Mikel plans to make Conte’s wish come true
– Mikel says he doesn’t want to return to Chelsea without an Olympic Games gold medal
– He says his teammates all want to achieve the same thing
– Mikel hopes to win the Olympics gold medal after his coach Conte urged him to do so
The Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has said he plans to return to his club with an Olympics gold medal.
Speaking ahead of Nigeria’s clash with Germany in the semi-finals, Mikel said he is determined to have the Olympics gold to declare in his luggage, Vanguard reports.
Mikel said: “I hope to go back to Chelsea as the Olympic champion.
“I came out here to do my best to help the team with the gold medal.
“That has always been my objective. It’s my aim and the players all want the same. When you have a group of players all wanting to achieve the same thing, hopefully it will go well at the end.
“Hopefully, the semi-final will go well on Wednesday and then we will be in the final and win the gold medal.
“It was a bit frustrating coming down here, but while we were in Atlanta we knew that we had a good shot at getting to the final or winning the tournament.
“With the problems we have had getting to this stage, it is just absolutely amazing and we just have to keep going.’’
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NAIJ.com recalls that Mikel had said Chelsea’s coach, Antonio Conte, gave him his blessings before he left for the tournament.
Antonio Conte celebrates with Chelsea fans after win against West Ham
He said Conte advised him to do well and make sure he brings the gold medal back at Chelsea.
Nigeria’s U-23 players and officials were stranded for three days before being airlifted by American Delta Airline to Manaus, venue of their first group game against Japan, just hours to the game.
But despite the setback, the team went on to win three of their four games at the tournament to secure a semi-final ticket.
Nigeria will now play Germany at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo on Wednesday August 17.
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