It was a great moment for Nigeria football in 2013, when the Super Eagles went all the way to win it’s third African Cup of Nation title.
Football fans who followed that tournament closely will not easily forget the name Sunday Mba; the tall and explosive midfielder, that came to life in the Knockout rounds for the Eagles.
He scored the winning goal in the final against Burkina Faso from a sumptuous drive from the midfield that was followed by an even better long range shot.
Looking back at the events of that final in Johannesburg, Mba revealed that he still relives the moments as the feeling will never leave him.
“The feeling can’t leave me, anytime I remember it still flashes through my mind; it’s a feeling I will never forget in my life,” he said on Brila FM’s breakfast show No Holds Barred.
Despite a slow start to the tournament, where Nigeria dropped points in their first two games against Burkina Faso and Zambia, Mba recalls that there was belief among the players.
The Super Eagles turned their fate around – with Mba in the starting line up – as they defeated Ethiopia 2-0 to book a quarter finals encounter with Ivory Coast.
Ivory Coast led by the likes of Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure, were heavy favourites in the encounter.
However the game entering that latter stages was locked at 1-1, before Sunday Mba produced the winning goal that knocked out the Ivorians.
Recounting the experience he said that the NFF were so sure of a defeat against Ivory Coast that they arranged for a Plane to immediately fly them back to Nigeria.
“There was a plane waiting for us against Ivory Coast, so that if we lose we will fly directly to Nigeria, Keshi made sure the news did not get to us,” the AFCON winner recalled. “Keshi was like a father to all of us in the squad,he is a true leader.”
He so spoke about his motivation to give his all for the national team and revealed his Family was his source of motivation.
“My family was my main motivation when I play for the National team, the fact that I was representing my father’s name and also representing the whole of Nigeria was my motivation.”
He also revealed they were not owed any match bonus but some promises made by some individuals were not fulfilled.
