THIS IS SERIOUS....My player washed and wore same set of jersey for two years – Siasia

hehehehehe....Coach of the bronze winning under-23 team, Samson Siasia, has said that the team used one set of Jersey through out the African Championship in Senegal and preparation for the Olympics. He also described the period as the most difficult of his career.
Siasia told Punch during the weekend how he begged for the team not to be thrown out of a hotel in Atlanta, USA during the camping for the Games.

He said: “I think it’s the most difficult ever; my mum was kidnapped and we managed to win the African championship in Senegal. When things like these happen, all I’m saying is that they should appreciate someone that sacrificed everything that ensured this country got to the Olympics.”

The coach pointed out that heand his players went through a difficult time during preparations for the Olympics in Brazil and were not encouraged by the sports handlers in the country.
“I saw on social media an NFF official saying he wants to destroy Samson Siasia’s career. Is that how you appreciate people? What have I done that anyone wants to destroy my career? All I did was to sacrifice everything I had. (Segun) Oduduwa got injured, I paid from my purse; it’s my money.
“And, it’s not just for one or two players. We didn’t have water to drink; we found a way to get water to drink because we wanted to make sure the players were perfect.
“They wanted to kick us out of the hotel, I begged the woman in the hotel so that we could stay before we got our tickets to travel. Is that how you treat someone that’s sacrificed everything he has for the country? I don’t think that’s right.”

He said his players had to wash and wear same set
of jerseys for two years.
“We used one set of jerseys for matches throughout the competition because we didn’t have any other set of jerseys.
“We played with one set of jerseys in Senegal (African U-23 championship) to qualify (for the Olympics).
“There are people that are wicked; they don’t see any good thing that comes out of your dedication and commitment towards trying to ensure that the country gets something back.
“Look at the final of the Olympics, after Brazil and Germany, the Nigerian flag was next. That means we’ve done well.
“The colours there were green, white, and green. I know Nigerians were happy about that and I thank them for their support – it was overwhelming.”

The last is yet to be heard of Nigeria's chaotic preparations for Rio 2016 as team captain, Mikel Obi has revealed just how much he was involved behind the scenes. Speaking with goal.com the Chelsea midfielder said: 

"I think if we talk about the money that I put into the team I think it was more than [£30,000] but we just had to do it.

"I said to myself, 'I won’t let this happen. If I can help, I’ll try to help'. Sometimes there was no food, sometimes there was no pitch to train on, there was no bus to go to the training ground. So all of this was what me and the coach had to figure out, and get money together.

"I came to the camp. I sat down with the boys in Atlanta and I could see the frustration, the pain and the anger. Their aim was to play in the Olympics, their goal was to play in the Olympics.

"And for me being there and seeing what they are going through, they are young boys, they want to start their career and someone in the ministry is trying to crush that dream."

On the now infamous incident which saw the team arrive Rio with just hours to spare after haphazard travel arrangements he said: "There was just no flight provided by the Nigerian ministry. "We planned to leave three or four days before the tournament, but we ended up leaving the day of our first game. It was a difficult one. I don’t think I have ever seen something like that before, it was crazy.

"[After our last minute flight] we got to the hotel, dropped our bags, grabbed some sandwiches, something to eat. A little bit of food. Then headed straight back to the stadium because we hadn’t even done our accreditations then, so we had to go there and wait in the line, do our accreditation.

"It was absolutely hectic. I don’t know how we managed to go onto the pitch and win that game, it was absolutely mind blowing."

He also spoke of his pride at winning bronze, Nigeria's only medal at the competition.

"Sometimes I wear my medal around the house, it gets my missus jealous," he joked as he showed off his medal. "The kids love playing with the medal. I am sure one day they will know what this really means."

Still on the problems the team faced en route Olympic glory he said: "We had lots of problems outside the pitch, but I always told the boys that you shouldn’t let that affect what we came here to do. We still want to achieve what we came here to do. We still have to represent our country and play for ourselves and our family and the people of Nigeria.

"So if the ministry don’t want to take responsibility, we have to make sure we play for ourselves and our country. The boys understand that and we made sure they went along with my message that I kept putting across to them every single day and we managed to achieve what we did achieve."