Head Coach of the Nigeria Olympic team, Samson Siasia has appointed Chelsea midfield ace John Mikel Obi as captain of the team going into the men’s football tournament of the 31st Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Making the announcement on Saturday while meeting with players and other officials, Coach Siasia said the choice of Mikel Obi was automatic, seeing as he was captain of the Super Eagles and Nigeria’s contingent to the Games.
“It’s just natural for me to pick Mikel as our captain. Aside the fact that he is the captain of the Super Eagles, he is also Team Nigeria’s captain. So, after meeting with both of them and explaining my position, I am pleased to say Azubuike who has been our captain understood and was happy to hand over the captain’s band to Mikel.
“It is a thing of joy for my team to produce the first footballer to captain Team Nigeria to the Olympics. This, to me, is beyond gratifying.”
The players unanimously accepted Mikel Obi as their captain and expressed delight at the role he has been playing since he joined the team.
On his part, the new skipper expressed joy at being made the captain of the Dream Team and said he saw it as an honour that must yield results at the Olympics.
Meanwhile, the Dream Team VI would now depart Atlanta, United States of America, for Brazil, today, August 1. The Nigeria Football Federation may charter a private plane to take the whole team directly to Manaus, venue of the team’s first match.
credit: leadership