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William Troost-Ekong would not stop relishing his joy at winning the Olympic Men’s football bronze medal.
The Haugesund defender was a late call up to Samson Siasia’s team for Rio .
He, notwithstanding, proved himself a capable addition with performances that caught the eye in the Dream Team VI.
In this interview with GOAL, Ekong opens up about the challenges that the team faced as he looks forward to his future with the Super Eagles and his Belgian club Gent amidst interest from bigger clubs.
Goal: What was the general experience of competing in the Olympics like?
William Troost-Ekong: It was a great experience.
To be able to represent Nigeria on a world stage and to go on to win something is a dream come true.
The Dream Team experienced troubles – especially in getting to Manaus from Atlanta before the first game, as well as reports of player unrest before the quarterfinals against Denmark, can you give us an insight into what happened exactly?
Yeah it was very hard for us. The stress before the first game was not the ideal preparation for a big tournament.
I was already in Manaus as I flew in from my club side and I was getting worried that they wouldn’t turn up on time.
And of course as you must have read, the players were on strike before the Denmark game because of the unpaid allowances.
Do you think Nigeria would have performed better in Brazil without the distractions?
I think it would have helped.
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But at the same time we got a lot of support from the people of Nigeria because they understand what we went through and that was of greater value.
There has been a lot of praise for Mikel’s role as the leader in camp; give us details of how he provided steady leadership to the rest of the squad, particularly the young lads.
He is a legend and leader of Nigerian football. He has a very big presence and he has a lot of experience that he brings with him.
All the players look up to him and to see him really try his best made me want to give everything I’ve got in each game.
You turned your back on the Dutch national team, is winning Olympic bronze with Nigeria enough compensation for that key career decision?
Yeah it has definitely been worth it so far. I’m aiming to win and achieve more things in my career for Nigeria.
I am very happy with my decision from one year ago.
How motivating was the promise from Japanese dentist Katsuya Takasu in fighting till the end? Did the team feel like a foreigner rescued it after being largely abandoned by its own government?
It was very generous of him and it might have motivated some players to do more.
I always knew money would come if we just focused on getting the results, but it wasn’t the main factor for me.
I came to the Olympics to win a medal and compete at a big tournament.
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