Last week, the U23 team known as Dream team IV qualified for the Olympic football tournament after winning the African championship. Along with Algeria and South Africa, Nigeria will be one of Africa's representatives at the Olympics and under Fifa rules, all the players must be U23 bar three over-aged veterans who will be allowed.
Mikel, who has played in three tournaments in Brazil lately, featuring in the 2013 Confederation Cup and the 2014 World Cup, said he fancies the idea of returning to the county again next year. Mikel, 28, has won almost every major trophy at stake, including the Uefa Champions League, the English Premier League, the African Cup of Nations and the FA Cup but has so far missed out on playing at the Olympics.
Incidentally, U23 team head coach Samson Siasia, who left Mikel out of his 2008 Beijing Olympics squad after he had stayed away from the qualifiers is back in charge of the current team. It is still unclear what kind of relationship exists between Mikel and Siasia at the moment and if it is cordial enough to enable them work together.
One Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) official said: “He has made it clear he wishes to play at the Rio Olympics. However, it is left for the coach to pick those he would want to be the senior players for the side he will take to Brazil next year.”
Mikel, who has been the subject of all manners of speculation lately, may be on his way out of Stamford Bridge and the Olympics could just increase his value to Chelsea. For the 2008 Olympics, Siasia took along English Premiership boys Osaze Odemwingie and Victor Anichebe as his overage players.
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