MIKEL OBI GUSHES OVER TEAM NIGERIA OLYMPIC CAPTAIN HONOUR

 


Captain of Team Nigeria to next month’s Olympics, John Mikel Obi, has described his appointment as ‘overwhelming’ and promised to carry everyone along.
Speaking from the U-23 team’s camp in Atlanta, Georgia, the Chelsea midfielder told thenff.com: “First and foremost, I will say I am overwhelmed with this opportunity to be the captain of Team Nigeria to the Rio Olympics. This is the highest accolade you can ever have as a sportsman‎ and it’s one I am really looking forward to.
“I am much pleased and very happy with myself for what I have been able to achieve, and grateful to the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports and the entire country for this opportunity.

“My objective is definitely going to be to carry everyone along. I think it’s important that we all work together, it’s important that we all set one goal, and that goal is to be successful, to win medals, to make sure we get gold medals. Our country has not done very well in recent times at the Olympics, so hopefully we can go to Rio and do well.”
The 29-year-old, who is one of the over-aged players in Samson Siasia’s team, also dismissed talk that the appointment was a burden on him.
“‎It’s massive, it’s big, it’s not just the football team. I am the captain of the Super Eagles. Sometimes you look at it and you think that’s a big burden, but this is even much bigger, it’s one that I am looking forward to,” he added.
“If you look at my track record at Chelsea, I have always played for the team, I have always been a team player, I have never been an individual player, so I think this is something I will be carrying into the Olympics and carry into Team Nigeria to make sure that we are successful.”