Former Nigerian football star Philip Osondu dies in Belgium.
Philip Osondu died in Belgium after taking self to the hospital to be examined on Thursday.
He 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 senior national team then known as Green Eagles, Now Super Eagles.
In 1985, he won the golden ball at the maiden edition of the World Under 16 tournament which held in China.
The junior Eagles won the maiden trophy of the tournament prompting the Nigerian government then led by Major General Muhammadu Buhari to change the team’s name to “Golden Eaglets”.
The Golden Eaglets have since then won the trophy a record five times more than any other country in the world.
In 1987, Osondu also participated in the World U-16 tournament in Canada. Nigeria reached the final, but then lost on penalties to the Soviet Union.
Philip Osondu, then 16, was however named Most Valuable player at the FIFA U16 World Cup.
Osondu, after a sparkling performance at the U16 World Cup in 1987, was signed on by Anderlecht and was supposed to be a player for the future.
He managed to play in the U20 World Cup in two years (1989) as an 18 year old, but two years later, Osondu could no longer play football actively.