Remembering Olubayo Adefemi & Nigeria's 2005 generation

On the seventh anniversary of the Nigerian's death, Goal revisit his unfulfilled potential and that of a wonderful collection of talents Less than eight years after Nigeria contested the U-20 World Cup final against Argentina in 2005, they won the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, defeating Burkina Faso 1-0 in the final after a memorable run to Johannesburg. The Afcon should have been the opportunity for that talented collective to flex their muscles and complete their route to the top on the continent's grandest stage, yet only one player—John Obi Mikel—was named in Stephen Keshi's squad, let alone play any kind of significant role as the Super Eagles clinched the continental gold. This generation has some pedigree, but they ultimately fell by the wayside, despite promising so much in the Netherlands in 2005. At the U-20 World Cup they qualified from a group containing Brazil, before beating Ukraine and the hosts en route to an All-African semi-final with Morocco. The quarter-final with the Dutch was a particularly gruelling encounter; the Nigerians eventually winning 10–9 on penalties. The North Africans were overcome emphatically in the semis, before the Flying Eagles were eventually outdone in the final by a little fella called Lionel Messi!