Olympics any interest ?

Davidth88

Hi,

Saw the following article in the beeb

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/football/7529807.stm

You almost forget that the Olympics has a footie comp as well.

I find that article really ironic becuase the creepy Colin Moynahan saying that GB should have a team, this from a guy who wanted to destroy football when he was minister of sport under Maggie , he demonised football supporters totally.

Xavi6

I'm looking forward to the Olympics. Some really big names playing in it and no doubt there will be some gems unearthed.

You can read my preview of the tournament here.

Im_No_Superman

Lol.

Monaco starlet Freddy Adu should add some power, pace and general excitement to the team as he continues to try to meet the high expectations of the Football Manager massive.

Im vey much so looking forward to it. Its annoying that Anderson (and Dong ) will be missing the start of the Premiership, but in fairness I think its very unfair for a club to stand in the way of a players chances to gain Olympic gold, which is a very prestigous honour imo.

mike65

Big 4 are 5/1 to win thier opening games.

Mike.

I'll watch the football but pharmaceuticals have made the Olympics as a whole a sham.

Mitch Connor

Davidth88 wrote: »

Hi,

Saw the following article in the beeb

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/football/7529807.stm

You almost forget that the Olympics has a footie comp as well.

I find that article really ironic becuase the creepy Colin Moynahan saying that GB should have a team, this from a guy who wanted to destroy football when he was minister of sport under Maggie , he demonised football supporters totally.

Regarding a football GB team, and any implications for national independence of the football sides, who knew this?

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is the body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football.

IFAB is made up of representatives from each of the United Kingdom's pioneering football associations — England's Football Association (The FA), the Scottish Football Association (SFA), the Football Association of Wales (FAW) and Northern Ireland's Irish Football Association (IFA) — and Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international governing body for football. Each UK association has one vote and FIFA has four. IFAB deliberations must be approved by at least six votes. Thus, FIFA's approval is necessary for any IFAB decision, but FIFA alone cannot change the Laws of the Game; they need to be agreed by at least two of the UK members.

The Board meets twice a year, once to decide on possible changes to the rules governing the game of Football and once to deliberate on its internal affairs. The first meeting is called the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and the second is the Annual Business Meeting (ABM). Four weeks before the AGM, the member associations must send their written proposals to the secretary of the host association. FIFA then prints a list of suggestions that are distributed to all other associations for examination. The AGM is held either in February or March and the ABM is held between September and October.

So, Scotland, Wales and NI having footballing independence is actually a really, REALLY big deal, and this also explains why FIFA want one GB team...

delija_sever029

Well Serbia will participate in football tornament on olympics but i dont give us some big chance coz we are playing against Australia,Argentina and Côte d'Ivoire in group....

Mossy Monk

I wont be watching it on Eurosport. Trying to watch the Brazillian women earlier and the token female commentator is the worst I have ever heard. Much better now on the BBC.

mike65

The pitch is awful, if they are all like that it won't help a passing game.

Mike.

CHD

Any ideas what times matches will be at over here

S.M.B.

Just after thowing a few quid down on Ivory Coast to win it outright. That'll hopefully make it more interesting.

mike65

10 am and 12.45 pm

Mike.

eZe^

If Argentina don't win it, they'll end up becoming the old Spain. Ch ch ch ch ch chokers.

CHD

mike65 wrote: »

10 am and 12.45 pm

Mike.

Thank you sir

PHB

I think it'll be Brazils year. Who's covering this? BBC?

CHD

Good old red button on BBC afaik.

Karmafaerie

eZe^ wrote: »

If Argentina don't win it, they'll end up becoming the old Spain. Ch ch ch ch ch chokers.

Surely you mean Brazil?

Argentia won the Olympics last time, while it's the one cup Brazil have never won!

citytillidie

Tauren wrote: »

Regarding a football GB team, and any implications for national independence of the football sides, who knew this?



So, Scotland, Wales and NI having footballing independence is actually a really, REALLY big deal, and this also explains why FIFA want one GB team...

Did you only know that now?

Why do you think Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland have been agaist a GB team from the start they would lose their postions in FIFA. They have got that power as the 4 founding federations

citytillidie

CHD wrote: »

Good old red button on BBC afaik.

And online or maybe that does not work with the Irish IP's

CHD

Should do.Hopefully anyway. RTE could show them online maybe

eZe^

Karmafaerie wrote: »

Surely you mean Brazil?

