The captain of the Nigerian Dream Team VI and Chelsea star player, John Obi Mikel, has revealed that he does not want to return to his club without an Olympic Games gold medal, and vowed to delay his return to his EPL club side after helping Nigeria to reach men’s football semi-final against Germany in Sao Paulo on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old Obi, who scored the opener in the 2-0 quarterfinal win over Denmark in Salvador on Aug. 13, vowed that he was determined to have the Games gold to declare in his luggage.
“We are ready to die to wrestle the Olympic Gold. I hope to go back to Chelsea as the Olympic champion. That is my aim. “I came out here to do my best to help the team with the gold medal. That has always been my objective. It’s my aim and the players all want the same.
When you have a group of players all wanting to achieve the same thing, hopefully it will go well at the end. “Hopefully, the semi-final will go well on Wednesday and then we will be in the final and win the gold medal," he said. Mikel reckons that his team has already defied the odds in reaching the last four.
“It was a bit frustrating coming down here, but while we were in Atlanta we knew that we had a good shot at getting to the final or winning the tournament. “With the problems we have had getting to this stage, it is just absolutely amazing and we just have to keep going," he added.
Meanwhile, Coach Samson Siasia said he was confident that his boys would deliver. “The dream is a gold medal. This vital possession I want. I know all my boys want this as well.
George Aluo, the Sports Editor of the Sun Newspaper, in Brazil covering the Games, said; “I am confident the Dream Team will prevail. They have Olympic Games’ soccer pedigree. That is what has seen them through to this stage.
“I have seen that Nigerian spirit of rising to occasion when a challenge presents itself, especially the many obstacles that have dogged their getting to this stage. They are fired up now. They have a way of dismantling big soccer nations. “I see a Nigeria-Brazil finals and it will be a good advertisement for World football,’’
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