Red Devils’ Albert Onyeawuna is dead

Nigerian soccer icon of the fifties and sixties, Albert Onyeawuna, is dead.
Onyeawuna, popularly called master-dribbler, scored six goals in 26 international appearances for the Nigerian national team, then called the Red Devils.
Seasoned sports journalist, Kayode Tijani, who broke the news, said: “Albert Onyeawuna died yesterday evening after going into a coma for less than one hour.
“His wife called me, crying and yelling that her husband had gone into a coma at their Festac residence (Lagos State) and after about an hour she confirmed that her husband was dead.
“Late Onyeawuna has been struggling with his health for decades, especially with his eyes, which saw him endure repeated operations countless times and he bore the cost of these operations with his life savings which saw him go broke and struggling financially for years but he consistently swore that he will never beg Nigeria, the country he served but which he said abandoned him for help.
“Onyeawuna also stopped granting media interviews some years ago when it published that he was pleading for Nigeria to come to his aid. Some years ago he was again involved in a ghastly auto accident that complicated his health but again he bore the cost and implications. At a time, attempts were made by some close associates to make the Lagos State Government help him with his eye operations but it never really happened.”