Argentian won the Olympics last time, while it's the one cup Brazil have never won!

Nope, I mean Argentina. Look at their team;

Coach
Sergio Batista, 45, Under-23 Coach

Goalkeepers:
Oscar Ustari (22) (Getafe, Spain)
Sergio Romero (21) (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands)

Defenders:
Pablo Zabaleta (23) (Espanyol, Spain)
Ezequiel Garay (21) (Real Madrid, Spain)
Federico Fazio (21) (Sevilla, Spain)
Nicolás Burdisso (24) (Internazionale, Italy)
Luciano Monzón (21) (Boca Juniors)

Midfielders:
Fernando Gago (22) (Real Madrid)
Ever Banega (20) (Valencia, Spain)
Javier Mascherano (24) (Liverpool, England)
Juan Román Riquelme (30) (Boca Juniors)
Angel Di María (20) (Benfica, Portugal)
José Sosa (23) (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Diego Buonanotte (20) (River Plate)

Forwards:
Lionel Messi (21) (Barcelona, Spain)
Ezequiel Lavezzi (23) (Napoli, Italy)
Lautaro Acosta (20) (Sevilla, Spain)
Sergio Agüero (20) (Atlético de Madrid, Spain)

Reserves:
Nicolás Navarro (Napoli, goalkeeper)
Nicolás Pareja (Anderlecht, Belgium, defender)
Lucas Biglia (Anderlecht, midfielder)
Emiliano Insúa (Liverpool, midfielder)


They could make the knock out stages of the world cup with that squad ffs.


Brazil have a pretty good team, but I don't think its as good;

oach:
Dunga, 44

Goalkeepers:
Diego (23) (Almeira, Spain)
Renan (23) (Internacional)

Defenders:
Alex Silva (23) (Sao Paulo)
Breno (18) (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Thiago Silva (23) (Fluminese)
Ilsinho (22) (Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine)
Rafinha (22) (Schalke 04, Germany)
Marcelo (20) (Real Madrid, Spain)

Midfielders:
Anderson (20) (Manchester United, England)
Diego (23) (Werder Bremen, Germany)
Hernanes (23) (Sao Paulo)
Lucas (21) (Liverpool, England)
Ronaldinho (28) (Barcelona, Spain)
Thiago Neves (23) (Fluminese)

Strikers:
Alexandre Pato (18) (AC Milan, Italy)
Jo (21) (Manchester City, England)
Rafael Sobis (23) (Real Betis, Spain)
Robinho (24) (Real Madrid, Spain)

Robinho has pulled out also, as far as I'm aware. However, look out for Hernanes, he is IMMENSE!

Mitch Connor

citytillidie wrote: »

Did you only know that now?

Why do you think Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland have been agaist a GB team from the start they would lose their postions in FIFA. They have got that power as the 4 founding federations

I thought it was cause they wanted their own teams and leagues. I didn't think it was cause as it is they are, with England, the most powerfull football nations in the sport.

Chardee MacDennis

no messi in argies team now:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/football/7518008.stm

Mossy Monk

PHB wrote: »

I think it'll be Brazils year. Who's covering this? BBC?

BBC, RTÉ and Eurosport although it looks like RTÉ aren't covering the preliminaries on tv or online which is a shame.

missingtime

eZe^ wrote: »

Lionel Messi (21) (Barcelona, Spain)

I keep forgetting he's only 21....

Ronaldinho AND Pato gone...Im sure Milan are over the moon with that.

CHD

Deleted User wrote: »

Ronaldinho AND Pato gone...Im sure Milan are over the moon with that.

Blessed they are!

shane86

Why arent we in this? We currently have our under 23s playing in the International Challenge trophy, a third rate cup tournament so far off the radar it doesnt even have a wiki page, against z teams from the likes of Slovakia and England. Surely if we organised a under 23 team we should have sent them to a real competition.

