One of Nigeria’s most flamboyant player and coach, Joe Erico is dead.
Better known for his football philosophy of an extreme free flowing tip-tap; where his team take Pocession of the ball and hold it for so long, moving it forward and backwards to disstabilize the opponent and create chances. A typical Brazilian style, why it is called "Jogo Bonito.
Erico was the Chief coach of Julius Berger FC aka Bridge boys, where he brought the Jogo bonito style of play to bear. So much that he was nicknamed ‘Jogo Bonito’ by his admirers
Erico was a part of the coaching crew of the Super Eagles at the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations tournament that was held in Lagos and also helped qualify Nigeria for the 2002 AFCON and World Cup.
He was 72-years-old.
Erico passed on in Lagos after a brief illness. The former goalkeeper’s death was confirmed on Thursday morning by the Super Eagles media officer, Babafemi Raji via Brila FM. The outspoken former Super Assistant coach was said to have complained of stomach ache and then died in his sleep.
Erico started out his football career with the Nigerian Police Force, before having various stints with NEPA, Nigeria Railways, Electricity Connectors of Nigeria and Julius Berger – where he won several silverware.
Among other exploits with the Nigeria national team, Erico was part of the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations staged in Ethiopia. The national football team, then fondly known as the Green Eagles finished third with Erico playing a crucial role.
As a coach, Erico also had a number of highs with Julius Berger. He was part of the coaching crew that qualified the Nigeria U23 squad for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Unfortunately, he was fired on the eve of the competition by the Nigeria Football Federation
Two years later, Erico was recalled to the national team as an assistant to Amodu Shuaibu, in harge of training the goalkeepers. Alongside Amodu and Stephen Keshi, Nigeria qualified for the 2002 World Cup staged in South Korea and Japan. Again, he was axed by the NFF after the country placed third at the 2002 Afcon in Mali.
