The greatest - Ex-Super Eagles coach names Teslim Balogun as the best

Former Super Eagles coach, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde has called Teslim ‘Thunder’ Balogun “the greatest footballer Nigeria ever produced.”

This comes as the Nigerian football community mark the 53rd memorial anniversary of Balogun, one of the most iconic figures in the country’s sporting history.

Teslim Balogun, fondly dubbed "Thunder" for his fearsome shooting power, represented the Nigerian national team for 12 years, during which he became a household name across Africa and beyond.

He won the Challenge Cup five times in seven final appearances, setting records that stood for decades. In 1953, he became the first player to score a hat-trick in the Challenge Cup.

Following the historic 1949 UK tour by a Nigerian select team, Balogun returned to the United Kingdom in 1955, where he signed for Peterborough United.

He went on to play for Skegness Town and Queens Park Rangers (QPR), making 13 appearances and netting three goals in the English Football League during the 1956/57 season.

Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, who managed Nigeria to the World Cup in 2002 and the AFCON final in 1984, had nothing but admiration for Balogun’s talents.

“The greatest footballer Nigeria ever produced is Teslim Balogun, there’s no doubt about it. He did many things players before him, those of his time and after, and even years to come, have been unable to do with the ball,” Onigbinde said.

In perhaps the most evocative part of his tribute, Onigbinde recalled what he considers the greatest goal ever scored by a Nigerian, a long-range thunderbolt from Balogun at the Olubadan Stadium in 1968, during a match between the national team and the UK Tourists.

“The goal was so powerful, so accurate, that even the English team stopped in awe. It was the definition of ‘Thunder’,” he added.

The Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, was named after him as it stands as a permanent tribute to his impact on Nigerian sports.