The man who captained the Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) to win the 1992 CAF Cup, Friday Christopher, has lost his sight.
The former international in the last five months has been battling with this predicament, as he continues to try all means that would enable him to see again.
‘Ekutu’ as he is fondly called by his admirers remains one of the unsung heroes of Nigerian football given his exploits.
In fact, he was among the players who made Nigerian league or FA Cup tick in the 80s through 90s starting from when he played for Ewekoro Works in the 1981 season.
Friday Christopher had had a romance with the defunct Abiola Babes before moving to Shooting Stars. He was a member of the squad which lost in the final of the 1984 Champions League to Zamalek, who featured also in the second leg final played at the National Stadium, Lagos. Playing from centre back, against Zamalek, he spiritedly attempted to save the own goal which resulted in the loss by the Oluyole Warriors after a ‘mysterious’ back pass header by the late OgbeinFawole but to no avail.
One of his best moments in football was when he captained 3SC to win the Abiola CAF Cup in 1992.
He later had stints with Iwuanyanwu Nationale, BCC Lions, Katsina United and Calabar Rovers.
His brilliant club performance earned him call-ups to the Super Eagles from 1987 to 1992 and was a member of Nigeria’s team which featured at the 1992 FIFA-organised [Futsal] Five-A-Side tournament held in China.
On his exit from active football, he veered into coaching. After a coaching romance with Sharks, he was assistant coach of 3SC when the Oluyole Warriors won the Nigerian top-flight title in 1998 as well as the 1998 WAFU Cup.
He also returned to the team in the 2016 season as assistant coach after his romance with Enyimba.
The former defender was elevated to caretaker coach of 3SC that season after head coach, KadiriI khana, had left the side prior to the clash with Wikki Tourists in Bauchi.
