Complete Football Special

Page 2 

Special 

Olympics 


Football in Nigeria's DNA 

By MUMINI ALAO 

HE U23 Olympic football team are the silver lining in the gloom that 

Thas enveloped Nigerian football in recent time. 

The (senior) Super Eagles, U20 Flying Eagles and U17 Golden Eaglets have 

all failed, successively in recent months, to qualify for their respective African 

Championships in 2017, while the senior team are underdogs again in their 

qualifying group for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. If the Eagles fail to beat Algeria, 

Cameroun and Zambia to the group's sole ticket to Russia 2018, a long 

stretch of international football inaction lies ahead of Nigeria with the risk of 

further stagnation or even retrogression in our fortunes and ratings. 

In comes the U23 "Dream Team" to provide temporary relief. Against all the 

odds that they encountered en route to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, 

Samson Siasia's boys emerged with the ONLY medal won by Nigeria at the 

entire games, never mind that it is a bronze. Surely, these Brilliant Boys 

deserve to be celebrated for giving us something to cheer about. 

I understand the feeling of any Nigerian reading this and accusing me of 

"celebrating mediocrity" and thinking, "this is why our country has not made 

progress." But the fact is, it's not the fault of the footballers, nor indeed our 

other sportsmen and women, that the country's sports has fallen short over 

the years and we are now, literally, on the verge of a total collapse. If anything, 

it is the never-say-die spirit and resilience of our sportsmen and women that 

have kept Nigeria in reckoning. So, when they do achieve any sort of 

accomplishment, we owe them tons of appreciation. 

Football Country 

One major point that the soccer bronze medal in Rio underscored for Nigeria is 

that, despite the protestations by other sports, we are first and foremost, a 

football country. Just like in all the other sports, our preparations for the football 

event was, to say the least, a disaster. In fact, our footballers made 

embarrassing global headline as the last contingent to arrive in Brazil, just a few 

hours to their first game against Japan, in spite of a four-year notice! Yet they 

won that game and soldiered on to come home with the bronze medal. That 

cannot be happenstance. Football is in the Nigerian DNA, ahead of other sports. 

You don't have to dig too deep to strike our soccer oil. It's boiling angrily, close to 

the surface. 

Indeed, you must have abundant natural ability to be able to overcome the 

extreme logistical, emotional, physical and psychological nightmares that our 

boys confronted and still emerge victorious against better-prepared (but 

arguably lesser endowed) opponents like our boys did in Rio. The first time we 

met an established world footballing power (Germany) at the semi-final, (our 

last group match defeat to Colombia was inconsequential because we had 

nothing at stake then), our limitations were exposed. Remember, football is in 

the German DNA, too, ahead of other sports. 

Furthermore, the bronze medal in Rio has made it a complete set of medals 

for Nigeria in football, following our historic Gold at Atlanta '96 and the Silver 

at Beijing 2008, the latter won by the same coach as in Rio 2016, Samson 

Siasia. Not many countries in the world can boast of such a remarkable 

collection in the football event of the Olympics Games. 

Atmosphere 

Ironically, whether Siasia's boys could have done better in Rio with a less 

dramatic arrival and less stressful participation is open to question. I spoke to 

former national team captain Chief Segun Odegbami after the miraculous 

opening win over Japan and reminded him about his theory that Nigerian 

teams only seem to prosper in an atmosphere of disorderliness and 

confusion. Odegbami laughed, but my point was not lost on him. Who knows 

whether the U23 lads would have been too relaxed and less determined to 

"prove a point" had their road to Rio been smooth and comfy! 

It was a similar scenario 20 years ago in Atlanta '96, when our players led by 

captain Nwankwo Kanu had to drive themselves to training in rented cars 

because there was no team bus and no driver; and pay hotel bills from their 

pockets because money was late in coming from the administrators. I travelled 

with that team to all their match venues in America and witnessed how the 

coach, Dutchman Jo Bonfrere, persistently fought a battle of wits with the then 

minister of sport, Chief Jim Nwobodo, over his salary and bonuses before 

emerging victorious. 

Therefore, Siasia's altercations with the current minister of sport, Solomon 

Dalung, is a "normal" occurrence in Nigerian team camps while captain Mikel 

Obi's reported payments for team expenses is not unprecedented. Our football 

teams seem to revel in the face of adversity. That, also, is in the Nigerian DNA. 

Congratulations, Siasia, Mikel and the rest of our Rio Olympic heroes, the 

Dream Team Class of 2016. You were all simply brilliant! 

PUBLISHER: Dr. Emmanuel-Sunny Ojeagbase 

DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Mumini Alao 

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Kayode Ogundare 

GRAPHIC ARTIST: Wale Ajose 

GENERAL MANAGER: Lydia Oyekanmi (Mrs) 

GROUP ADVERT MANAGER: Thomas Ayodele 

ACCOUNTANT: Soji Ogunbekun 

Complete Football is published by Complete Communications Limited, 

Plot 9, Alhaji Adenekan Street, Okota, Lagos. 

All Correspondence to P.M.B. 1033, Oshodi Lagos OR P.O.Box 51404, Ikoyi, Lagos. 

Advert hotline: 0802-315-8021 

MATCH No.1 

ETEBO IS KING OF 

NINE-GOAL THRILLER 

ghenekaro Etebo was the star of the night 

Oscoring four goals as Nigeria opened their 

gold quest with a 5-4 defeat of Japan in a 

thrilling, back-and-forth encounter. 

The match didn't take long to spring into life. Nigeria 

forward Sadiq Umar opened the scoring after Imoh 

Ezekiel had his shot saved following some superb 

dribbling on the right wing. Umar was right there to tap 

in the second chance after Japan goalkeeper 

Masatoshi Kushibiki spilled it right in front of him. 

Japan responded with a goal of their own three 

minutes later when a penalty kick was given after 

Stanley Amuzie fouled Shoya Nakajima in the penalty 

area. Shinzo Koroki stepped up and converted a very 

calm and composed penalty, sending Daniel the 

wrong way. 

Oghenekaro Etebo then put Nigeria back in the lead 

a minute later, controlling a very high cross with his 

chest before unleashing a half volley into Kushibiki's 

goal to restore Nigeria's lead. 

NIGERIA 5-4 JAPAN 

Seconds later, Takumi Minamino found himself one 

on one with Daniel and calmly slotted his shot past the 

goalkeeper to make it 2-2, thrilling the Manaus crowd. 

The first appeared to be heading for a stalemate 

until Etebo scored his second goal of the match to 

give Nigeria the lead for the third time. The Nigerian 

attacking pearl picked up from where he left off and 

completed his hat-trick five minutes after the restart, 

scoring from the penalty spot after Umar was fouled 

in the area. 

The Feirense man then scored his fourth goal of the 

night, picking up a poor clearance from Kushibiki and 

scoring from 20 yards into an empty net. That goal 

looked to have taken the life out of Japan, but they 

didn't give up. 

From then on, the game was Japan's to chase and 

despite scoring two goals, Nigeria held on for a win and 

leadership of the group after the other game between 

Sweden and Colombia ended in a draw. 

Venue: Arena Amazonia Manaus (BRA) 

Dare: 4 Aug 2016 First stage - Group B 

NIGERIA 5: (Umar 6', Etebo 10', 42', 52p, 66') — 

JAPAN 4: (Koroki 9p, Minamino 13', Asano 70', Suzuki 

95') Japan 

LINE UP 

Nigeria: Daniel, Sincere, Shehu, Ekong, Etebo, 

Ezekiel (Udo 78'), Mikel (Saliu 87'), S. Umar, Azubuike, 

Amuzie, Muhammed (Madu 73') 

Yc: Amuzie 

Japan: Kushibiki, Muroya, Endo, Fujiharu, Ueda, 

Shiotani, Harakawa (Asano 53'), Ohshima, Nakajima 

(Yajima 76'), Koroki (Suzuki 70'), Minamino

Olympics Special 


Page 3 

MATCH No.2 

SWEDEN 0-1 NIGERIA 

NIGERIA 

TOP DESPITE 

COLOMBIA LOSS 

much changed Nigerian side fell 2-0 

Ato Colombia who secured their place 

in the knockout stages, following the 

Africans into the last eight of the Men’s 

Olympic Football Tournament. 

