Business was all Eastman Kodak Camera Company thought about when they backed the the first FIFA Under 17 Championships in 1985. Sebastine Brodericks Imasuen led Golden Eaglets of Nigeria to win the trophy with a 2-0 defeat of West Germany at the Workers Stadium, Beijing.
The sponsors expected Germany to win the cup especially after stopping Brazil 4-3 in the semis while the Eaglets struggled to overcome Guinea 5-3 penalties after full and overtime ended 1-1. Marcel Witeczek topped the scorers’ chat with eight goals.
Captain Nduka Ugbade and his team mates saw a golden moment and grabbed it. Referee Christopher Bambridge of Australia was all out to stop Nigeria from winning. He sent out full back Tonworinmi Duere. Then Victor Igbinoba fired a ballistic missile that gave the game 2-0 to the Africans.
In frustration,Kodak backed out of the competition. The company argued that Africa had no huge market to offer. FIFA went in search of new sponsors and got Japanese electronics giants, JVC. Today Kodak is dead thanks to technology that created smart phones. Eaglets remain the globe’s most successful Under 17 team.
Brodericks was a happy man and described the Beijing gold as his best moment. The same Brodericks is in Benin today begging for help to take care of his medical bills. You can imagine the first African coach to win a FIFA trophy abandoned to his fate.
In China, Brodericks was assisted by Bala Shamaki while Christian Chukwu served as Team Manager. Bello Momoh Akpagamah won the Silver Boot with six goals, two short of eight by Golden Boot winner, Witeczek.
In 1987, Brodericks took the Eaglets to the next edition in Canada. Only two members of the 1985 squad, Fatai Atere and Duere made it. Shamaki and Chukwu gave way to Kelechi Emeteole and John Zendai. It was another impressive outing.
The Eaglets would have won the cup. Again the referee was determined to stop them and he did. Nigeria and the Soviet Union met in Group D at the King George Stadium, St. John’s, Newfoundland. Albert Eke equalised in the very last minute to cancel Nikolai Rusin’s 60th minute opener.
Both teams met again in the grand finale at the Varsity Stadium, Toronto. The Soviets scored first after six minutes through Yurin Nikiforov who increased his tally to five. Phillip Osondu drew Nigeria level in the 12th. The match went into extra time.
What would have been a second goal for the Eaglets was stemmed by Brazilian referee Jose Ramirez Wright. Oladimeji Mohammed Lawal dribbled past three opposing defenders and just when he was about to score, the referee awarded him a free kick. That was the end of that beautiful move. The match dragged into penalties. USSR won 4-2.
Osondu who scored a hattrick against Bolivia in one of the group matches was voted Most Valuable Player, earning the Golden Ball. The Eaglets also went home with the Fair Play trophy.
Brodericks was called upon once again to lead the Eaglets to the third edition of the championships, Scotland ‘ 89. The Eaglets, captained by 1987 spillover, Segun Fetuga had stars like Victor Ikpeba, Godwin Okpara and Precious Monye Onyeabo. The youngest was Benedict Akwuegbu of St. Murumba College, Jos and Mighty Jets.
The 1989 team was equally as good as the previous teams. Unfortunately, the journey ended in the quarter finals. After a goalless draw with eventual champions, Saudi Arabia, the Eaglets failed woefully in the ensuing penalty kicks.
Brodericks moved up to join the technical crew of the Super Eagles as Assistant coach and won silver at the Algiers ’90 Nations Cup. He had played for the Eagles at the Mexico ’68 Olympic Games.
Brodericks’ Eagles debut came in the 2-1 loss to Togo on December 27, 1964. He had been invited to the national camp in 1962 by coach Dan Anyiam who knew him right from Ikpeazu Redoubtables, Onitsha with Paul Hamilton. Broderick played for Nigeria until 1971.
He won the Challenge Cup twice. The first was in 1965 with Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN).His mates included Godwin Achebe, Like Okpala, Ernest Ufele and Hamilton.In 1972, Brodericks won again, with Viper’s of Benin.
It was the first time the grand finale would be played outside Lagos. Vipers and Mighty Jets had ended it 2-2 at Onikan, Lagos. Sam Garba Okoye scored two quick goals for Jets, some say one of the goals was like Maradona’s hand of God.
Referee Sunny Badru was punished for that and the replay moved to Ibadan. Fifteen minutes to go, scores read 2-2. Brodericks was introduced and it paid off. He scored the third and winning goal. A year later, he was coach of the Mid- Western State junior soccer team that won gold at the First National Sports Festival.
At St. John’s Primary School, Onitsha, Brodericks was an all rounder. When he moved to Bishop Shanahan College (BSC) Orlu in 1955,he excelled in cricket, tennis, athletics and soccer. His nickname was ‘ Incurable Disease’.
In 1960, Brodericks was invited to the Eastern Region Academicals team. Government Secondary School, Owerri had won the Phensic Cup for Secondary Schools that year. Captain of OGSSIAN, as the Owerri boys were called was Okwudiba Albert Nnoli.
Other team members were Benson Acharaeke, Mike Ibe, Chimezie Akwiwu, Clement Umunna, Tikili Bomo, goalie Arthur Hart, Lazarus Chijioke, Henry Williams, Okoro Okoro and Jonathan Anyanwu.
Coach Dan Anyiam took some of the Owerri players, brought in Friday Okoh of College of Immaculate Conception (CIC) Enugu as captain, added Cyril Asoluka, Brodericks, Hamilton and a few others to raise a formidable secondary schools team for the Eastern Region.
Nnoli later gained admission to Stanford University, United States and captained the soccer team for about three years. He ended up as a Political Science lecturer at the University of Dar Es Salaam. One of his students was Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
Moving to Lagos in 1962 was good for Brodericks. ECN coach, Walter Obianwu had watched him play for Redoubtables in Kano and invited the right winger. Hamilton was good company too.
It was in Lagos that Brodericks became Sabara. Pele and Santos visited Nigeria during the Civil War. An NFA Selected team was raised to confront them.The Brazilians came with a right winger, Sabara.
The NFA team was made up of Rigogo Lawal Inua, Tony Igwe, Willie Andrews, Dan Ajibode, Sam Opone, Segun Olumodeji, Muyiwa Oshode, Sunday Inneh, Austin Ofuokwu, Ken Olayombo, Fred Aryee, Mohammed Lawal, Emilio John, Peter Fregene and Brodericks.
The match ended in a 2-2 draw. Santos winger, Sabara, bought over the crowd with his runs on the right flank. Brodericks also did well on the flanks. To keep the name Sabara in Nigeria, the crowd gave the Nigerian right out Sabara.
Brodericks told me this story in 1990. He said : ” And ever since, the name has stuck.” Born on July 9, 1938, Sebastine Brodericks Imasuen is now 83. He lives in Benin City and does not know that the National Sports Festival is holding in the ancient city at the moment.