Karmafaerie

eZe^ wrote: »

Nope, I mean Argentina. Look at their team;

Coach
Sergio Batista, 45, Under-23 Coach

Goalkeepers:
Oscar Ustari (22) (Getafe, Spain)
Sergio Romero (21) (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands)

Defenders:
Pablo Zabaleta (23) (Espanyol, Spain)
Ezequiel Garay (21) (Real Madrid, Spain)
Federico Fazio (21) (Sevilla, Spain)
Nicolás Burdisso (24) (Internazionale, Italy)
Luciano Monzón (21) (Boca Juniors)

Midfielders:
Fernando Gago (22) (Real Madrid)
Ever Banega (20) (Valencia, Spain)
Javier Mascherano (24) (Liverpool, England)
Juan Román Riquelme (30) (Boca Juniors)
Angel Di María (20) (Benfica, Portugal)
José Sosa (23) (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Diego Buonanotte (20) (River Plate)

Forwards:
Lionel Messi (21) (Barcelona, Spain)
Ezequiel Lavezzi (23) (Napoli, Italy)
Lautaro Acosta (20) (Sevilla, Spain)
Sergio Agüero (20) (Atlético de Madrid, Spain)

Reserves:
Nicolás Navarro (Napoli, goalkeeper)
Nicolás Pareja (Anderlecht, Belgium, defender)
Lucas Biglia (Anderlecht, midfielder)
Emiliano Insúa (Liverpool, midfielder)


They could make the knock out stages of the world cup with that squad ffs.


Brazil have a pretty good team, but I don't think its as good;

oach:
Dunga, 44

Goalkeepers:
Diego (23) (Almeira, Spain)
Renan (23) (Internacional)

Defenders:
Alex Silva (23) (Sao Paulo)
Breno (18) (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Thiago Silva (23) (Fluminese)
Ilsinho (22) (Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine)
Rafinha (22) (Schalke 04, Germany)
Marcelo (20) (Real Madrid, Spain)

Midfielders:
Anderson (20) (Manchester United, England)
Diego (23) (Werder Bremen, Germany)
Hernanes (23) (Sao Paulo)
Lucas (21) (Liverpool, England)
Ronaldinho (28) (Barcelona, Spain)
Thiago Neves (23) (Fluminese)

Strikers:
Alexandre Pato (18) (AC Milan, Italy)
Jo (21) (Manchester City, England)
Rafael Sobis (23) (Real Betis, Spain)
Robinho (24) (Real Madrid, Spain)

Robinho has pulled out also, as far as I'm aware. However, look out for Hernanes, he is IMMENSE!

I understand, but how can they be the next Spain?
Spain were the team who always were hyped, but never won.
Argentina are the current champions!

Yeah, it would be a shock and they could be called chokers if they fail, but they can't be like the Spain of old, if they just won the tournament.

The reason I mentioned Brazil instead, is that in the olympics they are like that.
They're always hyped, and yet have never won.
It's the only trophy they don't have.
And the Olympics means a hell of a lot more to the South american teams than the rest of the world.

ArmaniJeanss

shane86 wrote: »

Why arent we in this? We currently have our under 23s playing in the International Challenge trophy, a third rate cup tournament so far off the radar it doesnt even have a wiki page, against z teams from the likes of Slovakia and England. Surely if we organised a under 23 team we should have sent them to a real competition.

We attempted to qualify, but failed. Only 4 European places available so its not easy.

Wonder if theres any chance that Messi will decide to play on anyway?. I suspect that Barca wouldn't sack him.

shane86

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

We attempted to qualify, but failed. Only 4 European places available so its not easy.

Wonder if theres any chance that Messi will decide to play on anyway?. I suspect that Barca wouldn't sack him.

IIRC there are 53 UEFA nations (of which I presume 49 are eligible to qualify, given their refusal to allow Scotland, England etc). Who was in our group, who was in the squads and when did the qualifiers take place? Cant recall hearing anything about them.

ArmaniJeanss

shane86 wrote: »

IIRC there are 53 UEFA nations (of which I presume 49 are eligible to qualify, given their refusal to allow Scotland, England etc). Who was in our group, who was in the squads and when did the qualifiers take place? Cant recall hearing anything about them.

It was the last European U21 championships which took place in Holland this time last year (remember the 15-14 penalty shootout between England and Holland).
Anyways the Top 4 in that competition all qualified for the Olympics (because England qualified for Semis of that competition there was a play off between the 3rd placed teams in each group).

And to qualify for that U21 finals we would obv have had to win a qualifying group which iirc we did badly in.

shane86

Thanks.

Which begs the question, had England ended in the top 4 would they have been allowed to field a team?

ArmaniJeanss

shane86 wrote: »

Thanks.

Which begs the question, had England ended in the top 4 would they have been allowed to field a team?

