Dream Team one was led by Dutchman Johannes Bonfrere and started their way to the final with a 1-0 win over Hungary and a 2-0 win over Japan before completing the first round with a 1-0 loss to Brazilian entrepreneurs. The Africans then closed out Mexico, led by eccentric goalkeeper Jorge Campos, 2-0, in the quarter-finals to set up an incredible pair of matches.
Losing in the semi-finals to a formidable Brazilian team boasting Bebeto, Ronaldo and Rivaldo, 3-1, Nigeria finally woke up in the 78th minute when Victor Ikpeba scored from 20 meters. As time ticked down, inspirational captain Nwankwo Kanu took center stage and scored in a last-minute scramble in front of goal to level. With just three minutes remaining in extra time, Kanu fired the winner from 16 meters to complete one of the greatest comebacks in international football history in what many observers considered to be the greatest Olympic football match ever played.
The Dream Team then stepped up to stage another miraculous comeback against Argentina in the gold medal match in front of 86,117 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. At the end of 90 minutes of exciting football, Nigeria triumphed over Argentina.
The Argentines had a 2-1 lead with goals from Claudio López, who headed in the third minute, and Hernán Crespo in the 50th minute from a penalty. The resilient Dream Team came back strong in the game and equalized in the 74th minute of play when striker Daniel Amokachi got in the decisive goal. With one minute remaining, super substitute Emmanuel Amuneke scored the winner to give Nigeria a famous 3-2 win.
It was a momentous day in Nigerian football history as the international football community celebrated an unusual feat by an African team.
dream team two
With the achievement of Dream Team I at Atlanta 1996, the pressure was on Dream Team Two to perform up to expectations at the 2000 Olympic Games held in the beautiful city of Sydney in Australia.
The team was not short of quality players as they had Victor Agali, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Garba Lawal and Celestine Babayaro in their fold, but sadly they were eliminated in the quarterfinals. In their first match, Dream Team Two drew 3-3 with Honduras, before defeating Australia 3-2 in their second match. They drew 1-1 with Italy, to set up a fascinating quarter-final clash with Chile. It was a meeting that exposed the inadequacy of Dream Team two as they were humiliated 4-1 by an inspired Chilean side.
Nigeria Dream Team The three dreams never last forever
The dream died in 2004, when the Nigerian Olympic soccer team, then known as: The Dream Team Three, failed to climb through the African qualifiers. Tunisia qualified for Athens 2004 at the expense of Nigeria Dream Team three with an embarrassing 2-0 loss to Nigeria in the final group game in Tunisia. The team that also represented the country at the 8th African Games hosted by Nigeria battled its way to the final of the football event, only to lose to Cameroon 2-0, at the ultra-modern National Stadium in Abuja.
Dream Team Four: The Rebirth of the Nigerian Olympic Team
The dream was revived in 2008, when a group of talented soccer players descended from the U-20 team that collected silver medals at the World Junior Championships in the Netherlands in 2005, stormed Beijing for the Olympic soccer tournament. Coach Samson Siasia, one of Nigeria’s best youth coaches, took them to the Olympics. Joining heavyweights the Netherlands, Japan and the United States in Group B, the Dream Team Four began their Olympic soccer campaign with a sterile 0-0 draw with the Netherlands, before recovering to record a 2-1 victory that it raised morale over Japan. They confirmed their superiority in the group with another 2-1 victory over the United States. Côte d’Ivoire fell by the wayside to coach Samson Siasia’s side in the quarter-finals as they suffered a 2-0 loss.
The semi-final pairing saw the best performance from the Dream Team Four as they faced a hapless Belgian team who desperately tried to contain the crazed Nigerians. The match ended 4-1 in Nigeria’s favour, and once again the die was cast for a tantalizing encounter between Nigeria and arch-rivals Argentina. It was a repeat of the 2005 Under-20 World Cup held in the Netherlands, as the main players were still very much present on both sides. Revenge was what Nigerians sang about, and they had to face diminutive Lionel Messi in his quest to win Olympic Football Gold for the second time since 1996. It was a close encounter that was decided by a single goal scored in the 58th minute. game of Ángel Di María from Argentina. The Dream Team Four once again had to play second fiddle to an experienced team from Argentina as they lost the epic match 1-0.
