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After appearing with the Nigeria national team just twice in about five years, Obafemi Martins recently made a pair of appearances in World Cup qualifiers. The 31-year-old is apparently so committed to remaining in the program's good graces that he's even expressed a willingness to participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Although the rosters are made up of mostly U23 players, each team is permitted three overage exceptions. Nigeria U23 coach Samson Siasa has apparently said he intends to name those players in the coming weeks.
"I love my country and I always want to play for my country any time. If Siasia calls me to represent Nigeria at the Olympic Games in Brazil why not, I am always free to be part of the team."
Nigeria has already qualified the tournament that will take place from Aug. 3-20. Although most of the Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro, the soccer tournament will take place all over Brazil in many of the same stadiums that hosted the 2014 World Cup.
The good news, if you choose to look at it that way, is that this at least doesn't overlap with Copa America Centenario (June 3-26) or CONCACAF World Cup qualifying (March and September 2016).
Still, the prospect of losing a player upon whom the Sounders will almost certainly be heavily reliant -- especially to a lightly-regarded tournament -- is not exactly great news.