The amazing story of Nigeria’s Olympic dream team
Dream team one was led by Dutchman Johannes Bonfrere and started their way to the final with a 1-0 win over Hungary and a 2-0 win over Japan before completing the first round with a 1-0 loss to Brazilian entrepreneurs. Then the Africans closed out Mexico, led by eccentric goalkeeper Jorge Campos, 2-0, in the quarterfinals to set up an incredible pair of matches.
Losing in the semi-finals to a formidable Brazilian team that boasted of Bebeto, Ronaldo and Rivaldo, 3-1, Nigeria finally woke up in the 78th minute when Victor Ikpeba scored from 20 meters. As time ran out, the inspiring Captain Nwankwo Kanu took center stage, scoring in a fight in front of goal in the last minute to equalize. With just three minutes to go, Kanu shot the game winner home from 16 meters to complete one of the biggest comebacks in international soccer history in what many observers felt was the best Olympic soccer game ever played.
Later, the Dream Team came forward to stage another miraculous comeback against Argentina in the gold medal match in front of 86,117 spectators at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. At the end of 90 minutes of passionate football, Nigeria triumphed over Argentina.
The Argentines held a 2-1 lead with goals from Claudio López, who scored with a good header in the third minute and Hernán Crespo in the 50th minute of play with a penalty. The resilient Dream team one came back strong in the game and tied in the 74th minute of play when forward Daniel Amokachi scored the decisive goal. With one minute to go, super substitute Emmanuel Amuneke scored the winning goal to give Nigeria a famous 3-2 victory.
It was a momentous day in Nigerian soccer history, as the international soccer community celebrated a rare feat for an African team.
Dream team two
With the achievement of Dream Team I in Atlanta 1996, the pressure was on Dream Team 2 to perform up to expectations at the 2000 Olympic Games in the beautiful city of Sydney in Australia.
The team did not lack quality players, as they had in their fold: Victor Agali, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Garba Lawal and Celestine Babayaro, but sadly, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals. In their first match, Dream team two drew 3-3 with Honduras, before defeating Australia 3-2 in their second match. They drew 1-1 with Italy to prepare for a fascinating quarter-final clash with Chile. It was a match that exposed the inadequacy of Dream Team Two, as they were humiliated 4-1 by an inspired Chilean team.
Nigeria Dream Team Three dreams never last forever
The dream died in 2004, when the Nigerian Olympic soccer team then known as: Dream Three Team, failed to climb through the African qualifiers. Tunisia qualified for Athens 2004 at the expense of the Nigeria Dream three team with an embarrassing 2-0 loss to Nigeria in the final match of the group stage in Tunisia. The team that also represented the country in the eighth edition of the African Games hosted by Nigeria made their way to the final of the soccer event, but lost to Cameroon 2-0 at the ultra-modern Abuja National Stadium.
Dream Team Four: the rebirth of the Nigerian Olympic team
The dream was rekindled in 2008, when a group of talented footballers who were descendants of the U-20 team that collected silver medals at the World Junior Championships in Holland in 2005, stormed Beijing for the Olympic soccer tournament. Coach Samson Siasia, one of Nigeria’s best youth coaches, led them to the Olympics. Along with heavyweights like the Netherlands, Japan and the United States in Group B, the Dream Team Four began their Olympic soccer campaign with a sterile 0-0 draw with the Netherlands, before rallying to record a 2-1 morale victory. about Japan. They confirmed their superiority in the group with another 2-1 victory over the United States. Ivory Coast fell en route to coach Samson Siasia in the quarterfinals as they suffered a 2-0 defeat.
The semi-final pair saw the best outing of the Dream Team Four, as they faced an unfortunate Belgian team who desperately tried to contain the Nigerians. The match ended 4-1 in favor of Nigeria, and once again the die was cast for a tantalizing encounter between Nigeria and archrival Argentina. It was a repeat of the 2005 U-20 World Cup held in the Netherlands, as the main players were still very much present on both sides. Revenge was what the Nigerians sang, and they had to face diminutive Lionel Messi in his quest to win Olympic gold in soccer for the second time since 1996. It was a close match that was decided by a single goal scored in the 58th minute. game of Angel Di Maria from Argentina. Dream Team Four had to play a secondary role again against an experienced Argentine team, as they lost the epic match 1-0.
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