There is a tradition in Nigerian football where players are given
sobriquets for one reason or another. Nicknames that simply reveal the
true identity of the player. Up9ja presents eight Nigerian footballers
with funny nicknames and their origins.
1. Nwankwo Kanu (Papilo)
Kanu is undoubtedly Nigeria's most famous footballer who has represented
the country in several national and international competitions. Some
remarkable features on this former Arsenal striker is his wisdom,
intelligence and gentleness on the field. It is for these reasons that
he was nicknamed "Papilo" by his friends.
2. Austin Okocha (Jay Jay)
Okocha is the most enterprising player in the Super Eagles because of
his sense of dribbling, which earned him an ambassador role with FIFA.
The name Jay Jay was originally attributed to his brother Emmanuel, a
former national team player, but with time, Austin took over that
nickname.
3. Stephen Keshi (Big Boss)
So far, Stephen Keshi is the captain with the most incredible leadership
qualities. He was named Big Boss by his teammates after his appointment
as technical advisor to the team while he was still a player. The late
Keshi was even a captain in his clubs in Europe. No wonder he was later
selected as the national team coach. He managed to qualify Togo and
Nigeria for two respective World Cups.
4. Peter Rufai (Dodo Mayana)
Goalkeeper Peter Rufai was nicknamed Dodo Mayana in reference to the
name of a popular dancer of Afro Beat King Fela Anikulapo Kuti.
5. Bright Omokaro (10-10)
Nicknamed 10-10 by the commentators, this nickname originates from an
incident that occurred in the semi-final of the 1988 African Cup. The
Nigeria team had been reduced to 10 after a red card. When Bright
entered the second half, he was instructed by his coach, Manfred Hoener,
to tactically release a player from Morocco to restore the balance, as
the opposing team had already exhausted its three substitutions. The
latter had beautiful and well executed the advice of his coach.
6. Segun Odegbami (Mathematical Odegbami)
Segun Odegbami was so good that his well-calculated speed and dribbling
sense were compared to mathematics. He had attracted the attention of
several people during the CAN 1980 to the point of being named best
player of the competition.
7. Teslim Balogun (Thunder Balogun)He was nicknamed Thunder Balogun
thanks to his punching power. According to reports, he broke the hands
of two goalkeepers while playing for England and killed another
goalkeeper after he hit the ball on his stomach.
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