Nigeria reached a first ever African Cup of Nations in 1980 when the nation hosted and hero of the competition, Segun ‘Mathematical‘ Odegbami scored two of the goals that gave the then Green Eagles a 3-0 victory over the Desert Warriors of Algeria.
On that occasion, in front of 85,000 adoring fans, Odegbami quickly set Nigeria on the path of victory by scoring as early as the 4th minute and added a second in the 42nd minute for a comfortable two-nil lead going into the break. On resumption, the late Mudashiru Lawal scored in the 50th minute to put a gloss on the victory and send millions of fans watching at home into absolute ecstacy.
On the 40th anniversary of the victory, www.naijasuperfans.com exclusively got Odegbami to reprise the first of his two goals which earned him rave reviews in the immediate aftermath of the game. Watch below:
We also got the one nicknamed Mathematical to talk about his career, life and the making of the team that brought Nigeria’s first continental victory after the All Africa Games football gold medal in 1973.
Odegbami was born on the 227th of August, 1952 in Jos to parents of Ogun state origins, one of seven children with his younger brother Wole Odegbami also a retired Nigeria international.
After his playing career, Odegbami transmuted to a sports journalist, entrepreneur, soccer school owner, politician and owns Nigeria’s second sports radio station Eagle 7 103.7 FM
