Flashback: Why Taribo West broke down in tears in iconic 2002 World Cup photo

A viral picture of former Super Eagles defender Taribo West, crying bitterly with a bandage on his head, remains one of the most iconic images of any Super Eagles player, Soccernet.ng reports.

Taribo West was one of the best Nigerian center backs of his era, playing for top European clubs like AJ Auxerre, AC Milan, and Inter Milan, showcasing defensive qualities that were second to none.

However, the photo of him crying might be puzzling to the newer generation of Nigerian football fans, who may wonder why the former defender wept so bitterly.

Ifeanyi Udeze, Taribo’s teammate in the early 2000s, has revealed the reason behind the tears captured in that viral photo.

See the photos here:

According to Udeze, the tears were a result of Nigeria’s defeat in their second group game against Sweden at the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup.

During the game, Julius Aghahowa opened the scoring for Nigeria, but then-Celtic forward Henrik Larsson fired in a brace to secure a victory for Sweden.

The defeat effectively ended the Super Eagles’ campaign, as it was their second consecutive loss after a 1-0 defeat to Argentina in their opening fixture.

Taribo, who was injured during the game and had his jersey stained with blood, was seen weeping uncontrollably after the match.

“I stood close to him; he was just crying,” Udeze said on Brila FM, as quoted by Complete Sports. “He was saying, ‘Why should the Eagles crash out so early in the tournament?'”

However, the damage had already been done, and Nigeria’s early exit from the tournament was a bitter pill to swallow for Taribo and the rest of the team.