Nigerian Ndubuisi Egbo Makes UCL Winning Debut as Tirana Beat Tbilisi
Nigerian manager, Ndubuisi Egbo made a winning debut in the UEFA Champions League after he guided FK Tirana to a 2-0 win over Georgian side, Dinamo Tbilisi, in their 2020/21 UEFA Champions League first-round qualifying tie on Wednesday. An Agustin Torassa first-half goal and another from Ernest Muci four minutes from stoppage time secured a spot for Tirana in the second qualifying round of the competition.
With the feat, Egbo becomes the first African to manage a team in the UEFA Champions League. The manager, who made history last month as the first African to win a topflight league title in Europe, also set another benchmark as the first African to record a win on his debut as a coach in a UEFA competition.
Tirana will face FK Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade) next Tuesday. Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade) defeated Europa, a top division side from Gibraltar, 5-0 to reach the second qualifying round of the competition. Egbo, a former Nigeria international, played in two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments in 2000 and 2002 with the Super Eagles.
Ayooluwa Joshua