Tag Archives: Rio 2016

Bronze Medal Not Good Enough For Nigeria – Aminu Maigari

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Immediate past president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Aminu Maigari, has expressed disappointment over the outing of the Team Nigeria athletes, stressing that he was not impressed with the bronze medal from the U-23 national team.

 

Answering questions from his base in Bauchi State, the former Glass House boss said the Dream Team VI however deserved some commendations for saving the country from a disgraceful outing.

 

Asked if he was impressed with the U-23 performance in Rio, he replied: “Winning bronze medal is certainly not good enough for a country like Nigeria that has built a strong reputation. We all know that there are many things that went wrong starting from the pre-tournament preparations like the camping of the players to the lack of motivation.

 

Based on what we have read and seen in the media, the performance was not enough. It should not be in our character to accept and settle for bronze medal in a big tournament of this magnitude especially when it comes to sports and soccer which is source of unity for this country.

 

“However, I want to say that the Dream Team VI deserve commendations because despite all they passed through including locking them out of the hotel in Atlanta USA to the abandonment at the airport yet they did what they did to bail out the country,” he said.

Maigari equally commented on what had become a general impression that everything is going wrong with Nigerian football, admitting that he was as confused as every other soccer-loving Nigeria.

 

His words: “I am as confused as what is happening to Nigerian football just as every other Nigerian. It is really unfortunate that we found ourselves in this situation. I have tried to know if the administrators, players or even the media should be blamed.”

 

“I have tried to put what is happening now side by side with what happened during my regime when we participated and won almost virtually all the tournaments we participated. However, what is obvious is that the structures are not just there now.”

 

“We also have to admit that the quest for power is more pronounced now than before. Everybody is just desperate for power now and that is why there is power tussle. The option left for us is to put our heads together as stakeholders and football family to find the solution to the problems,” he noted.

#Rio2016 Flames Out As Tokyo Takes Baton

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The Rio Olympics ended in a blaze of colour with an exuberant closing ceremony on Sunday as Tokyo took up the baton promising to host the best Games yet in 2020.

After a rollercoaster fortnight which mixed off-field hitches with compelling sporting drama, Olympics chief Thomas Bach hailed a “marvellous” Games in the Brazilian city.

“These were marvellous Olympic Games in the marvellous city!” said Bach, as he declared the Games closed and the Olympic flame was extinguished.“These Olympic Games are leaving a unique legacy for generations to come. History will talk about a Rio de Janeiro before and a much better Rio de Janeiro after the Olympic Games.”

Just a few hours earlier, the United States basketball squad won the last gold of the Games, boosting their country’s place on top of the medals table.

At the closing ceremony, thousands of fans and athletes donned ponchos on a wet and windy night for a colourful festival of Brazilian culture and music with bursts of spectacular fireworks.

Smiling and waving athletes danced into the Maracana stadium taking selfies as Rio’s 16-day Summer Games closed ahead of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a comical cameo as Nintendo video game character Super Mario as Tokyo set out its stall for 2020.

Read More:

http://guardian.ng/sport/rio-2016-flames-out-as-tokyo-takes-baton/

Rio Olympics: We Didn’t Play Well Against Germany – Mikel

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Nigeria U-23 skipper, Mikel Obi, has admitted that his team mates didn’t play well in Wednesday’s Olympics football semi final clash against Germany in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

 

With the Nigerians missing the services of two key players in the shape of Oghenekaro Etebo and Azubuike Okechukwu, the Dream Team struggled against the Europeans, first conceding early in the first half, before Nils Petersen grabbed a second goal with one minute remaining.

“I wanted to win the gold medal, but the fact is that we did not play well today (Wednesday). The Germans played well,” the Chelsea midfielder was quoted as saying at the press conference.”

 

“We are professionals, we can now claim third place and this is what we get. We want to give a medal to Nigeria.”

RIO 2016: “Stay Away From Us”, Dream Team Tells Dalung.

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The Nigerian U-23 team at the Olympics holding in Brazil has warned the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung to stay away from the team.

The players whose next match puts them up against Germany in the Semi-Finals of the competition noted that the Sports Minister is a distraction to the team and hence his visits to the camp is unnecessary.

According to reports, the team warned the Sports Minister and his delegation against coming anywhere close to the dressing room before and during the match.

One of the top players in the team on Monday night said: “We are set for the semi final clash with Germany.

“We have perfected our game plan to qualify for the final and win the gold medal for Nigeria like our 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games colleagues”.