I want to lead Nigeria to Paris Olympics – Makanjuola

Olympic Eagles captain, Success Makanjuola, in a chat with Punch Sports has revealed his ultimate desire with the side and playing under coach Yusuf Salisu. 

When the former U20 lad was asked about his reaction after being named the captain of the side, Makanjuola said he was excited and hopes to lead the side to Paris.

“I was very excited I must say. I have always hoped for a chance to play for Nigeria after featuring at the U-20 World Cup in Poland and thank God I have it now, and I want to help the team qualify for the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations in Morocco, where Africa’s representatives at the men’s football tournament of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will be selected.”

“I was very excited when I was named captain, but inside me, I know the role comes with lots of responsibilities and I hope to lead the team to Paris. Half of the job is done; we just need to complete the task on Saturday.”

Nigeria missed out on the Tokyo Olympics two years ago and Salisu Yusuf, who has already failed to take the CHAN team to the finals in Algeria, is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring Nigeria’s progress to the Global event.

“It will be one of my biggest achievements ever in my career to lead the team to the Olympics in Paris but to achieve that dream we must beat Tanzania first and I’m very confident of this, Makanjuola responded. 

“We played them once and we both know our strengths and we will be taking advantage of that. We’ve worked very hard and I believe we will be victorious in front of our home fans.”

Of course, I was initially.  I would be telling you a lie if I said I was not, but as the referee blew his whistle I knew I had a job to do, which was to make my country proud. I scored a goal but it was not enough. I hope to score more goals for the team going ahead.

In order to boost the forward line of the team, an invitation was extended to Former Nasarawa United forward Ibrahim Sunusi and the skipper believes his addition will further boost Nigeria’s chances in the contest against Tanzania and going forward.

“His arrival will help the team no doubt, just as other members will bring lots of drive with them. Sunusi will offer the team valuable experience. We’ve got an amazing team. We’re all working for the team and we’re always trying to improve.”

On what it feels like working under coach Salisu, Makanjuola responded;

“He is a very good coach who knows what he wants from his team and we the players want to repay that trust in him by winning on Saturday.”

This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago