By 30 YEARS AFTER DEATH, GOOGLE HONOURS SAMUEL OKWARAJI
The name Samuel Sonchukwuma Okwaraji is likely to resonate more with the older generation as during his heydays as a professional footballer to his best of ability, represented the entire country with pride on the field of play.
Meet Nigeria’s Most Travelled Footballer
His meritorious act is likely to be read in history books today as he died 30years ago while on active duty.
It is in light of giving honour to whom it is due that Samuel Okwaraji, late Green Eagles soccer is currently being honored by Google LLC on its homepage www.google.com.
Google is an American multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services and products, which include online advertising technologies, search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware.
About Okwaraji
Okwaraji who would have been 55 years old today was born on May 19th 1964 and died August 12th 1989.
One amazing fact about the professional football remains that he was also a qualified lawyer who had a masters in international law from the Pontifical Lateran University of Rome.
As cause of his shocking demise, BlackBox Nigeria gathered that he collapsed and died of congestive heart failure in the 77th minute of a World Cup qualification match against Angola at the Lagos National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos State on 12 August 1989.
The Imo-born footballer had a successful football career in Europe.
He played for AS Roma (1984-1985), NK Dinamo Zagreb (1985-1986), Austria Klagenfurt (1986-1987), VfB Stuttgart (1987-1989) and SSV Ulm 1846 (loan) (1987-1988).
During his stay at Dinamo Zagreb, Samuel scored 3 goals in a friendly game vs NK Budućnost Hodošan.
The game was played on 30 April 1986, and Dinamo Zagreb won 12-0. Samuel made his only appearance for Dinamo in the Yugoslav First League as a substitute on 18 May 1986 against FK Priština.
The game was played at Maksimir stadium in Zagreb, the 29th round of 1985/86 season. Dinamo Zagreb won 4:3.
Samuel Okwaraji made the Green Eagles squad in 1988 and at that year’s African Nations Cup he scored one of the fastest goals in the history of the championship against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.
He played along until the final match, where the Eagles lost to their perennial rivals Cameroon by a lone goal.
Okwaraji collapsed ten minutes from the end of a 1990 World Cup qualifier against Angola in Lagos and died from congestive heart failure.
An autopsy showed that the 25-year-old had an enlarged heart and high blood pressure.