A first-half strike from captain Teofilo 

Gutierrez and a second-half penalty from 

Dorlan Pabon ensured the South Americans 

emerged as the only unbeaten team in the 

group after successive draws with Sweden and 

Japan but they trailed Nigeria who had already 

qualified after back-to-back wins. 

Needing a win to secure their place in the 

last eight, it was Los Cafeteros that took an 

early lead through their captain Gutierrez. 

Pabon’s fine forward ball from the left flank 

picked out the unmarked Sporting Lisbon 

striker at the top of the Nigeria penalty box. 

Gutierrez then applied a neat volleyed finish to 

knockout stages was reflected in their 

willingness to extend their lead after half-time. 

Just after the hour mark, they were rewarded 

with a penalty after Akpeyi took down Preciado 

in the Nigeria penalty box. Pabon stepped up 

to drive his spot-kick home and 

double Colombia’s advantage. 

The result ensured Colombia 

finished second in Group B 

with five points, one point 

behind group winners Nigeria. 

Colombia will 

play their 

quarter-final 

clash in Sao 

Paulo on 

Saturday 

against Brazil, while Nigeria travels to Salvador 

for their last-eight encounter against Denmark. 

Venue: Arena Corinthians Sao Paulo (BRA) 

Date: 10 Aug 2016 First stage - Group B 

Colombia 2: (Gutierrez 4’, Pabon 63p) 

Nigeria 0 

LINE UP: 

Colombia: Bonilla, Tesillo, Balanta, Pabon 

(Machado 86'), Gutierrez, Preciado, Roa, 

Palacios, Barrios (Perez 78'), Balanta (Lerma 

72'), Borja 

Nigeria: Akpeyi, Sincere, Madu (Amuzie 80'), 

Ekong, A. Umar (Ezekiel 70'), Etebo, Mikel, 

Saliu (Muhammed 70'), S. Umar, Azubuike, 

Udo 

YC: Akpeyi, Ekong, Azubuike 

UMAR HEADS 

NIGERIA INTO 

LAST EIGHT 

Nigeria progressed to the 

quarter-finals at the Men's 

Olympic Football Tournament 

Rio 2016 after a 1-0 victory over 

Sweden in Group B thanks to a Sadiq 

Umar header at the Amazonia Arena in 

Manaus. 

For a large part of the match both 

sides played conservatively, but it was 

Nigeria who looked more threatening in 

attack. Fresh from scoring four goals last 

time out, Oghenekaro Etebo attempted 

several shots in the half—with his right 

foot, left foot and with his head—but he 

was unable to get the better of Sweden 

goalkeeper Andreas Linde. 

Nigeria eventually found the opener six 

minutes from time, when Stanley Amuzie 

delivered a pinpoint, curling cross in 

open play from the left wing that found 

Umar and the Roma man made no 

mistake, scoring with a diving header. 

The Africans continued their 

dominance in the second half, and just 

three minutes in, captain John Obi Mikel 

fired a well-driven shot 

from the top of the area 

saved by Linde. The 

Swedish goalkeeper had to 

be alert four minutes later 

when Etebo dribbled inside 

the corner of the penalty 

box and attempted a 

curling effort, but once 

again, Linde saved. 

Coach Hakan Ericson 

used all three of his 

substitutes - Ken Sema, 

Muamer Tankovic and 

Jacob Une Larsson - to try 

and give his team a new 

dimension but, in the end, 

Nigeria's backline was up to the 

challenge and held on for all three points. 

On Wednesday, Nigeria will close out 

group play against Colombia in Sao 

Paulo, while Sweden have a must-win 

match ahead against Japan in Salvador 

if they are going to continue their Rio 

2016 journey. 

Venue: Arena Amazonia Manaus 

(BRA) 

Date: 7 Aug 2016 First stage - 

Group B 

SWEDEN 0 

NIGERIA 1 (Umar 40') 

LINE UP 

Sweden: Linde, Lundqvist (Larsson 

81'), Milosevic, Nilsson, Konate, Khalili, 

Tibbling, Fransson (Sema 62'), Quaison 

(Tankovic 69'), Ajdarevic, Ishak 

Nigeria: Daniel, Sincere, Shehu (Udo 

88'), Ekong, Etebo, Ezekiel, Mikel (Madu 

79'), S.Umar (A.Umar 74'), Azubuike, 

Amuzie, Muhammed 

Yc: A.Umar 

MATCH No.3 

COLOMBIA 2-0 NIGERIA 

beat Nigeria goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi and 

give Colombia a fourth-minute advantage. 

The Group B winners then created chances 

of their own before the break, with the best of 

Nigeria’s opportunities coming in the 28th 

minute when Oghenekaro Etebo put Sadiq 

Umar’s low cross wide of the far post in the 

Colombia penalty box. Etebo also tested 

Cristian Bonilla with a well-hit free-kick that 

was blocked away by the legs of the Colombia 

goalkeeper. 

Colombia’s determination to reach the 

ROAD TO QUARTER FINAL 

GROUP B 

TEAMS MP W D L GF GA GD Pts 

Nigeria 3 2 0 1 6 6 0 6 

Colombia 3 1 2 0 6 4 2 5 

Japan 3 1 1 1 7 7 0 4 

Sweden 3 0 1 2 2 4 -2 1


Page 4 

Olympics 

QUARTER 

FINAL 


NIGERIA 2-0 DENMARK 

DENMARK 

DISMANTLED 

igeria chose the perfect 

Ntime to avenge their pretournament 

6-2 mauling 

at the Suwon International Cup 

in South Korea by defeating 

Denmark in a straightforward 

2-0 quarter-final victory at the 

Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador. 

John Obi Mikel and Aminu Umar 

got the goals, either side of halftime, 

to set their side up against 

Germany for a record-extending 

third semi-final appearance for an 

African team at the Olympics. 

After both sides were defeated 

in their respective final group 

games, each had a point to prove 

heading into the last eight clash. 

Nigeria restored the five players 

who didn't start against Colombia 

and were by far the most forwardthinking 

and took the initiative in 

the opening half, swiftly moving 

the ball to either flank to try and 

get in behind a sturdy Danish 

defence. 

Imoh Ezekiel shone brightest for 

the Super Eagles, a constant thorn 

in the side of the Danes. The 

Danes responded, with Casper 

Nielsen bringing the ball down 

superbly on his chest, before 

hitting an effort at goal which 

touched the crossbar on its way 

over. 

At the end of the opening period, 

the Nigerians made their pace tell. 

Ezekiel burst down the left-hand side 

and into the Danish penalty area, 

before squaring across to Mikel, who 

had the simplest of tasks to side foot 

home. 

Into the second half, Ezekiel once 

again proved himself a nuisance to 

Niels Frederiksen's side, twisting and 

turning his way past several Denmark 

challenges on the left-hand side of the 

Danish penalty area before opening 

his body and firing a shot over the 

crossbar. 

Samson Siasia's team would have 

their second goal though, after Mikel 

turned provider. The Chelsea 

midfielder curled a devilish corner into 

the penalty area from the Nigeria left, 

and Aminu Umar 

rose to expertly 

guide the ball past 

Hojbjerg. 

Despite a late 

chance for 

substitute 

Oluwafemi Ajayi, the 

Nigerians did not 

add to their lead, but 

progressed serenely 

through to the semifinals. 

The Nigerians will 

face Germany in Sao 

Paulo in a first-ever 

Olympic football 

meeting between 

both countries. 

Venue: Arena Fonte Nova Salvador (BRA) 

Date: 13 Aug 2016 Quarter-finals 

Nigeria 2 (Mikel 16', A. Umar 59') 

Denmark 0 

LINE UP: 

Nigeria: Daniel, Sincere, Shehu, 

Ekong, A. Umar, Ezekiel (Saliu 90'), Mikel, 

S. Umar (Ajayi 85'), Azubuike (Udo 85'), 

Amuzie, Muhammed 

Yc: Sincere, Mikel, Azubuike, Muhammed 

Denmark: Hojbjerg, Puggaard (K.larsen 

71'), Gomes, Mathiasen, Maxso, Vibe, 

Larsen (E. Larsen 71'), Borsting (Skov 

54'), Nielsen, Gregor, Jonsson 

SEMI 

FINAL 

NIGERIA 0-2 GERMANY 

GROUNDED! 

igeria’s quest for a second Olympic 

Nfootball gold medal was halted by a 

technically superior Germany team 

which beat the Africans 2-0 at the Arena 

Corinthians in Sao Paulo. 

Left-back Lukas Klostermann was the unlikely 

goalscorer on the evening when he made a bursting 

run forward and tapped in an open goal from captain 

Maximilian Meyer's cross on the ground in the ninth 

minute. The goal was Klostermann's first at any level 

for the German national team. 

Tactically, Germany were the stronger side in the 

first half. Nigeria were unable to break quickly 

enough when they had counter-attacking 

opportunities. 

In the second half, Germany started on the front 

foot with Gnabry continuing on with his 

positive form from the first half. He had 

a shot on goal saved by Nigeria 

goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel in the 

58th minute. Daniel did well to get low 

and parry the effort out for a corner 

kick to prevent his side from going two 

goals down. 

In the end, Germany did enough to 

frustrate Nigeria, preventing the African 

side from having any clear-cut 

goalscoring opportunities. 

Substitute Nils Petersen then made 

sure of Germany's spot in Saturday's 

final when he latched onto a low cross 

from forward Davie Selke in the 89th 

minute. 

Nigeria will look to add to their history 

of medals at the tournament when they 

go for bronze against Honduras in Belo 

Horizonte on Saturday. 

Venue: Arena CorinthiansSao Paulo (BRA) 

Date: 17 Aug 2016 Semi-finals 

Nigeria 0: 

Germany: (Klostermann 9', Petersen 

89') Germany 

LINE UP 

Nigeria: Daniel, Sincere, Shehu, 

Ekong, Umar, Ezekiel, Mikel, S. Umar 

(Ajayi 64'), Udo (Saliu 71'), Amuzie, 

Muhammed 

German: Horn, Toljan, Klostermann, 

Ginter, Suele, Bender (Proemel 76'), 

Meyer (Petersen 85'), Bender, Selke, 

Brandt, Gnabry (Max 77')

Page 5 


Olympics 


THIRD 

PLACE 

NIGERIA 2-0 HONDURAS 

UMARS WIN BRONZE 

FOR NIGERIA 

Honduras 

igeria won bronze at the 

NMen’s Olympic Football 

Tournament Rio 2016 

after an entertaining 3-2 win 

against Honduras in Belo 

Horizonte’s Estadio Mineirao. 

Samson Siasia’s side enjoyed a 

three-goal advantage shortly 

before the hour mark thanks to 

Sadiq Umar’s brace and Aminu 

Umar's 49th minute goal, but 

Honduras gave the African side a 

late scare as Antony Lozano and 

Marcelo Pereira reduced the 

deficit to just one goal. 

The fight back was not enough, 

however, as Nigeria held firm to 

secure their first Olympic medal 

since Beijing 2008. 

Venue: Estadio Mineirao Belo 

Horizonte (BRA) 

Date: 20 Aug 2016- Bronze 

medal match 

2: (Lozano 71', Pereira 86') 

Nigeria: 3 (S.UMAR 34', 56', A.UMAR 

49') 

LINE-UP: 

Honduras: Lopez, Paz, Pereira, Alvarez, 

Vargas, Acosta Cespinal 61'), Salas, Quioto, 

Banegas (Benavidez 61'), Garcia (lozano 

46'), Elis 

Nigeria: Daniel, Sincere, Shehu, Ekong, 

A.umar, Ezekiel (madu 80'), Mikel, S.umar 

(saliu 89'), Azubuike, Amuzie, Muhammed 

(erimuya 91') 

YC: Sincere, Azubuike



Page 6 

THE BRILLIANT BOYS 

DANIEL AKPEYI* 

CLUB: Chippa United (SOUTH AFRICA) 

DOB: March 8, 1986 (age 30) 

POSITION: Goalkeeper 

JERSEY NO: 1 

GAMES PLAYED: 1 

TOTAL MINUTES PLAYED: 90 

MUENFUH SINCERE 

CLUB: Rhapsody (NIGERIA) 

DOB: 28 Apr 1998 (age 18) 

POSITION: Defender 

JERSEY NO: 2 



KINGSLEY MADU 

CLUB: AS Trencín (SLOVAKIA) 

DOB: 12 December 1995 (age 21) 


JERSEY NO: 3 



SHEHU ABDULLAHI 

CLUB: União da Madeira (PORTUGAL) 

DOB: March 12, 1993 (age 23 

POSITION: 

JERSEY NO: 4 



SATURDAY ERIMUYA 

CLUB: Kayseri Erciyesspor (TURKEY) 

DOB: 10 January 1998 (age 18) 


JERSEY NO: 5 

GAMES PLAYED: - 1 

TOTAL MINUTES PLAYED - 4 

WILLIAM TROOST-EKONG 

CLUB: Haugesund (NORWAY) 

DOB: 1 September 1993) 


JERSEY NO: 6 



AMINU UMAR 

CLUB: Osmanlispor (TURKEY) 

DOB: 6 March 1995 (age 21) 

POSITION: Striker 

JERSEY NO: 7 



EMMANUEL DANIEL 

CLUB: Enugu Rangers (Nigeria) 

DOB: 17 December 1993 (aged 22) 

POSITION: Goalkeeper 

JERSEY NO: 18 



IMOH EZEKIEL 

CLUB: Anderlecht (BELGIUM) 

DOB: 24 October 1993 (age 22) 


JERSEY NO: 9 



JOHN OBI MIKEL* 

CLUB: Chelsea (ENGLAND) 

DOB: April 22, 1987 (age 29) 

POSITION: Midfielder 

JERSEY NO: 10 



OLUWAFEMI AJAYI 

CLUB: CS Sfaxien (TUNISIA) 

DOB: January 29, 1996 (age 20) 


JERSEY NO: 11 



POPOOLA SALIU 

CLUB: Seraing United (FRANCE) 

DOB: 7 August 1994 (age 22) 

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELD 

JERSEY NO: 12 



UMAR SADIQ 

CLUB: Roma (ITALY) 

DOB: February 2, 1997 (age 19) 


JERSEY NO: 13 



AZUBUIKE OKECHUKWU 

CLUB: Yeni Malatyaspor (TURKEY) 

DOB: April 19, 1997 (age 19) 


JERSEY NO: 14 



NDIFREKE UDO 

CLUB: Abia Warriors (NIGERIA) 

DOB: 15 Aug 1998 (age 18) 


JERSEY NO: 15 



STANLEY AMUZIE 

CLUB: Olhanense (PORTUGAL) 

DOB: 28 February 1996 (age 20) 


JERSEY NO: 16 



USMAN MOHAMMED 

CLUB: União da Madeira (PORTUGAL) 

DOB: 2 March 1994 (aged 22) 


JERSEY NO: 17 



OGHENEKARO ETEBO 

CLUB: Feirense (PORTUGAL) 

DOB: 9 November 1995 (age 21) 

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER 

JERSEY NO: 8 



Nigeria’s Olympic Soccer Treble 

GOLD1996 

EMMANUEL BABAYARO, CELESTINE BABAYARO, TARIBO 

WEST, NWANKWO KANU, UCHE OKECHUKWU, 

EMMANUEL AMUNIKE, TIJANI BABANGIDA, WILSON 

ORUMA, TESLIM FATUSI, JAY JAY OKOCHA, VICTOR IKPEBA, 

ABIODON OBAFEMI, GARBA LAWAL, DANIEL AMOKACHI, 

SUNDAY OLISEH, KINGSLEY OBIEKWU, MOBI OPARAKU, 

JOSEPH DOSU, ABIODUN BARUWA*, PASCAL PATRICK*, 

NDUBUISI NDAH*, JONATHAN AKPOBORIE* 

COACH: JO BONFRERE (HOL) 

*ALTERNATE PLAYERS 

SILVER2008 

AMBRUSE VANZEKIN, CHIBUZOR OKONKWO, ONYEKACHI 

APAM, DELE ADELEYE, MONDAY JAMES, CHINEDU 

OGBUKE OBASI, SANI KAITA, VICTOR OBINNA, PROMISE 

ISAAC, SOLOMON OKORONKWO, EBENEZER AJILORE, 

OLUBAYO ADEFEMI, PETER ODEMWINGIE, EFE AMBROSE, 

VICTOR ANICHEBE, EMMANUEL EKPO, IKECHUKWU 

EZENWA, OLADAPO OLUFEMI 

COACH: SAMSON SIASIA (NGR) 

BRONZE2016 

DANIEL AKPEYI, MUENFUH SINCERE, KINGSLEY MADU, 

SHEHU ABDULLAHI, SATURDAY ERIMUYA, WILLIAM 

TROOST-EKONG, AMINU UMAR, OGHENEKARO ETEBO, 

IMOH EZEKIEL, JOHN OBI MIKEL, OLUWAFEMI AJAYI, 

POPOOLA SALIU, UMAR SADIQ, AZUBUIKE OKECHUKWU, 

NDIFREKE UDO, STANLEY AMUZIE, USMAN 

MOHAMMED, EMMANUEL DANIEL, COACH: SAMSON 

SIASIA (NGR)



Page 7 

NIGERIAN LEAGUE STAR...NIGERIAN LEAGUE STAR... 

NIGERIAN LEAGUE STAR...NIGERIAN LEAGUE STAR... 

First name: 

Last name: 

Nationality: 

Date of birth: 

Age: 

Position: 

Godwin 

Obaje 

Nigeria 

1 Jan. 1997 

19 

Striker 

MOVING TO WIKKI TOURISTS 

My move to Wikki Tourists came at a time I didn't 

expect. I remember an agent came to Mighty Jets 

with some players to train with us and was 

particularly impressed when he saw me in training. 

He was the one who recommended me to coach 

Abdu Maikaba, who then invited me to train with the 

Wikki Tourists team at the start of last season. 

It was an opportunity I have been waiting for, so I 

did my best to impress him and the other coaches in 

training. 

They too were impressed with what I did in training 

and that was how I joined Wikki. It wasn't easy for me 

at the beginning coming from the lower league coupled 

with my age and experience, but I have a coach who 

believes so much in my ability and gave me the 

opportunity to integrate gradually into the team. 

PLAYING AGAINST 

MY BROTHER, JOSHUA 

It was real fun for both of us. The first time we 

faced each other in a competitive game was on June 

26, 2016. It was a Nigeria Professional League 

match day 24 fixture played at the Rwang Pam 

Stadium, Jos. It was really strange for me, coming up 

against my big brother 

We exchanged banters before the game and I told 

him I will put into practice everything I learnt from 

him to make sure we beat his team (Plateau United). 

In the end they beat us 2-0, ending our five games 

unbeaten streak. He was very happy with the result 

though he didn't score any of the goals. 

JOSHUA'S IMPACT ON MY CAREER 

He is someone I always looked up to when I was 

growing up. I love watching Joshua play and I made 

up my mind to be a striker like him because of his 

goal scoring prowess. 

He always encourages me to work harder and not 

allow anything distract me from getting to the top. 

AS TRENCIN MOVE 

I was close to linking up with AS Trencin of Slovakia 

last season, but the deal was cancelled because they 

failed to fulfill their contractual obligations. My mind 

was really set on the move and I was disappointed that 

I couldn't join them at the end of the day. 

CHALLENGES 

GODWIN OBAJE 

WIKKI TOURISTS 

ODWIN OBAJE is the younger of the Obaje boys who have taken the Nigerian 

GPremier Football League by storm. While older brother Joshua is leading the line for 

Plateau United, Godwin is topping the chart in the league and aims to power his 

modest team to a first-ever league title at season’s end… Interview by ADEBOYE AMOSU 

GROWING UP YEARS 

Life as a young boy was exciting and at the 

same time very tough for me. My father was 

in the military and he was very strict. As it is 

with all military men, they are always 

disciplined. It's good to grow up in that type 

of setting as it prepares you for the future. 

The nine of us in the family, six boys and 

three girls were brought up in a disciplined 

way and it is reflecting in our life today. 

Though we hail from Kogi State, I grew up 

in Kaduna, where I attended Army Primary 

School and Sarduana Memorial Secondary 

School. 

CAREER BEGINNING 

After leaving secondary school, I joined 

Modrasa Academy, Kaduna. I actually didn't stay 

there long before moving over to Road Safety 

Football Club of Abuja which was playing in the 

National League. 

From there, I joined another NNL side, Mighty 

Jets Football Club. 

It was really tough for me then because we 

earned little money which didn't even come 

regularly. 

We just kept pushing hard and even though one 

is not there yet, there is remarkable difference in 

where I was then and where I am now. 

SECRET OF WIKKI TEAM 

One major thing working for us at Wikki 

Tourists is the fact that we don't have big 

names in the team. We all work together as 

a team and that has been the secret of our 

success. 

It's really disappointing that we couldn't 

pick a continental ticket last season despite 

all the efforts that we put in, but experience 

has really been helpful to us this time 

around. 

I hope we can win the title at the end of 

the season and emulate what Leicester City 

did in the English Premier League. 

The National League is more physical than the Premier 

League. This is good for my development though because it 

is not easy to move from a lower league to a top league like 

the NPFL. 

The many years of playing football on the streets 

have also prepared me for these challenges. We were 

trained at the academy to always be ready for 

whatever comes our way in future. 

I want to thank coach Abdu Maikaba and my team 

mates for helping me integrate fully into the team. 

I must also emphasise that the quality of officiating in 

the National League is very bad. It's something that 

football authorities in the country must work on. 

GOAL SCORING PROWESS 

Last season, I scored just five goals for Wikki 

Tourists, but I challenged myself do better this term. I 

have really worked very hard to get to this stage and I 

look forward to scoring more goals before the end of 

the season. 

Breaking Mfon Udoh's all time record (23 goals in a 

season) is a possibility and I will give it my best shot. 

TOUGHEST OPPONENT 

That has to be Obinna Nwokolo. I came up 

against him last season when we played against 

Taraba United. Though we ended up winning the 

game 2-1 and I also scored one of our goals, he 

really gave me a tough time in the game. 

