The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, has described as a monumental loss to Nigeria, the death of former Green Eagles goalkeeper, Mr. Joe Erico.
A statement from the minister’s media office said: “Erico dead; this is so unfortunate and sad. This is one death too many, a great loss to the entire family and the sporting fraternity.
The statement continued: “He was a great goalkeeper who stood out among his peers; he also made his mark as Assistant Super Eagles coach.
“My deepest condolences to the family, friends and the football family. May God bless his soul and comfort his family,” the statement quoted the minister as praying.
Mr. Sunday Dare
The late Erico made his mark as a player with Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN), which metamorphosed into National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) Football Club. He was a member of the Green Eagles Nations Cup Bronze winning team in Ethiopia.
He later coached Julius Berger Football Club of Lagos as well as NEPA FC.
He was assistant to the late Amodu Shuaibu during the Mali 2002 Nations Cup tournment.
He teamed up with Shuaibu and Stephen Keshi (all now deceased) to qualify the Super Eagles for the 2002 World Cup, but were sacked afterwards.
Ericowas nicknamed the ‘Jogo Bonito’ exponent because of his flair for tip-tap football akin to the Brazilian Samba style.
He was 72 years old.