Liberia football legend and former coach of the Liberia National Team, Frank Jericho Nagbe is dead.
According to the report, he died this morning, August 26, 2023, in Monrovia at a local hospital.
He was also a former coach of Invincible Eleven (IE) FC and Jr. Professionals FC. He inspired many young footballers during his football career and played exceptional football with the national team and other local football clubs.
His legacy lives on and he will forever be remembered by Liberian soccer fans most especially the people of the Township of West Point where he resided during his football career. “Go and take your rest Legend until we meet again,” some football fans mostly Lone Star fans cried upon hearing the death of one of Liberia’s best coaches.
Frank Jericho Nagbe was born May 11, 1958 in Diyakpo Bokon Jadae). He was a Liberian football manager and former professional player who few years back coached the Liberian National team, the Lone Star of Liberia.
Frank Wontee Nagbe, popularly known as Jericho, is the man who has placed NPA Anchors at the top of the premier league, following victories over Mighty Barolle and Invincible Eleven (IE).
He is a Muslim who resides in West Point. He is married with children. His son Frank Nagbe Junior is the captain of the NPA Anchors.
Jericho is a product of the William VS Tubman High School in Sinkor. The Liberian tactician played active soccer both at home and abroad. He started with Saint Jerry (1972–1975) before moving to Invincible Eleven (IE) from 1975 to 1984. Jericho, who was a midfielder, spent one season (1976–1977) with Sporting Club de Gagnoa in Côte d’Ivoire.
As a player, he won the league title with IE in 1976, the year he was voted Most Valuable Player, and the six-nation tournament with the Lone Star in 1979. In Côte d’Ivoire, Jericho won the league championship with Gagnoa in 1977. He spent eight years on the national team as a regular player, which enabled Jericho to face great teams of Africa, Europe and the Americas. He got trained in Mexico in 1980.
The former NPA Anchors manager started his coaching sojourn in the second division with West Point-based La-Modell International in 1985.
Three years later, under Jericho, the club reached the first division. Coach Nagbe led his native Sinoe County to three County Meet tournaments. Under him, Sinoe finished as champions in 1986, third place in 1987 and semi-finalist in 2004. Jericho joined IE as Deputy Coach from 1989 to 1992.
He then coached Junior Professionals for five seasons (1993–1998). Jericho promoted Junior Pros to the first division and went on to finished as runners-up in his first season before lifting the league title in 1997.
He took Jr. Pros to the African Cup Winners, at which time the club ousted ASFAG of Guinea (but could not continue due to the April 6, 1996 fighting in Monrovia). Jericho led Jr. Pros to the African Champions League, and eliminated RCB of Burkina Faso, but was eliminated by eventual grand finalist Obuasi Goldfields a year later.
During the 1997–1998 Season, Adolph Lawrence hired him at a time Saint Anthony was in search of first division qualification. Jericho did not fail in winning all the seven matches he had. In his debut year with Saint Anthony in division one, Jericho led the club to second place in both league and knockout championships. Jericho had two stints with the Lone Star as Deputy Coach.
His first stint ran from 1996 to 1998. On the second occasion, Lone Star reached the 2002 Nations Cup finals in Mali and nearly qualified for the World Cup the same year. A year earlier, Jericho and the Lone Star won the Goodwill Tournament in Côte d’Ivoire.
The LFA awarded Jericho five times as Coach of the Year in 1985, 1987, 1996, 2000 and 2004. In 1985, the former NPA Anchors coach attended the FIFA Youth Training Program conducted by Karl Heinz Moroski of Germany and Mohammed El Wash of Egypt (CAF).
He also participated in the FIFA Futuro II course conducted by Philip Rouon in 1999.
