FORMER Super Eagles’ defender, Ajibade Babalade, is dead. Aged 48, the towering defender died while being taken to the University College Hospital, UCH, the hospital source revealed on Friday.
He was said to have developed complications of his health on Thursday complaining of tiredness and was taken to a hospital at Idi Ape, Iwo Road and while attempts to revive him failed, he reportedly died on his way to the UCH.
Babalade, fondly called Kunde after the Camerounian stopper, Emmanuel Kunde, won the 1990 FA Cup with the Stationery Stores and later in the year earned a call up to the senior national team, the Super Eagles where he played qualifiers towards the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Senegal. He played in the championship proper where Nigeria finished as bronze winners.
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Also in 1992, he won the maiden CAF Cup in the colours of the Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan and four years later, was part of the Shooting Stars team that lost in the final of the CAF Champions Cup in 1996.
He later served as Team Manager of the Oluyole Warriors in 2008.
Babalade, it will be recalled, also played for African Sports of the Ivory Coast, Anyang LG Cheetahs (Korea), SK Sturm Graz (Austria) and Indian club Mohun Bagan AC.