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Nigeria ’96: Why didn’t Olympic gold medalists achieve greater things?

A thoroughly entertaining and talented group claimed gold in Atlanta with Nwankwo Kanu’s influence at the Games inspiring Nigeria to the podium.
The then-prodigy was part of the Ajax side that won the Champions League a year earlier and his three goals helped the Dream Team to success.

His influence in the semi-final turnaround against Brazil saw the West African nation overturn a 3-1 deficit to triumph 4-3. Kanu scored a 90th-minute leveller and scored the golden goal four minutes into extra time.

That team also contained Jay-Jay Okocha, Sunday Oliseh, Emmanuel Amunike, Daniel Amokachi, Celestine Babayaro, Victor Ikpeba and Taribo West to name a few.

Indeed, it feels like every member of that team truly possessed great talent and it’s not out of place to suggest Nigerian football never had a more enjoyable period.

Having said that, despite the gifts of the aforementioned stars and three African Footballer of the Year awards between 1996 and 1999, it never truly materialised into success for the Super Eagles.

What went wrong with that group? Were they unlucky or just didn’t deliver on their huge promise?

Nigeria’s Olympic football success

Nigeria didn’t compete at Afcon 1998 hosted by Burkina Faso having been banned for withdrawing from the continental showpiece two years earlier.
This would have represented a chance to claim another title as it was only two years after their Olympics success and before the emergence of Cameroon’s golden generation.

Many observers also point to the Super Eagles’ absence when explaining Okocha’s failure to claim Africa’s best player title that year—the maverick was pipped by Morocco’s Mustapha Hadji.

1998 Africa Cup of Nations

This was Jay-Jay’s World Cup: the showman wowed the crowds in France and was near unplayable at times.
He was so good that, despite playing only three of Nigeria’s four games at the global showpiece, he was included as one of the reserves in the Fifa&nbsp;World Cup All-Star Team.

Despite his individual honour, though, the Super Eagles exited in an utterly disappointing fashion, suffering a 4-1 hammering against Denmark…a game they entered as favourites.

While many still struggle to come up with reasons why a team that began so well with that unforgettable 3-2 win over Spain petered out in their first finals two years after success in Atlanta, Taribo West’s recent anecdote was particularly jarring.

“I read reports about Eagles visiting nightclubs and driving limousines during the World Cup in France, honestly, I don't know about that,” Taribo told <a href="https://punchng.com/eagles-slept-with-women-at-france-98-taribo/" target="_blank">the Punch</a> in April 2020, "but what I know is that some players sneaked women into camp, I saw that.

“The women were Africans who came to watch the tournament and fell in love with our team, because of the way we played in the group stage. So, it was easy for these players to woo them to their rooms," he added.&nbsp;“That is why, on matchday, you could see a lot of the players didn't have the strength to curtail the Danish players.

“They did all these because they thought we were going to beat Denmark.”

Rather interesting revelations from West and perhaps explains the Eagles’ abject, lacklustre display in their Round of 16 encounter.

1998 Fifa World Cup

Having technically not defended the title they won six years earlier, Nigeria entered the competition at the start of the millennium as co-hosts with West African neighbours Ghana.
It was Julius Aghahowa’s breakout tournament and the forward’s three strikes saw him end joint-top scorer for the Super Eagles along with Okocha.

Nigeria had fallen behind in the decider against Cameroon, but two goals in two minutes from Raphael Chukwu and Okocha saw the hosts level in Lagos.

The game eventually went to penalties, but the home side fell 4-3 following misses from Kanu and Ikpeba.

This was probably the most painful of that side’s unsuccessful attempts.

2000 Africa Cup of Nations

After losing on penalties to the Indomitable Lions two years earlier, Nigeria were back in the competition in Mali in 2002, looking to claim their third title.
Aghahowa continued his form in major tournaments for the Super Eagles, scoring three times for the West African nation to end joint-top scorer with Patrick M'Boma and Salomon Olembe.

However, they not only had to contend with prime Cameroon, but they also met an emerging force in Senegal.

The Teranga Lions actually fell to a defeat by Nigeria in the quarter-finals in 2000, but Bruno Metsu’s team gained their revenge with a 2-1 win after extra time in the semis after Aghahowa’s 88th-minute equalizer saw the contest&nbsp;end 1-1 after 90 minutes.

Yakubu’s strike in the third-place playoff meant the Super Eagles defeated the host nation twice, more or less confirming their superiority.

2002 Africa Cup of Nations

Perhaps the most underwhelming outing at any major competition for Nigeria in recent memory, the finals in South Korea saw the nation finish with one point.
In fairness, that group comprised Argentina, England and Sweden so the African nation always had an uncertain path.

The Super Eagles finished on one&nbsp;point, drawing a dead-rubber game with England.

2002 World Cup

Nigeria ’96: Why didn’t that Super Eagles group achieve greater things? | Goal.com

Olympic football: The squad that triumphed in Atlanta neither quite performed at any World Cup nor picked up another Africa Cup of Nations title.