Former Nigeria assistant coach Joe Erico dies at 72

Former Eagles goalkeeper and assistant coach Joe Erico passed away on Tuesday morning at the age of 72 after a brief illness.

According to Goal, a member of the deceased’s family confirmed he complained of stomach ache before he passed away.

“Jogo Bonito” as he was fondly nicknamed, played for several clubs in Nigeria; Nigerian Police Force, NEPA, Nigeria Railways, ECN and Julius Berger.

He introduced the Jogo Bonito style – a tip tap style of Samba football while managing his former club Julius Berger.

Twice as part of the coaching crew he qualified Nigeria for tournaments but was fired before the tournaments on the two occasions. First the U23 squad to Sydney Olympics in 2000 and the Korea-Japan World Cup in 2002.