3rd January, 2024
By Jethro Ibileke
Nigeria’s ex-international and former Golden Eaglets Coach, Sebastian Brodericks-Imasuen, is dead.
He died in the early hours of Wednesday in Benin City, after a protracted illness at 85 years.
A family source who asked not to be named, disclosed that the soccer tactician had been bedridden for ailments suspected to be stroke and diabetes.
The late Edo-born coach was also part of the nation’s football team at the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games.
He was head of a three-man crew that included Bala Shamaki and Christian Chukwu when the Nigerian team shocked the world Under-17 world cup in China in 1985.
He led the team again in 1987 to Canada and got to the final before his team was edged out by the then Soviet Union after a penalty shootout.
At the third attempt in the competition, his team also lost to Saudi Arabia by penalty shootouts in the quarter finals.
Coach Brodericks-Imasuen, popularly known as ‘Sabara’ in his playing days would be remembered among others for his famous free kick goal that won Bendel Insurance Football Club of Benin the then Challenge Cup in 1972.
This biggest moment of his club career 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 FC of Jos at the Liberty Stadium, Ibadan.
He was known for his curving shots, especially from free kick/dead ball situations.
He began his football career in 1956 when as a student, he featured for the Onitsha team in the Challenge Cup.
In 1962, he joined the then ECN and was part of the Challenge Cup winning side of 1965.
He was invited to the national team in 1962. He later became a regular in the build-up to the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico.
After a successful playing career, Brodericks-Imasuen became a coach and handled the Midwest junior side to win gold medal at the inaugural National Sports Festival in 1973.
At another time, he was the assistant to Clemens Westerhof in the Super Eagles.