Obinna is tall, strong and a tough tackling 

defender. I don't think I would ever like to play 

against him in future. 

ROLE MODEL 

My biggest inspiration is Sweden forward, Zlatan 

Ibrahimovic. He is one player I love so much and 

one that watching him play is always a joy to me. 

It is a good thing that people always compare me 

with him. My team mates also say I play like him.

Page 10 


Olympics 


Great Nigerian Heroes 

The Life & Times of Nigerian Former Football Stars with KAYODE OGUNDARE 

IKPEBA: 

NIGERIAN PRINCE OF MONACO 

VICTOR NOSA IKPEBA was one of the players that the great Pele of Brazil tipped for greatness in 

the game. He went on to win the prestigious African Footballer of the Year award, four medals in 

four AFCON appearances as well as a coveted Olympics gold medal… 

...As a Super Eagle

CELEBRATION OF 

2years 

ATLANTA GOLD MEDAL 

1996 – 2016 

FLASHBACK TO NIGERIA’S SOCCER GOLD MEDAL



Page 13 

t what point did you get 

Ainvolved with the team? 

I think it was after the first leg of the 

game against Egypt. The team had won 

with a slim 3-2 margin in Lagos and 

everybody knew the second leg was 

going to be a different ball game in 

Cairo and the then Secretary-General of 

the NFA Alhaji Sani Toro, a very 

wonderful man, felt that since there 

were still a lot of guys from the USA '94 

team who were still within the age 

group, it was necessary to bring us in to 

beef up the team so that we could have 

a chance in Cairo. 

Kanu, Tijani Babangida and a few of 

the other guys had been with the team 

but myself, Taribo West, Sunday Oliseh, 

Austin Okocha and a couple of others 

were drafted into the squad for the allimportant 

game. 

We had a fully Europe-based team but 

I won't deceive you by saying that it was 

easy against Egypt who were parading 

home-based players. It was a credit to 

how strong their league was that they 

put us on the back foot for most of the 

game and really punished us with 

relentless pressure from start to finish. 

The stadium was jam-packed with fans 

and their then President Hosni Mubarak 

was also in attendance. They scored and 

I got the equalizer which I consider one of 

my best goals, both for the beauty of the 

goal and its significance. I say it was 

significant because if we hadn't gotten 

that goal then we won't have qualified for 

the Olympics and we won't be talking 

about Atlanta today. 

Despite winning the final 

qualifying fixture home and away 

against Zimbabwe, many fans still 

doubted the ability of the Dream 

Team to go far at the Olympics, let 

alone winning the gold medal. The 

3-1 loss to Togo in a friendly match 

also didn't help matters. Did you 

also have such fears then? 

The Togo game was ill-timed and I 

think it was the NFA's reaction to the 

clamour that the team should play at 

least one friendly match before leaving 

for the USA. The game was hastily 

arranged, we had players just coming 

back from a hectic European season 

who were very tired and others who 

were already in holiday mood and 

definitely not ready for that match. 

We lost the game and people said all 

sorts of things against us, especially you 

media people but no, I didn't doubt the 

team's ability. I looked around and saw 

the kind of quality we had, players in 

first teams of top European teams like 

Ajax, Juventus, Monaco etc and I knew 

we could hold our own against any 

opposition. 

Secondly, the Togo game was just a 

mere friendly but we always attach too 

much importance to friendly games in 

this part of the world. They are just 

meant to measure a team's fitness and 

for the coaches to try out new players 

and new tactical formations so whether 

2 

L 

C 

E 

E 

BRATION OF 

years 


1996 – 2016 

results are good or bad, I don't attach 

too much to friendly games. 

When you finally arrived in the 

USA, what was the pre-tournament 

preparation like? 

It was okay. We played a lot of friendly 

games against several non-league sides 

and won all and then we faced the 

Olympic teams of Saudi Arabia and USA 

and also won. So we knew the team was 

taking shape, not because of those 

results but because we were getting 

used to each other and bonding as a 

team on and off the pitch. At the 

beginning there were petty squabbles 

here and there but as time went on, we 

put all of that behind us and became 

one big family. 

Preparing for the games were tough 

because the NFA complained they didn't 

have money so some of us who had the 

means had to bring out our credit cards 

to help the team. We hired mini-vans with 

our own money and I was one of the 

designated drivers of the vans taking us 

to and from trainings. It was hard but we 

chose to see the funny side of it because 

we wanted to achieve one aim in unity. 

Finally, the competition began. 

Can you talk us through the games? 

We started slowly against Hungary 

and I came on for Kanu after he had 

scored the only goal of the game. It 

wasn't a flying start but it is always good 

to win your first game. Up next were the 

Japanese and they proved tough 

customers but we eventually subdued 

them 2-0, again I came on for Kanu. Our 

KNOWS H OW WE 

BEAT BRA ZIL! 

final group game was against Brazil but 

we lost 1-0 and I was a second half 

substitute for Emmanuel Amuneke. We 

knew we didn't play to our best in that 

game and that was even more painful 

than the Brazilians winning. 

Quarter-finals was against Mexico and 

we won 2-0. It was our easiest match of 

the competition as we lost several 

chances. I even missed one golden 

opportunity when I came on for 

Babangida early in the second half. We 

were never really troubled in that game. 

Then you set up the historic rematch 

with Brazil again. Were you 

guys looking for revenge? 

No, not at all. We wanted to win the 

gold medal and we had to beat the 

Brazilians. That was the first thing. If 

beating them now translated to revenge, 

better for us. But we never bargained for 

what we encountered. The Brazilians 

were all over us and before you knew 

what was happening, we were trailing 3- 

1. But in the second half things turned 

in our favour after all. Everything that 

could go wrong had already gone wrong. 

Okocha missed a penalty, we missed 

scoring chances and the Brazilians were 

unrelenting. 

At half-time, the coach told me I was 

going on to replace Amuneke but things 

didn't immediately improve for us until 

the last 15 minutes when I scored one 

goal to make it 3-2 before Kanu drew us 

level with that cheeky goal. Then Wilson 

Oruma's long ball forward hit me on the 

back and was diverted into the path of 

Kanu who scored in injury time with a 

truly golden goal. I started the final as 

we won the gold medal in what was 

Africa's finest hour. 

Now, 20 years after, I still replay the 

Brazil game in my mind. Only God knows 

how we beat them. If we had replayed 

that game the second day, they could 

have beaten us silly but all the elements 

were just in our favour. We were united, 

determined and lucky. Those three are 

important in every game. 

You've won a lot of accolades in 

your career, Victor. Where will your 

Olympic medal rate in your list of 

achievements? 

Definitely at the top of the pile! The 

Olympic, because it's a multi-sports 

competition, is very special and my 

medal occupies a special place in my 

heart. It also occupies a special place in 

my house as I look at it each time I feel 

down and my spirit is lifted. 

I know you were happy winning 

the Olympic gold but do you have 

any regrets about that competition? 

The only regret I have is that our 

heroes have not been treated well and 

I'm not talking about the Atlanta team 

alone. Because what we achieved in 

Atlanta was an historic first for Africa, 

you will expect that the event would be 

celebrated more than it is now. I didn't 

hear about any 10th anniversary of that 

event and, if not for what your 

organization is doing, I'm not sure the 

government has plans to mark the 20th 

anniversary. Look at the Golden Eaglets 

of 1985 who won the first ever U-17 

tournament. You'll expect that the 

occasion will be celebrated and the 

stories told to generations yet unborn of 

that historic moment in 1985 when 

some young Nigerian kids did the black 

race proud in China. 

