Thhe Nigerian star footballer who could have been the World Best Player but lost it all due to youthful exuberance.
Yes, before the days of Jay-Jay Okocha, there was a playmaker in the Nigerian team who was a great dribbler and was even nicknamed “The African Maradona”. His name, Etim Esin.
Who is Etim, how special was he, what did he do, and how did he lose it all?
I was at my family house last weekend and in the course of discussing football and AFCON with my dad, he recalled a particularly interesting story of Etim Esin that caught my attention. I had to go dig for more, and here is everything I found.
It was 1987 and the Nigerian U-20 team were in camp around Surulere, preparing to leave the country in a few days for the World Cup in Chile.
Etim Esin was the star boy of the team, a supremely gifted player who had something extra each time he was on the ball.
Former Super Eagles striker Charles Okonkwo once said Etim Esin was one of the few players
