Solaja’s book on Super Eagles unveils ‘hidden facts’ of Nigerian football

Nigeria has undoubtedly made major marks in global football with its teams hitting notable milestone as first side outside Europe to win the Olympic games gold medal in 68 years following the exploits of Kanu Nwankwo-led Dream Team of 1996.

That is not all. The Nigerian U23 football team also became the first in the world to win gold, silver and bronze medal of the Olympic games in 2016 before Brazil equalled the mark — later on the same day.

Those and more are the marks of the Nigerian football on the global scene that most football followers may not have know.

Those are also just the tips of the iceberg as the upcoming book, “Super Eagles@70: Soaring on the Wings” unveils the hidden treasure of information on the country’s national team.

Written by Kunle Solaja, the book is easily a major Nigerian contribution to global football literature.

Some intriguing revelations are made in the book. For instance, while it may be known that Nigeria’s first national team was composed in 1949, the actual date may not have been known before now.

The book also reveals the first player to score a hat trick for the national team.

Some other issues that got answered include Nigeria’s first scorer in a World Cup qualifying match; the first scorer in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series; the first match in which the offside rule was first applied in Nigeria among others.

The book also offers information on the first time the Nigeria national team was involved in a tie-breaker, penalty shootout and the first Nigerian player to be expelled at an international match.

The own-goal scored by Godwin Odiye in 1977 is always evergreen. But the book on the Super Eagles has revealed that Odiye was not the first culprit.

Probably, many may not have known that the creator of the red and yellow card in football had refereed in Nigeria.

The new book, which brings all these revelations to light, is expected to be available to the public in December.