IKPEBA: ONL Y GOD 

KANU: THE WORLD WILL NEVER FORGET 

WHAT WE ACHIEVED IN ATLANTA 

aptain of the Nigerian 

CU-23 team to the 

Atlanta 1998 Olympics 

cast an eye back to that epic 

moment 20 years ago when 

time practically stood still 

as the rest of humanity 

saluted the courage, talent 

and determination of 21 

brave Nigerian lads who 

beat all-comers to claim an 

historic first-ever football 

gold medal for Africa and 

solemnly declares: “The 

world will never forget what 

we achieved in Atlanta. It 

was a precious moment, 

frozen in time.” 

Kanu, who had just 

concluded a deal to move to 

Inter Milan from Dutch 

champions Ajax Amsterdam 

prior to the Olympics, was 

instrumental in the victory and 

emerged Nigeria's top scorer 

with three goals with his brace 

in the dramatic 4-3 semi-final 

win over Brazil still being talked 

about two decades after. 

The gangling attacker opened 

Nigeria's goal account with the 

lone strike in the group opener 

against Hungary but fired 

blanks in the next three games 

as Nigeria overcame Japan, lost 

to Brazil and defeated Mexico to 

set up a re-match with Brazil 

which had won their group 

encounter. 

The Nigerians swore revenge 

but fell behind inside the first 

minute and by the 38th minute 

were trailing 3-1. With 12 

minutes to go, Victor Ikpeba 

pulled one back and on the dot 

of full time, it was Kanu who 

pulled the chestnut out of the 

fire, his cheeky punt going 

through the flailing hands of 

goalkeeper Dida. Four minutes 

into extra time, the Nigerian 

captain completed a 

remarkable comeback when he 

shot low into the Brazilian net to 

win the game and book a firstever 

final appearance for an 

African team. 

The rest, as they say is history 

but Kanu, arguably Nigeria's 

most-decorated player of all 

time rates his Olympic medal 

ahead of any other title he won 

in his career. 

“Atlanta is Atlanta and will 

never, not for Kanu alone but 

for Nigerians and all of Africa, 

be forgotten easily. It is 

something you cannot equate 

with any other achievement. No 

matter what I do or become 

tomorrow, no matter what else I 

achieved in the past, nothing can 

equate with my Olympic gold 

medal. It was the peak of my 

career achievements and it will 

remain indelible in my memory for 

as long as I live.” 

For someone who won the U-17 

World Cup, UEFA Champions 

League, African Footballer of the 

Year, Premier League title, English 

FA Cup among others, the 

Olympic gold must truly be 

golden. 


2years 


1996 – 2016

ATRICK PASCAL, one of four 

players in the 

Palternate 

DREAM TEAM's march to gold 

in Atlanta was also one of only two 

outfield home-based players in the 

team. The then 3SC utility player 

who later played in Europe shortly 

after took a trip down memory lane 

to recall the U-23 Eagles route to 

victory 20 years ago in this 

interview with KAYODE 

OGUNDARE… 

How did you get invited to the team? 

I can say I was a foundation member of 

the team because we were the players 

who played at the 1995 All Africa Games 

in Harare Zimbabwe under coach Willy 

Bazuaye. We won bronze medal at that 

competition and formed the nucleus of 

the U-23 team which played the African 

qualifiers of the 1996 Olympics. 

When the qualifiers started and we 

played 0-0 against Kenya in Lagos, the 

NFA drafted foreign-based professionals 

like Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Okocha, 

Celestine Babayaro, Taribo West and 

others to beef up the team. We went to 

Kenya for the return leg and in the match 

tagged the 'battle of Mombasa', we 

walloped the Kenyans 3-0. I guess that 

was the origin of the tag 'Dream Team' 

giving the kind of talents in the team. 

Despite the presence of these star 

players, I retained my place in the team 

even though I was an home-based player. 

I was with 3SC of Ibadan and we were 

actually the best team in the country at 

that time. Abiodun Baruwa, my 

teammate, was also in the team. 

Ndubuisi Ndah, captain of Enugu 

Rangers, was one other home-based 

player who finally made the team to 

Atlanta. 

How was preparation like after 

qualifying? 

We camped in Enugu and the training 

was intense as everybody tried to justify 

their inclusion in the team. The presence 

of the foreign-based players also upped 

the competition and everybody really 

gave their best to be in the team. Then 

Bonfrere Jo was also drafted to the team 

from the Super Eagles so, effectively, we 

were the senior national team of Nigeria 

because if you check, with the exception 

of one or two players missing, the Atlanta 

team became our Super Eagles for the 

next few years. 

The 3-1 friendly loss to Togo 

created a lot of doubt in the minds of 

the fans and the media. Did you also 

share the belief at that time that 


2years 


1996 – 2016 

maybe the team was not good 

enough? 

The players were unruffled because 

we knew Togo was not playing in the 

Olympics and while it is good to do well 

in friendly games, it is not a do-or-die 

affair. The fans may be worried and the 

media could create doubt about the 

team's chances but the most important 

thing was self-belief and we had that 

aplenty. We knew what we are capable 

of doing when the chips are down. We 

were like soldiers. We knew what was at 

stake and we knew when to get down to 

business. So, to answer your question, 

we were not worried. 


And how was the pre-tournament 

camping in the USA? 

It was far from ideal. Fortunately, 

winning the gold medal covered up a lot 

of inadequacies that we faced. There 

was no money. Most times we came back 

from training sessions to find out that we 

had been locked out of our hotel rooms 

because of unpaid bills. I remember once 

when we didn't even have training kits 

but the players' resolved to make sure 

that Nigeria was not disgraced saw us 

through. There was no means of 

transport to and from trainings. It was 

some of the foreign-based professionals 

who were using their credit cards to 

make purchases for us. 

Judging by the preparations or the 


ROAD TO SUCCESS IN ATLANTA 

WAS ROUGH –PATRICK PASCAL 

lack of it, nobody thought we could reach 

the medals zone. Nobody complained 

outwardly even though we were having a 

rough time. We were united in our 

determination to write our names in gold 

so we set aside all the petty distractions. 

Okay. When the competition 

started, at what point did you start 

to believe Nigeria could actually win 

it? 

In Atlanta, myself, Baruwa, Ndah and 

Jonathan Akpoborie were registered as 

alternate players which means that we 

can only be registered to play if anyone in 

the first 18 got injured and couldn't 

continue in the competition. However we 

were all together in camp until Akpoborie 

Page 15 

decided to return to his German club. The 

team had self-belief as most of the 

players had already made their debut for 

the Super Eagles and the talent in the 

team was just awesome. 

We were not cocky but we improved 

with each passing game and by the time 

we won our quarter-final game against 

Mexico, I think the thought crept into the 

players mind that a medal was possible. 

The Brazil match was one that 

generated a lot of emotions and 

reactions. What are your thoughts 

about that game? 

I still consider our winning that game 

as nothing short of a miracle. A lot of 

things conspired in our favour. Any other 

day, any other team, with Brazil leading 3- 

1 at half-time you know it's all over. We 

played well but we also had lucky breaks. 

Don't forget that Brazil scored what I still 

considered a perfectly valid goal but 

which the referee ruled out. If that goal 

had stood it would have made our job of 

coming back more difficult. Then we 

missed a penalty and then Kanu went on 

to score on the dot of 90 minutes to tie 

the game. 

Also remember that Brazil coach 

substituted Ronaldo and that was a big 

boost for us because we all knew what 

his mere presence on the pitch meant. 

After the final game against 

Argentina, how did you feel knowing 

that you guys were champions and 

that Nigeria became the first African 

country to win Olympic gold? 

