Semi final ouster: Enthusiasts laud dream team performance

Football enthusiasts in Anambra have poured encomiums on the Nigerian Dream Team in spite of their 0-2 loss to the German U 23 football team in the semi final encounter at the ongoing Rio Olympic Games. The football buffs, who expressed regret over the outer of the team from competing for gold, said the boys gave their best.

They said it would only be irrational to think that the Nigerians would come out better off against a German side that was more motivated and business oriented, after the treatment they got from the administrators during the build-up to the games.

Rommy Ezeonwuka, proprietor of Rojenny Stadium Oba, said that he was proud of the team in spite of their loss. Ezeonwuka said the players, motivated by their captain, had shown patriotism, zeal and comitment to the country but lost to a better side.

He said it was unfortunate that sports, which united the country more than any other thing, was being treated with levity as shown in the lack of investment, preparation and motivation of the entire Olympic contingent. “Those boys were spectacular; they gave their best and I am proud of them.

“Painfully sports that unite this country is being left to suffer but religion which is the root of our differences is being sponsored by the authorities. “I am hopeful that they will win the third place match against Honduras,” he said. On his part, a Rangers International official, Arthur Ebunam, said he was not disappointed with the outcome of the game.

Ebunam said the team lost to lack of preparation as they did not play as a team against their opponents. He blamed the declining fortunes of Nigerian football on the Nigerian Football Association (NFA) and called for an overhaul of the sports sector. “It is just horrible when you look as the role of government, through the Sports Ministry in the Olympic experience, a situation where a player has to salvage his team and the minster is there.

“Our football has taken a nosedive under the current NFA; my candid and professional advice is that people should be sacked at the ministry of sports and NFA,” he said. Also speaking on the match, a civil servant who identified himself simply as Ayorinde, said Nigeria should go back to the basics.




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