Mikel: Sometimes in Atlanta, Dream Team VI did not have food

Mikel Obi, captain of the Dream Team VI, has made an about-face from his initial denial of spending $30,ooo to the team during the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Mikel had been furious by the reports of the “donation”, which emerged while the team was still at its Atlanta training camp.

“I don’t know the source of this story, which to me is all out to divide us as a team,” Mikel said at the time.

“I would have thought that stories that should be coming out in the media are stories that will unite the team instead of dividing us. Our target in Rio is to excel, but if they continue like this, then I wonder how we can be united.

“Tell me the players who are in this team that are so hungry that will be looking up to me for survival? Is it Ekong, Etebo, Abdulahi, Akpeyi, Madu, Azubuike or Amuzie, who are my team-mates in the Super Eagles that I will be donating to, or other players who are plying their trade abroad and are doing well for themselves? To me, this is just mere distraction that won’t help this team going into a major tournament like the Olympics.”

However, speaking with Nizaar Kinsella, Chelsea FC correspondent at goal.com, on Saturday, Mikel put diplomacy aside and was more forthcoming on what truly went down in the buildup to the Olympics and at the games proper.

‎”I think if you are going to talk about the money I put into the team, I think it’s probably going to be more than that. You know, I just had to do it,” he said.

“I came to the camp, I sat down with the boys in Atlanta.‎ I could see the frustration, the pain and anger, the suffering that they were going through.

“And they’d been going through this for the past two year‎s. Their aim was to play at the Olympics. Their goal was to be at the Olympics. And for me being there and seeing what they were going through….

“These are young boys and they wanted to start their careers and someone at the ministry was trying to crush their dreams. So, I said to myself I won’t let that happen. If I can help, I’ll try to help. And I tried to help as much as I can.

“Sometimes, there was no food, sometimes, no pitch to train‎; there was no bus to go to the training ground. All of these were what the coach and I tried to figure out‎: how we could get money here and there and put into it to make sure we were training while in Atlanta.

“And I think the boys really really appreciate what I did for the team.”

Mikel eventually led the team to Nigeria’s first medal at the Olympics in eight years, after which Samson Siasia, coach of the team, vowed never to work for Nigeria again.

“My next step is that I am done with Nigeria for now,” he said after returning to Nigeria.

“You can’t keep going to a place where they don’t appreciate you. It does not worth it. Sometimes it is not about the money but the approach.

“They seem not to appreciate the sacrifices. I know how much I have sacrificed since the team began camping two years ago. How can you keep going to people who don’t appreciate you?

“It does not make sense, so I am done for now. I have to go somewhere else where they will appreciate what I have done and what I can do and pay me the respect that I deserve.”