As expected Argentina took home gold in what turned out to be a pretty close Olympic final against Nigeria. Sure, I got it right and yes, I was rather saddened – like any die-hard Nigeria supporter – yet I came away from this experience with a tremendous amount of pride.
Argentina, with all the star players and the big reputation, were expected to see off a relatively less accomplished Nigeria team with minimum fuss. Yet, the Nigerians gave a performance worthy of champions, matching their counterparts all the way and only succumbing to one moment of madness on the part of the hitherto reliable shot-stopper Ambrose Vanzekin. They played with poise, confidence and discipline, refusing to be intimidated by the Argentine big names in a performance that must go down as one of the best from a Nigerian team since the glory days of the mid 1990s.
Indeed, had captain Promise Isaac converted one of two first half opportunities that came his way, the gold medal may well be resting in the Nigerian capital today. The first arrived after Peter Odemwingie burst past Pareja to slide a perfect low cross across the six yard box. Promise, sliding in, arrived a second too late to convert, but he was certainly well placed when Adefemi zipped in another cross from the right flank. This time, he couldn’t control the fast ball and his effort rebounded safely into the grateful arms of Romero in the Argentina goal.
Argentina, for their part, looked to Riquelme, Messi and Aguero to do the damage and they certainly looked the part when they had the room to operate. The Nigerian defence were well prepared though and they gave the Argentine stars precious little room to manoeuvre. Kaita and Ajilore were all over Riquelme’s every move in midfield and central defenders Apam and Adeleye did very well to restrict Messi and Aguero to barely a sniff of a chance.
Argentina controlled most of the play, yet their best chances came from distance, with first Di Maria and then Messi testing Vanzekin with well-struck shots from outside the area. It was the unsung Di Maria – one of the revelations of this Olympics – who finally put out the Nigerian challenge after an excellent Messi pass had pierced the Nigerian rear guard. Vanzekin’s wayward rush off his line left the Benfica striker with an easy lob for the game’s only goal.
Nigeria’s forwards did well to respond but came up against a savvy defensive shield. Mascherano and Gago lived up to their reputations as top class defensive midfielders and Promise hardly got anything out of Garay. Yet, the Eagles came pretty close to an equaliser after Anichebe came on for Promise. His first attempt, after an excellent over-lapping run by Adefemi, was blocked by Pareja from 4 yards out, and he had another close effort well fielded by Romero.
In all, the Nigerians can leave with their heads held high – and not just because they came into this game as clear underdogs. I think they gave as good as they got and it’s hard to fault any part of their performance in that final. Of course, it’s easy to blame Vanzekin for the goal and there’s no question that it would have been a harder task for Di Maria had he stayed closer to his goal line. Yet, he’d made a number of brilliant saves to keep his team alive up till that point. And if I had to pick a weak link, it would be Okonkwo’s efforts down the left flank, which hardly matched the over-lapping runs of Adefemi on the right – of course, he was only filling in for the missing Taiye Taiwo.
Otherwise, the back four stood firm, the midfield played with calm authority and even if the attack didn’t flow at will, they did enough to open up a resolute Argentina back line on a few occasions. Which is a lot more than those Brazilians could manage in their 3-0 semi final thrashing.
Considering that this team was missing Chelsea’s John Mikel Obi and left back Taye Taiwo – and then striker Chinedu Ogbuke for the final - Siasia certainly proved his worth as a coach in this competition, and in an ideal world, he should be stepping up to the big job of handling the Super Eagles now. That’s not likely to happen though – Shaibu Amodu is firmly in that seat right now and the Super Eagles are winning again.
But there’s no reason why a good number of his squad shouldn’t make the step up right away. Obinna, Odemwingie, and Apam are already regular Super Eagles squad members; Adeleye, Kaita, Ogbuke, Adefemi and Okoronkwo should follow suit. That, for me, would be the real gain of Siasia’s four-year project.
Can Nigeria translate this silver medal – and that runners-up finish at U-20 level three years ago – to success at senior level? That’s the big question. I know Nigerians worldwide are disappointed about this Olympic loss, but the real disappointment, for me, would be a failure to capitalise on the positives and build a senior team capable of matching the likes of Argentina and Brazil.
World Cup 2010 will be the litmus test and I am positive that Siasia can take Nigeria to the next level. Siasia’s teams have matched the world’s best at U-20 and U-23 levels and the next step would be for Nigeria – with or without Siasia - to match them at the highest level. Now, that would be real success. Anything less – after the gains of the past three years - would be a disappointment.
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