For me, it didn't sink in until we got a 

call from the then head of state Gen Sani 

Abacha to personally congratulate the 

players on the feat. He spoke to us one 

after the other and that's when I realized 

that it was something great. And then 

when we came back a grand reception 

was orgasnised for the team. We got one 

million naira each as well as national 

honour of Member of Order of the Niger 

(MON). Besides, some states gave their 

indigenes lands while some had streets 

named after them. 

What does your Olympic gold mean 

to you? 

Being Olympic champion is something 

special. Winning Africa's first Olympic 

football gold medal is extra special. Being 

a part of this group makes me feel 

blessed beyond measure and I remain 

thankful to those who gave me the 

opportunity and grateful to God for 

counting me worthy. 

I STILL HAVE GOOSE 

BUMPS 20 YEARS 

AFTER – GARBA LAWAL 

ow did your invitation to the U-23 

Hteam come about? 

I had moved from Julius Berger to 

Esperance of Tunisia in November 1994 

and thus missed the FA Cup final 

against BCC Lions. I played the semifinals 

in which I scored twice against 

Rangers and I was looking forward to 

playing and winning the final but the 

deal went through much more quickly 

than I thought it would. 

The U-23 team had narrowly defeated 

Egypt 3-2 in the first leg second round of 

the qualifying series for the Olympics so 

the NFA's Secretary-General Alhaji Sani 

Toro insisted that the return leg in Cairo 

must be prosecuted by foreign-based 

professionals and that was how I was 

invited alongside some Europe-based 

players like Austin Okocha, Teslim 

Fatusi, Victor Ikpeba, Tijani Babangida, 

Taribo West, Celestine Babayaro etc. 

We held Egypt to a 1-1 draw in Cairo 

and qualified for the final round 4-3 

aggregate. I was also in the team that 

defeated Zimbabwe 2-0 aggregate home 

and away in the final qualifying round. 

Apparently I did enough in those 

qualifying games to get a place in the 

final selection. 

What was preparation like for the 

Olympics? 

We were camped in Enugu for about 

one month. Luckily it was during the 

summer break so we had the full 

complement of our invited Europe-based 

players all together in camp. After the 

camping, the Federation officials 

insisted that we must play a friendly 


2years 


1996 – 2 016 

match so that Nigerians could assess the 

readiness of the team. That was how a 

friendly game was hurriedly arranged 

with Togo which we lost 3-1 and that 

didn't help us at all as those who 

doubted the teams ability had enough 

ammunition to criticize. 

Talking about the loss to Togo, that 

must have been a very low point for the 

team. Surely that affected self-belief in 

your ability to make an impact at the 

Olympics if you couldn't beat 'ordinary' 

Togo? 

On the contrary, I think coach 

Johannes Bonfrere used the game to test 

some players that he hadn't decided on 

before. Besides, we were not prepared 

for that game as some of the players 

even came to have a nice time and not to 

play a match. It was obvious the guys 

that played lacked fitness and that was 

what the coach wanted to see. There was 

uproar after the game but luckily we 

travelled out to the United States that 

same night so we escaped a backlash 

from the media. 

And how was the camping in the 

United States like? 

Ha, we had very intensive training when 

we got to the US, more than what we did 

in Nigeria. The first inkling that we were in 

America for serious business was that, 

barely 30 minutes after we landed in the 

US, Bonfrere ordered everybody to kit up 

and get ready for training. What! We just 

got off a seven-hour flight, we complained 

but he wasn't having any of that. The 

training was grueling but we needed to 

prove some people back home wrong that 

we were not good enough to win anything. 

We camped in Tallahasee, Florida and 

played lots of friendly games with some 

minor teams which we won with big 7-0, 

8-0 margins. Then we played against the 

USA and Saudi Arabian Olympic teams 

and also defeated them but I can't 

remember the exact scores. By then we 

felt we were ready for the competition. 

Don't forget the foundation of the team 

was from the generation of 1994 with 

some of us that came on the scene in 

1995 so it was for a reason that we were 

call the Dream Team and we needed to 

justify that tag. 

Good. Now can you talk us through the 

matches once the competition got 

underway? 

Yeah, our first match was against 

Hungary and we won 1-0. The match was 

difficult probably because we were tensed 

at the beginning but as the game went on 

we got our confidence and played some 

delightful football towards the end of the 

game. I came in as a substitute for 

Emmanuel Amuneke in the 76th minute. 

The second game was against Japan 

which ended 2-0 in our favour. The goals 

came very late but we did enough to 

ensure that we reached the quarter-finals. 

Again I came on for Amuneke in the 

second half. 

The final group game was against Brazil 

and we were really fired up because even 

though we had qualified, Nigeria had 

history with Brazil from previous 

competitions so we wanted to ensure that 

we beat them. It was more for pride than 

points. 

Celestine Babayaro was suspended for 

that match so Abiodun Obafemi, a natural 

central defender, was drafted to left fullback 

but he wasn't doing too well so at 

half-time Bonfrere told me to warm up as I 

was going to go in to replace Obafemi at 

left back. I was an attacking player and I 

had never played in defence before, not 

even in training. I panicked and called late 

coach Abdullahi to one side to complain 

that I'm not a defender but he encouraged 

me to just go in and do my best. 

I came on for Obafemi in the first minute 

of the second-half and helped to stop the 

Brazilians from doing further damage. As a 

matter of fact, we got stronger and pushed 

forward and we could have equalized or 

even gone on to win with a slice of luck. We 

lost 1-0 courtesy of Ronaldo de Lima's first 

half goal. 

You were in the quarter-finals, which 

no Nigerian team before you had ever 

managed to cross. Did you have any 

sense of achievement at that stage? 

Of course not! There are no medals for 

reaching the quarter-finals so we didn't 

feel we had achieved anything yet. The 

quarter-final was against Mexico. 

Babayaro was back to his position and I, 

as usual, came in for Amuneke again in 

the second half as we won 2-0 to reach 

the semi-final where we were to meet 

Brazil again. 

In the game against Mexico, Sunday 

Oliseh who had been one of our most 

outstanding players was sent-off for two 

yellow cards which means he was going to 

miss the semi-final. He called me aside 

and told me I may have to play in his 

position in defensive midfield. I was an 

attacking midfielder and I never saw 

myself with any defensive quality but 

Oliseh psyched me up that I could do it. 

Later, Bonfrere also called me to his room 

and told me the same thing. He said I was 

going to be playing with Austin Okocha in 

the middle but that while I give Okocha 

the freedom to go forward, I should never 

forget my role in the centre of midfield. 

So, as the game progressed, I naturally 

drifted upfront but always managed to 

catch myself just in time to get back in 

line. Yet, at half-time we were trailing 3-1 

and appeared heading for elimination. 

So what exactly went on in the 

dressing room at half-time? What 

special motivation did the coach give 

you guys that spurred you to come out 

fighting? 

You won't believe it but the strangest 

thing happened in the dressing room. 

Bonfrere looked at us and said if Brazil 

could score three goals in 45 minutes, we 

are also good enough to do the same. He 

then took a cup of coffee and sat down. 

The senior players then took over to give 

pep talk but I didn't see one player in the 

room who felt we had lost the game. 

Everybody was still fired up that we could 

save the day.

Page 16 

NIGERIA entered the 

qualification series for the 

Tokyo '64 Olympics in Japan but got 

knocked out by Morocco. The Green Eagles 

started brightly with a 3-0 win at home but 

lost the return fixture 4-1 to the Atlas Lions 

who went ahead to represent Africa at the 

games. 

In Japan, the North Africans lost their two 

games 6-0 to eventual gold medal winners 

Hungary and 3-1 to Yugoslavia 

NIGERIA finally debuted 

at the football event of the 

Olympics after nicking one of the slots 

reserved for Africa with fellow West 

Africans Ghana and Guinea also going to 

the party. 

