Olympics: Victor Ikpeba recounts Super Eagles’ 1996 gold medal victory

Ex-Super Eagles forward Victor Ikpeba took a walk back in memory lane to recount his best moments of helping Nigeria to Olympic glory in 1996.

Ikpeba, alongside the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha, Daniel Amokachi and Nwankwo Kanu, against all odds defeated Mexico in the quarter-finals, Brazil in the semifinals, and Argentina in the final to become the Olympic champions twenty-eight years ago.

The team, according to Ikpeba, was helped by God to show the world that Africans are capable of doing the impossible.

“I was so happy to participate. Pride too when I remember the teams that we beat,” the 50-year-old told CAFonline.

“Mexico in the quarter-final, Brazil in the semi-final, then Argentina in the final. We Africans have shown that this is possible. It’s a tournament that I will never be able to forget.

“We Africans have shown that this is possible. It’s a tournament that I will never be able to forget.”

Two years before winning the Olympic gold medal, the Super Eagles won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a much similar squad to the Olympics winning team.

“I can tell you that it was as if we had never left each other,” Ikpeba reacted.

“There is a lot of respect between us, we support each other from our different backgrounds, that gold medal has undoubtedly bonded us. I think it would be good to set up a WhatsApp group, just to check in on each other more often.”

The former Monaco forward, however, couldn’t help, but air his dissatisfaction that the Super Eagles won’t be playing at the Paris 2924 Olympics.