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Ogbuke Sure of Olympic Success

Nigeria Today
3rd April '08

Nigeria under-23 striker Chinedu Ogbuke is confident they can emulate their 1996 predecessors by winning gold at the Olympic Games later this year. The "Dream Team" beat Argentina 3-2 in the final of the tournament in Atlanta to become the first African side to win gold in football. After a stuttering start, Nigeria beat South Africa 3-0 in their final qualifier in Abuja last week to pick up the only remaining African slot for the competition in Beijing. "It's a dream come true for us and now we want to go to Beijing to win the competition again for the country," the 21-year-old told reporters. "I know it's not going to be easy but we have to keep our heads together, start early preparations to get to know ourselves better.

"Nothing is impossible in football. With hard work, favour from God and a bit of luck you never know. "We can do it again as it is about preparation and staying focused." Ogbuke, who plays for German second division side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, was part of the squad that finished second at the Fifa under-20 World Cup in the Netherlands in 2005. With the majority of the players from that under-20 team making the Dream Team in Beijing, Ogbuke believes they have what it takes to win Olympic gold.

"We have a good team as we all come from the 2005 squad and some players from the Super Eagles will be joining us as well," he said. "We hope to win the Olympics so that we can forget the disappointment of the Nations Cup, and then hopefully win back the fans. "When you go into a competition, you always want to win it - and I think we have the talents to do that for them." Cameroon and Ivory Coast are the other African countries who will be at the tournament in China.

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