At the competition proper, the Green 

Eagles opened their account with a 3-1 loss 

to Japan, Sam Okoye's 33rd minute 

equalizer briefly given the Nigerians hope of 

a fightback but Kunishige Kumamoto's late 

brace in the 72nd and 89th minutes 

completed his hattrick and a 

comprehensive win for the Asians. 

Another 3-0 loss to Spain, Antonio 

Grande's second half brace adding to 

Fernando Ortuno's opener, effectively 

knocked Nigeria out of the competition but 

they still had Brazil to play and the Eagles 

exited Mexico in style. 

Nigeria reserved her best performance for 

last with a thrilling 3-3 draw after racing to a 

three-nil first half lead through Kenneth 

Olayombo's brace and another by Peter 

Aneke. The South Americans clawed back to 

pull level, helped largely by Segun 

Olumodeji's own goal either side of 

Fernando Fereti and Tiao's goals. 

Beaten but not bowed, Nigeria took more 

positives than negatives away from their 

debut performance. 

NIGERIA missed out on 

the trip to Germany with 

Morocco, Ghana and Sudan claiming the 

three tickets. Of the lot, only Morocco 

advanced beyond the first round before 

crashing to three straight 

defeats in the second round. 

THE Green Eagles 

qualified for the football event 

of 

the 1976 Olympics in Canada but led fellow 

qualifiers Ghana and Zambia in a 

withdrawal from the games for political 

reasons, citing New Zealand's tour of 

Apartheid South Africa. 

Thus was lost what could have probably 

being Nigeria's first real attempt at winning 

an Olympic medal. 

THE Green Eagles, fresh 

from winning a first AFCON 

title on home soil, travelled to the former 

USSR with high hopes of bringing back a 

football medal to reflect their new status 

as African champions but their results in 

three games were underwhelming. 

A 3-1 loss to Kuwait (Mahboub 

Mubarak's own goal was Nigeria's only 

strike) was followed by a 1-1 draw with 

Czechoslovakia with Henry Nwosu drawing 

the Eagles level after trailing for most of 

the game before they finally crashed 1-0 to 

Colombia. 

Again, Nigeria went back home with a 

solitary point and still in search of a first win 

at the games. 

NIGERIA was not 

represented at the football 

event of the Olympics. The African 

contingent was remarkable because, for the 

first time, all three won at least one match 

before exiting the competition. Cameroun 

and Morocco both placed third in their 

groups while Egypt qualified for the next 

round behind its group leaders Italy. The 

Pharaohs bowed out 2-0 to France in the 

quarter-finals. 

THE GREEN Eagles were 

back in the medals-hunt at 

South Korea after missing the party in the 

USA four years before but it was fellow 

African qualifiers Zambia which grabbed all 

the headlines with a comprehensive 4-0 win 

over almighty Italy which had won the FIFA 

World Cup six years before. 


Olympics 

Nigeria lost her opening game 4-0 to 

Brazil, followed by another 3-1 loss to 

Yugoslavia (the late Rashidi Yekini got 

Nigeria's consolation goal) before bowing 

out with another 1-0 setback to Australia. 

Despite high hopes, Nigeria returned from 

Seoul without a point, for the first time 

since 1968. 

AGAIN Nigeria was 

missing as a change in the 

Olympic rules saw participation in the 

football event restricted to players under 

the age of 23 for the first time. Ghana, 

Egypt and Morocco flew Africa's flag but it 

was the Ghanaians who went all the way to 

the semi-finals, equaling Egypt's record set 

at the 1964 event in Tokyo. 

However, while the Egyptians lost their 

third-place classification match 3-1 to East 

Germany, the Ghanaians went one better 

and defeated Australia 1-0 to claim bronze, 

Africa's first medal in the event. 

AFRICA'S finest hour 

finally arrived in the United 

States of America when the Nigerian lads 

mounted the rostrum at the Sanford 

Stadium in Athens, Georgia on August 3, 

1996 to collect the continent's first ever 

gold medal in the football event in the 100 

years history of the Olympics. 

The U-23 team, now christened 'Dream 

Team' by the local media, kicked off their 

campaign with a not-too impressive 1-0 win 

over Hungary before beating Japan 2-0. A 1- 

0 loss to Brazil ensured the Nigerians 

finished second to set up a quarter-final 

date with Mexico which they won 2-0. The 

semi-final was a rematch with Brazil but, 

this time, the Dream Team won a dramatic 


From Mexico '68 – London 2012: Nigeria's score card at the Olympics 

TOKYO 1964 

MEXICO 1968 

MUNICH 1972 

MONTREAL 1976 

Beijing 2008: The Silver-winning squad 

pose with Argentina legend Diego Maradona. 

IGERIA became the fifth African country – after Egypt, 

NTunisia, Morocco and Ghana - to qualify for the football 

event of the Olympics when they attended the Mexico 

1968 edition. Between then and now, Nigeria has become the 

most successful team at the Olympics with one gold and one 

silver and are set to further extend the record with another 

appearance at the Rio Olympics in Brazil. 

KAYODE OGUNDARE traces the participation of Nigeria at the 

football event of the Olympics from 1968 – when the country 

debuted – to the last edition held in London. 

MOSCOW 1980 

LOS ANGELES 1984 

SEOUL 1988 

BARCELONA 1992 

ATLANTA 1996 

tie 4-3 with two late goals from Kanu 

Nwankwo. In the final match, they defeated 

Argentina 3-2 to win Africa's first Olympic 

football gold medal. 

SYDNEY 2000 

AGAINST the grain of 

expectations, Nigeria failed to 

defend the gold medal it won four years 

earlier but Cameroun kept the continent's 

flag flying by beating Spain in a penalty 

shoot-out to keep the title in Africa for 

another four years. 

The U-23 began the competition with a 3- 

3 draw against Honduras, requiring an 

added-time goal from Yakubu Aiyegbeni to 

draw level after going behind. Bright 

Igbinadolor and Victor Agali were the other 

scorers on the day. Next up were the 

Australians who fell 3-2 before being forced 

to a 1-1 draw by Italy to book a quarter-final 

date with Chile. 

The Chileans, inspired by the legendary 

Ivan Zamorano, raced into a four-nil lead 

and Victor Agali's solitary goal 14minutes 

from time was scant consolation. 

ATHENS 2004 

NIGERIA was once 

again missing from the 

foo 

tball event after failing to beat Tunisia in the 

final qualifying round. Without Nigeria and 

Cameroun, winners of the previous two 

editions, Africa was represented by Ghana, 

Mali, Tunisia and Morocco. 

Of the lot, only Mali advanced from the 

group stages but they were eliminated in 

the quarter-finals after losing 1-0 to Italy to 

end Africa's hope of a third straight winners' 

medal. 

BEIJING 2008 

AFTER the disappointment 

of 2004, Nigeria's U-23 

qualified ahead of time for Beijing with 

respected coach Samson Siasia in charge 

after taking the U-20 side to the finals of 

the FIFA World Youth Championships three 

years earlier. 

They started with a 0-0 draw with the 

Netherlands, defeated Japan and USA with 

identical 2-1 wins and beat fellow Africans 

Cote d'Ivoire 2-0 in the quarters. The 

Nigerian lads tore Belgium to shreds for a 4- 

1 victory to reach the final and set up a 

rematch of the 1996 final against 

Argentina. 

However, unlike it happened 12 years 

earlier, it was the Argentines who ran away 

with a slim 1-0 win to leave Nigeria with a 

consolatory silver medal. 

Seoul 1988: Rashidi Yekini scored Nigeria’s 

only goal at the Olympics in South Korea.

Complete Football Special

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