Former Super Eagles head coach, Samson Siasia, has publicly debunked Mikel Obi’s comments about sponsoring Nigeria’s flights for the 2016 Rio Olympics tournament in Brazil, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 57-year-old led Nigeria to second place in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and replicated the success by winning the bronze medal in Brazil eight years later, but the journey was far from smooth.
Mikel Obi, on Peter Crouch’s podcast mentioned corrupt individuals have to be displaced for African football to make progress, recalling an incident where he had to pay over $30,000 to charter the flights for the Nigerian team during the 2016 Olympics.
“There was no money to pay for the flight, I had to pay for it. I funded it. When we got there, I thought I would be reimbursed, but up till now, I haven’t been refunded. It’s not about the money. It’s about the principle and respect,” the-ex Chelsea midfielder said.
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Siasia, in a recent interview revealed Mikel did no such thing. Instead, the former Super Eagles coach revealed the problem was administrative, largely due to the laxity of Solomon Dalung, who was the Minister of Youth and Sports in Nigeria at the time.
The former FC Nantes striker also revealed Mikel didn’t have clean hands in 2008, hence, his omission from Nigeria’s Olympic squad in Beijing.
“Mikel’s agent called, and said he wouldn’t be able to make it. He wasn’t a starter in Chelsea then, he was mostly on the bench and I told him that we only had one game to play against Ghana.
“I pleaded with him to play the game against Ghana, telling him if he didn’t play the game, he won’t get a spot in the Olympics squad and he refused to come.
“We needed to win, but the game ended in a goalless draw. Time for the Olympics, Mikel’s agent promised $50,000 if he’d play the tournament, but I told him he didn’t play the qualifiers.
“I can’t take out someone that helped the team qualify for you who didn’t play the qualifiers, but in the next Olympics, he [Mikel] was one of the first to come,” Siasia told Elegbete TV Sports.
“Then in 2016, we went to America, and Dalung said I didn’t inform him. We had written to him in preparations for the tournament because the weather in America is similar to that in Brazil, but instead, he accused me of holding these players hostage.
“They left us there in America, and we suffered. Nigerians cooked for us since we couldn’t pay our bills. We went to Brazil on the day of our opening game.
“A friend called to help me get a plane to move the players to Brazil. I had contacted other friends to help me get some money to help me move the players. They gave us the money and we chartered a small plane.
“Mikel then said he couldn’t fly a small plane, he didn’t allow us take the plane, and that was a lot of money gone. Then they came with a bigger plane that could take all the players on the same day of the match.
“We did all we could, and got to Brazil. As soon as we landed, we secured our cargo and immediately tried to get accredited.
“Afterwards, we went straight into the game against Japan who’d been in Brazil for over a month, trying to adapt to the weather in the country, they had prepared very well,” Siasia continued.
“I cheered the team, and we went into the game, eventually securing a 5-4 win, despite taking a six-hour flight on the same day.
“A Japanese billionaire [Takaso] heard the story and was stunned about how we were able to defeat his side despite our predicament, and he decided he wanted to see us. He flew in all the way from Japan.
“He wanted to know how we defeated them, and he then proceeded to give us a winning bonus. FIFA thought it was a bribe and they investigated.
“He gave the team a $500,000 cheque in two names, one in my name and another in Mikel’s name. Dalung wasn’t happy about it and I couldn’t care less.
“After we cashed in, we shared the money equally amongst everyone. They all took the same amount. That’s what actually happened. Since I left, have they been able to go again? No. They cannot go,” the 51-cap Super Eagle concluded.
The entire situation, regardless of whose perspective the story is being told, gives a hint to the Nigerian public on how much poor planning and administration affects the performance of footballers during tournaments.