Before Nigeria’s Dream Team VI players defeated Sweden 1-0, it took the influence of Chelsea midfielder, John Obi Mikel, to stop Samson Siasia from walking out as coach of the Olympic side.
Prior to the Games, Siasia made no secret of his unhappiness about the conditions he found himself working under, which included alleged non-payment.
His issues continued in the build-up to the Rio Olympics.
It reached a peak with his players stranded and without a flight to Brazil from their training camp in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States (U.S.).
Despite the problems, the Nigerian Dream Team managed to qualify for the quarter-finals after beating Japan and then Sweden in their opening two matches.
However, according to a source, the coach was apparently ready to jump ship after the Sweden win, which was only prevented by the intervention of Mikel and some other players.
“Siasia wanted to quit his post after the win over Sweden, but the players, led by Mikel, begged him to rescind his decision.
“The coach complained that he has been badly treated by the authorities, he has not been paid for five months and his team has not received the necessary support to succeed.”
Last week, it was reported that Mikel was using his own funds to help pay for some of Nigeria’s Olympic campaign.
