nigeria level 15 minutes to time. In the ensuing penalty shoot out, Green Eagles romped onto the grand finale with 8-7.
Ekong scored the first of his three goals for Nigeria against Congo in Uyo. Keshi remembered Congo as memorable opposition. On October 8, 2005, the Nigerian led Togo to qualify for the World Cup. The West Africans hit their hosts 3-1, in Pointe Noire.
That was the first and only time the Togolese qualified for the mundial. It was significant, as Keshi became the first Nigeria coach to qualify another country for the World Cup. He did that before he led the Super Eagles to qualify for the Brazil 2014 World Cup.
Congo was Keshi’s favourable ground. In 1992, he captained the Eagles to defeat Diable Rouge 1-0 in Point Noire in a World Cup qualifier. Nigeria eventually made it to the USA ’94 World Cup from there.
If Congo brings back good memories to the duo of Keshi and Ekong, it is not exactly so with Algeria. They celebrated World Cup qualification on Algerian soil, in 1993 and 2017, respectively but there were pains.
Keshi’s debut for the Green Eagles ended in tears. He came in for Skipper Christian Chukwu who had a bad day after being forced out of retirement. Algeria defeated Nigeria 2-0 in Lagos in October 198, in an España ’82 World Cup qualifier.
Ekong became hero turned villain at the Egypt 2019 African Nations Cup. In the quarter finals against South Africa, his last minute push earned Nigeria a 2-1 victory over Bafana Bafana of South Africa.
When the Desert Foxes came in the semi finals, Ekong scored against his own team in the 40th minute. It was a beautiful gift which gave him Algeria confidence to do more. And they did with a last minute strike by Riyad Mahrez. It ended 2-1 against Nigeria.
Keshi attended St. Paul’s Catholic Primary School, Ebute Metta, Lagos. Paul is Troost-Ekong’s middle name.
Keshi played in Belgium for Anderlecht and Lokeren respectively. Gent offered Ekong a contract. That means Keshi understood French as much as Troost- Ekong speaks the language.
I am sure in his quiet moment, Ekong would wish the game against Guinea Bissau was played on January 23. That goal would have been dedicated to Keshi whose birthday falls on that day. Nigeria beat the Guineans 2-0 on January 19.
Keshi believed in Troost-Ekong and brought him back home to Nigeria, the land of his father. He had played for the youth teams of Holland, the country of his mother. And the former Netherlander has never looked back.
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Ekong’s debut for the Super Eagles fell on the birthday of former Nigerian military ruler, Abdusalami Abubakar. It was against Chad on June 13, 2015. It was just a day short of an important date in Nigerian History, June 12.
In 2016, representing Nigeria turned out to to be a huge blessing. Samson Siasia knew Ekong’s worth and made him a vital part of the Nigerian squad to the Rio Olympic Games. The Dream Team won the country’s lone medal, a bronze.
Keshi was not lucky to play at the Olympics. He was good enough for the Seoul Games in 1988 but did not follow the team to the Far East. It ended in disaster for Nigeria. The team, led by Sylvanus Okpala, Keshi’s buddy and team mate in the Flying Eagles, lost all three games.
Keshi was known as Big Boss and in his days, there was what fans tagged Bini Mafia in the Eagles camp. It consisted of Bright Omokaro, Sunday Eboigbe, Humphrey Edobor, Henry Nwosu, Austin Eguavoen and Keshi himself.
It was not a registered organisation but was strong enough to influence a few things. It became a smart way of having a say in issues affecting the national team especially player’s welfare.
Ekong has no known nickname yet. I would have given him one, Obong, but I am not sure he understands the language. Let us call him King Ekong.
Yes, Ekong rallies the Eagles like a king. Like Keshi, he is a worthy libero and has risen to become defacto captain of the Super Eagles. King Ekong is also scoring goals and was named Man of the Match on the match against Guinea Bissau.
