Breaking News: Joe Erico, Former assistant coach of the Super Eagles is dead

One time assistant coach of Nigeria's Super Eagles, Joe Erico passed away on Thursday at the age of 72. (photo credit: Channels TV)

Former Super Eagles assistant coach, Joe Erico is dead.

Erico was a part of the coaching crew of the Super Eagles at the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations tournament that was held in Lagos and also helped qualify Nigeria for the 2002 AFCON and World Cup.

The flamboyant player in his days passed away at 72-years-old.

Fondly referred to as ‘Jogo Bonito’ by his admirers, Erico passed on in Lagos after a brief illness. The former goalkeeper’s death was confirmed on Thursday morning by the Super Eagles media officer, Babafemi Raji via Brila FM. The outspoken former Super Assistant coach was said to have complained of stomach ache and then died in his sleep.

Erico started out his football career with the Nigeria Police Force, before having various stints with NEPA, Nigeria Railways, Electricity Connectors of Nigeria and Julius Berger – where he won several silverware.

Among other exploits with the Nigeria national team, Erico was part of the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations staged in Ethiopia. The national football team, then fondly known as the Green Eagles finished third with Erico playing a crucial role.

As a coach, Erico also had a number of highs as he was part of the coaching crew that qualified the Nigeria U23 squad for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Unfortunately, he was fired on the eve of the competition by the Nigeria Football Federation.

Two years later, Erico was recalled to the national team as an assistant to Amodu Shuaibu, in charge of training the goalkeepers. Alongside Amodu and Stephen Keshi, Nigeria qualified for the 2002 World Cup staged in South Korea and Japan. Again, he was axed by the NFF after the country placed third at the 2002 Afcon in Mali.