African football legend
Kalusha Bwalya has paid homage to the late Stephen Keshi who suddenly passed away in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The former Nigeria captain and coach passed away after suffering reported cardiac arrest in Benin City, he was 54-years-old at the time of his untimely death.
‘Big Boss’ as he was affectionately known, was a much-loved figure not only in Nigeria, but across the African continent.
Speaking in an  interview with  our South African source, Bwalya revealed that he was shocked by the sudden passing of his ‘good brother’.
“I’m very saddened and shocked at my good brother Stephen Keshi’s passing,” Bwalya told PowerSport on Wednesday morning.
“When the news came out this [Wednesday] morning, I couldn’t believe it and I had to confirm to make sure. It was something sudden and just a few days ago I was talking about Stephen Keshi. What a true gentleman he was for what he achieved as player and coach.
“He was a funny guy and a leader but didn’t impose himself on people but people who spoke to him walked away thinking ‘I have spoken to a real man’. Stephen was a big man of Africa and the world so my sincere condolences to his family.
“He was a family man and they moved to San Francisco I think in 1994 and in my time when I went to play in Mexico for Club America, often we would go play in the United States and Keshi would come to LA and visit me. He was a family man who was very proud of his [late] wife and kids,” Bwalya continued.
Both Bwalya and Keshi played their club football in Belgium in the mid to late 1980’s with the former Chipolopolo captain plying his trade at Cercle Brugge. Keshi played for Lokeren and Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League. The duo played a major part in paving the way for future generations to follow in their footsteps from Africa to Europe.
“Stephen and I come from the same generation and we were pioneers of African players going to Belgium. When Keshi started in Lokeren I was at Brugge and that was in 1986 and there weren’t too many African players there,” Bwalya added.
“A lot of people know him as the coach of the Super Eagles and what he achieved in 1994 when Nigeria beat Zambia in Tunisia because he was the captain.
“He came back again to win the AFCON as a coach with the Super Eagles but Stephen Keshi was a great player and he played for their national team when he was young and went to Europe.”
‘King Kalu’ fondly recalled clashes between the two African greats on foreign soil.
“It was the clash of the titans, but he was an astute football player, solid as a rock and was an imposing figure on the pitch but very soft off it,” Bwalya added.
“On the pitch, he was something else and he didn’t make too many fouls, he was very clean. He used his strength well and was good in the air, he was quick, he could move the ball in what you call a build-up from the back and this is important to remember.”
Keshi is one of only two people to have won the African up of Nations as a player and as a coach. Having captained the Super Eagles to Afcon glory in 1994, Keshi led the country  to the 2013 Afcon title in South Africa.