Head coach of the national U-20 team, Emmanuel Amuneke has predicted that the current Olympic team, handled by Samson Siasia can repeat the gold medal winning feat of the 1996 squad. It was 20 years ago this summer that a renowned Nigerian team stunned Argentina 3-2 in the 1996 final in front of almost 90,000 people near Atlanta to become the first African football nation to win Olympic gold.

The winning goal was scored by Emmanuel Amuneke, who came on in the 72nd minute. Amuneke, who had already earned his place in Nigerian footballing folklore by scoring both goals in the Super Eagles’ 2-1 victory against Zambia in the 1994 CAF Africa Cup of Nations final, was benched for the gold medal match despite having started in all games leading up to the final.

“Going into the tournament we had the self-belief that if we applied ourselves well we could do something great for ourselves and the country,” said Amuneke, in a  chat with cafonline.com.

Amuneke is confident the current team handled by Siasia will do well.

“We have to be realistic about our chances too. It is not going to be an easy task, but the coach  Siasia is experienced. He was in charge when Nigeria won the silver medal in 2008 and also led the team to second at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2005.”

Amuneke, who says that his gold medal was stolen from his house in Lagos a few years ago, remains confident though, saying: “There is nothing to say Nigeria cannot repeat the feat of 1996. It was a beautiful thing that we laid the foundation and others have followed our path, and I think our current team can repeat that success.”