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Super Eagles grounded Nigeria falls to Chile 4-1, fails to repeat gold medal
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Veteran striker Ivan Zamorano scored one goal and assisted on another as Chile routed defending champion Nigeria 4-1 Saturday for a berth in the semifinals of the Olympic soccer tournament. Pablo Contreras, Zamorano, Reinaldo Navia and Rodrigo Tello scored for Chile. Victor Agelin netted the Nigerian goal with 14 minutes to go in the match. It was the first time Chile had made it so far in the Olympic tournament. The team remains Chile's last chance to win a medal in these games. (Nigeria) said that we didn't exist. I think that they were overconfident, they underestimated Chile,' Chilean manager Nelson Acosta said. Contreras headed in his goal diving for a pass by Tello from the left in the 16th minute. Zamorano scored two minutes later with a shot in front of the net off a pass from Tello. The 33-year-old striker then assisted Navia for Chile's third goal in the 41st minute. Zamorano outjumped two defenders to head the ball toward Navia, who scored on a lobover the goalie. Tello made it 4-0 in the 64th minute, finishing a combination with David Pizarro. "Now we go looking for the gold," Tello said. "They better watch us now. We want to finish first." With 14 minutes remaining, Agelin scored on a nice move by controlling the ball with his chest in the penalty area and shooting to the left of goalie Nelson Tapia. Nigerian Garba Lawal was ejected in the 88th minute after being shown a second yellow card. --- Lineups Chile-Nelson apia, Cristian Alvarez, Pablo Contreras, Pedro Reyes, Rafael Olarra, Claudio Maldonado (David Henriqez-0), Rodrigo Tello, David Pizarro, Patricio Ormazabal, Ivan Zamorano, Reinaldo Navia (Francisco Arrue-75). Nigeia: Gregg Etafia, Gbenga Okunowo, Godwin Okpara, Isaac Okoronkwo, Furo Iyenemi (Christopher Kanu-45), Blessing Kaku (Henry Onwuzuruike-45), Bright Igbinaldolor-79), Yakabu Aygbeni, Garba Laweal, Julius Aghahowa, Pius Ikedia,y ictor Agali. Referee-Saad Kameel Nane, Kuwait. Super Eagles leave legacy at OlympicsMELBOURNE, Australia -- The Super Eagles aren't flying at the Olympics any more. Nigeria's reign as Olympic soccer champion came to an end on Saturday when it was beaten 4-1 by Chile. Yet the legacy of its win at Atlanta 1996 lives on. Under Dutch coach Jo Bonfrere, the Super Eagles created history four years ago when they became the first Africans to win an Olympic gold at team level. They also made a statement. By beating fancied Brazil in the semifinal and then Argentina in the final they showed that African soccer had finally arrived. The 4-3 victory over the Brazilians after being 3-1 down 13 minutes from the end, was achieved against a team that fielded Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Bebeto and Roberto Carlos. The Argentina they beat in the final before 86,000 fans at Athens, Georgia included Hernan Crespo, Jose Chamot, Javier Zanetti, Diego Simeone and Claudio Lopez. The South Americans put out most of their biggest stars to try and win the Olympic gold medal for the first time. Yet Nigeria trumped them all and the Super Eagles went on to become big names in world soccer. The 1996 squad included Daniel Amokachi, Sunday Oliseh, Taribo West, Celestine Babayaro, Emmanuel Amunike, Victor Ikpeba, Jay Jay Okoha, Tijana Babangida and Nwankwo Kanu who all went on to make big impacts in German, Italian, Dutch and English soccer. Babayaro, who plays in England for Chelsea, and Netherlands-based Garba Lawal returned to Sydney. But Kanu, whose goals in the semifinal set up the famous victory, chose to stay in the Premier League and play for his club, Arsenal, a decision that considerably weakened the squad and dismayed coach Bonfrere and the other players. Until just a few days before the Games, Bonfrere didn't know who was going to arrive here and the last of the squad only showed up two days before Nigeria's opening game against Honduras. But that's what sums up Nigerian soccer. Expect the unexpected. "They always play as if they have nothing to lose," said Italy coach Marco Tardelli, whose team was held to a 1-1 tie by the Super Eagles at Adelaids. "They have a lot of natural ability and go into every game believing they're going to win." But Bonfrere and his players had a tough time defending the title. He was angry that his tired stars were kept waiting seven hours at Sydney airport because they couldn't get enough seats on a plane. He also was badly hit by injuries and two of his players, Babayaro and Azubuike Oliseh missed two games, including the quarterfinal against Chile, through suspension. The defending champions also went close to losing their opening game. They trailed modest Honduras 3-1 with not long remaining but hit back for a 3-3 tie. Then came a 3-2 victory over host Australia and the 1-1 tie with Italy in which the Nigerians performed very well and should have won. Despite failing to win back-to-back Olympic titles, the Nigerians have won more friends in this tournament and young players such as Ajax Amsterdam striker Pius Ikedia, 20, Hansa Rostock defender Victor gali, 21, could follow Kanu and co. and become big names in the game.
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