Amuneke: Nigeria can repeat 1996 heroics

When the Olympic Men’s Football Tournament kicks off later this year in Rio de Janeiro, Nigeria’s football mad supporters will be anxious for their side to emulate the memorable success of the original Nigerian ‘Dream Team’. It was 20 years ago this summer that a renowned Nigerian team stunned Argentina 3-2 in the 1996 final in front of almost 90,000 people near Atlanta to become the first African football nation to win Olympic gold. The winning goal was scored by Emmanuel Amuneke, who came on in the 72nd minute. It was a life-changing moment for the striker, who at the time was contracted to Sporting Lisbon. “Before going to the Olympics, there was an agreement with Barcelona, but I was struggling with injury, so there were doubts about my ability,” Amuneke recalled in an interview with FIFA.com. “But after the Olympics, Barcelona picked up their interest again, and I eventually moved there. The impact I made in Atlanta allowed people to see that this guy is a good player and you can count on him.”

Making golden memories Although they had made waves at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, which was also in the USA, little was expected of the west Africans, who were drawn into a tough group in the 16-team tournament, with favourites Brazil among their opponents. Victories against Japan and Hungary were enough to send the team into the knockout rounds despite a 1-0 defeat to A Selecao. In the quarter-final, the Nigerians impressively defeated Mexico 2-0 with goals from Jay-Jay Okocha and Celestine Babayaro to set up a rematch …

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