Ex-Super Eagles Coach Oliseh Says Atlanta 1996 Squad Was Better Than Mikel & Co

Former Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh has rated the Atlanta 1996 team a better squad than the class of 2016 that finished third at the Olympic Games.

A couple of players in the 1996 team, including Austin Okocha, Sunday Oliseh, Uche Okechukwu, Emmanuel Amuneke and Daniel Amokachi represented Nigeria at the World Cup in the United States two years earlier, whereas Chelsea star Mikel was the only player with World Cup experience at the Rio Games. 

Nigeria’s biggest success was winning the gold medal 20 years ago, while this current U23s squad failed to replicate that performance.

Asked if the class of 2016 can be compared to 1996 team, Oliseh told fifa.com : “No, I don’t think so. Every country talks about its own golden generation, and Nigeria is no different.

“You can’t have several golden generations, or at least not in a short space of time.”

Oliseh was in Brazil to run the rule over the Dream Team as a  member of the FIFA Technical Study Group.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : thenff.com