Mikel leads fight for football bronze

Players of the national U-23 team at the Rio Games have said they
would not leave Brazil without the bronze medal. Their statement
comes as the Nigerians take on Honduras in the bronze medal (third-
place) match of the Olympics.
The team captained by Mikel Obi had set their sights on the gold but
now have to settle for bronze after they got knocked out by Germany
in the semifinal match played on Wednesday in Sao Paulo. Mikel, who
had spoken to reporters several times on his desire to win the Olympic
gold before returning to Chelsea, said after the 2-0 loss to Germany
that as professionals, they would simply adjust their mental setting
and focus on the fresh challenge of winning the bronze medal.
He said, “We arrived in Brazil with our minds set on the gold but it’s
painful that it has turned out this way. Every match played was with
the mind-set to win it.
“We gave everything against Germany but luck wasn’t on our side. We
will keep going for bronze, to make Nigeria proud.”
Coach Samson Siasia, who also regretted his team’s semifinal defeat,
spoke of his determination not to leave the Olympics empty-handed.
After getting over the defeat to Germany, he said focus was now on
this match. “We are going to face it with all seriousness because it is
better to go home with a bronze than nothing at all. We came here with
determination to win gold but we have to face the reality on ground
and be very professional. We will go for it.”
The Honduras side, who very few imagined could get to this level, are
also determined to leave the venue with a medal. Indeed it is a rare
opportunity for the South American team and analysts feel they
could be hungrier than Nigeria to win. Their 6-0 loss to Brazil in the
first semifinal game has not helped their rating but like Nigeria, they
believe they have recovered enough to face the fresh bronze
challenge.
Their goalkeeper Luis Lopez spoke to the media here on behalf of his
teammates on the bronze medal match on Saturday. Lopez said they
had recovered enough from the defeat to Brazil. For them the third-
place match is another final match.
“This game obviously hurts (losing to Brazil), but we have to pick our
heads up because we have another final. It will be hard, but we have
to recover and start to work on Saturday’s game. This is football,” he
said.
The match will kick off at 1pm local time (5pm Nigeria) at Mineirao,
Belo Horizonte. The match will round off in time for the final classic
holding at the Maracana Stadium between Brazil and Germany.
The Olympic medal fight is not new to Siasia. In Beijing 2008, he got
the silver after a Lionel Messi inspired Argentina side defeated
Nigeria. He could not make it to the last stage but he and his players
know they are carrying a huge burden for a country whose athletes
practically fell on the way side.
Siasia, Mikel and the players are in Rio and understand how delicate
the situation is. Perhaps the importance of this medal could push
them above Honduras. It is just a matter of time and the match will
begin.