Oh my God, we lost Osondu – Chukwu
Former Super Eagles coach, Christian Chukwu, was shocked to receive the news of ex-Golden Eaglets forward, Philip Osondu’s death.
Chukwu, who was one of the coaches who led the country to the maiden JVC Under-16 World Championship in China, deeply mourned the demise of the former youthful attacking player.
“Oh my God how did it happen. Was he sick? Where was he and where does he live.” were the questions that the man popularly called ‘Chairman’ asked when he was called on phone to comment on Osondu.
Chukwu, who was revived back to life by the grace of God when he recently fell ill, said he was short of words and could no longer say anything.
“It is a pity. It is a pity were what he repeatedly said.
Osondu was the star player in the Golden Eaglets exploit in Canada in 1987.
He reportedly died in Belgium at the age of 48 after taking self to the hospital to be examined on Thursday.
According to reports, Osondu was said to have felt unwell at work and decided to visit the hospital where he subsequently died.
Osondu played regularly for the youth teams of Nigeria, but never reached the first team.
In 1987 he participated in the World U-16 tournament in Canada. Nigeria reached the final, but then lost on penalties to the Soviet Union.
He got the World Cup Golden Ball as best player of the tournament.
Osondu was born on 28 November, 1971. He played in Belgium for teams, including RSC Anderlecht and RWDM.
Osondu played in his native Nigeria for El Kanemi Warriors when RSC Anderlecht brought him to Belgium in 1988. The attacker was seen as an emerging football talent and
was transferred to Anderlecht that was a promising team. A year later, the 18-year-old striker made his debut at the highest level in an away match against GerminalEkeren in 1989 playing under coach Aad de Mos.
However, there was a lot of competition at Anderlecht with players like Luc Nilis, Luis Oliveira, Marc Van Der Linden and Gert Verheyen which made Osondu appear barely
at the games. Between 1990 and 1992 the Nigerian was also loaned to neighbors RWDM.
When RWDM got Osondu, coach Hugo Broos gave him more playing opportunities. For the first time in the First Division, he also found the back of the goal. Osondu scored
his first goal in a 4-1 win over Beerschot VAV. A year later Broos left for Club Brugge and was succeeded by Ladislav Novák. This led to fewer opportunities to play for Osondu, which in the summer led to his return to Anderlecht.
In 1994, Osondu moved to second division club La Louviere, where the small and technically gifted striker scored five times in twenty matches. A season later he swapped La Louvière during the winter break for Union Saint Gillis, where he completed the rest of the season. Afterwards he played several years for Diegem Sport and
FC Merchtem 2000.
Read Also:BREAKING: Former Nigerian footballer Philip Osondu dies at 48
Osondu, who was regarded in his own country as a great talent and also received high praise as a youth international, could never fulfill his potential in Belgium.