The Nigerian contingents in the male football category of the just concluded Beijing Olympics have finished second, behind 2004 champions Argentina. Dream Team IV as they have been called struggled through the 95 minutes final game with an Argentinean side that gave them no chances of scoring even a single goal. And while the first half of the soccer encounter left both sides goalless, a pass from Lionel Messi gave the Argentines their break in the 58th minutes when Angelo Di Maria put the ball past goal keeper Vanziken who had lurched forward to meet the approaching Argentinean striker. The game ended 1-0 in spite of other clear chances for goals that were created for both sides.

With this defeat of the African champions, Argentina has become the first team since Holland to retain an Olympic soccer gold. And although their last Olympic soccer gold was won in Athens in a stadium sparsely attended by spectators, Coach Batista would be happy for this spectacular win in the presence of a full capacity stadium.

Coach Samson Siasia who coached the same U-20 side that almost defeated Argentina in Holland in their 2005 final match has by this (nevertheless second-best) feat that he is most capable of handling the age group and taking them to enviable heights. Even he would agree that on Saturday, he lost to a more equipped side.
The Super Eaglet missed the skills of inspirational Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi who scored twice in the 4-1 win against Belgium because he was down with a shin injury. And although the match was played under the scourching sun and a temperature well beyond endurance, both teams pulled through with help from a two one-minute time outs given by the Hungarian referee in the 30th and 70th minutues.

It would be Nigeria’s second final at the Olympics. The first was as Atlanta 1996 in which the then Dream Team defeated another Argentinean side with a 3-1 goal margin.