It’s a feeling I will never forget - Mba

It is exactly 10 years that the Super Eagles soared to success with the first Africa Cup of Nations title in 19 years after 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso at Soccer City in South Africa, thanks to a superb late first-half goal from midfielder Sunday Mba.

It was a result that took winning coach Stephen Keshi into the record books as he equaled the feat of late Egyptian Mahmoud El Gohary as the only two people to win the AFCON as player and coach.

The 2013 AFCON winning squad had some of the country’s best players, including Joseph Yobo, Vincent Enyeama, Mikel Obi, Emmanuel Emenike, Ahmed Musa, Victor Moses, Ike Uche, Brown Ideye, Elderson Echiejile among others.

Football fans who followed that tournament closely will not forget the name Mba.

The Eagles had a slow start at the tournament, with their opening two games against Burkina Faso and Zambia ending in stalemate. Both games ended in 1-1 draws.

The midfielder, who came to life in the quarter-final game against Ivory Coast where the Eagles, against the odds, recorded a famous 2-1 victory over the Ivoirians.

Mba, then home-based, scored the winning goal in the final against the Burkinabe, following a sumptuous drive from the midfield, to hand Nigeria a third AFCON triumph, following earlier victories on home soil in 1980 and in 1994 in Tunisia.

Looking back at the events of that final in Johannesburg, Mba still revels in the glorious moment.

“The feeling can’t leave me; anytime I remember it still flashes through my mind,” Mba said.

“It’s a feeling I will never forget in my life.”