England did finish Top 4 so there was a play off to decide the extra olympic spot as England couldn't have it.

Heres a link to all the information + qualifying.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_UEFA_European_Under-21_Football_Championship

shane86

Ah Of course, nevermind.

No wonder the FA are the ones pushing for the GB team more than the rest so.

citytillidie

One easy way to sort it out instead of having Great Britian and Northern Ireland as an olympic squad just have the all seperate.

In some sports its just Ireland like boxing, boxers from Northern Ireland represent Ireland.

ArmaniJeanss

citytillidie wrote: »

One easy way to sort it out instead of having Great Britian and Northern Ireland as an olympic squad just have them all seperate.

This would be a really bad idea (from a Great Britain pov). Would lead to massive squabbling over funding which currently comes from a central fund but suddenly there would be allegations of bias towards regions etc.
And in theory their overall medal expectation would go down as well (as they would be weaker in the team events).

I think they are happy as they are and its really only football which causes any problem (and possibly rugby 7s if it becomes an Olympic event in the future).

Not really a debate for this board anyway.

eZe^

missingtime wrote: »

I keep forgetting he's only 21....

Not a bad trophy haul so far for the fella alright. He only turned 21 a month and a half ago too.

BastardPrince wrote: »

no messi in argies team now:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/football/7518008.stm

Barca are going to let him stay despite winning the case. They don't want to ruin his mentality, seeing as he is over there already.

Karmafaerie wrote: »

I understand, but how can they be the next Spain?
Spain were the team who always were hyped, but never won.
Argentina are the current champions!

Because they are overwhelming favourites. They have choked now in the past 2 competitions. In WC06, where they were head and shoulders above everyone else in the talent department. Also, last years Copa America, they steam rolled everyone and lost badly to an average Brazil side. I'm just saying that slowly Argentina look like they could be coming the worlds under achievers. Saying that, I look at their squad and conclude that it's basically unfathomable for them to lose this tournie. :pac:



There are so many big names and hot prospects to be watched: Giovinco, Messi, Marchisio, De Ceglie, Babel, Sno, Pato, Jo, Lucas, Breno, Riquelme, Mascherano, Aguero, Banega, Garay, Montolivo, Rossi, Maduro, Guzman, Drenthe, Kompany, de Mul...

Karmafaerie

eZe^ wrote: »

Not a bad trophy haul so far for the fella alright. He only turned 21 a month and a half ago too.



Barca are going to let him stay despite winning the case. They don't want to ruin his mentality, seeing as he is over there already.



Because they are overwhelming favourites. They have choked now in the past 2 competitions. In WC06, where they were head and shoulders above everyone else in the talent department. Also, last years Copa America, they steam rolled everyone and lost badly to an average Brazil side. I'm just saying that slowly Argentina look like they could be coming the worlds under achievers. Saying that, I look at their squad and conclude that it's basically unfathomable for them to lose this tournie. :pac:



There are so many big names and hot prospects to be watched: Giovinco, Messi, Marchisio, De Ceglie, Babel, Sno, Pato, Jo, Lucas, Breno, Riquelme, Mascherano, Aguero, Banega, Garay, Montolivo, Rossi, Maduro, Guzman, Drenthe, Kompany, de Mul...

True.

They're down to 8th in the world too!
That must be their worst in a while!

eZe^

I still think they have the most talented national team in the world at the moment. Spain are very close in the skill department too.

eirebhoy

Looking forward to watching Sno for Holland tomorrow. I think he plays in a more forward role for Holland and scored a few in the qualifiers. Has to be a Sky+ job with these times though.

Karmafaerie

eZe^ wrote: »

I still think they have the most talented national team in the world at the moment. Spain are very close in the skill department too.

And the youth coming through is unbelievable too.

The future really does look bright for them.

mike65

Belgium more than holding thier own at the moment, they should be ahead.

Mike.

KevIRL

Nice one, the job must have UK IP address for its net access. I can watch the excellent olympic coverage on the BBC site. 4 games on live at the mo.

emc2

Italy are 2 up in their game.....

http://www.justin.tv/barcelonasc

CHD

Belgium 0-0 Brazil
Japan 0-0 USA
Austrailia 0-0 Serbia
Italy 2-0 Honduras S.Giovinco 41 , Rossi 45

At half time folks!

mike65

http://www.justin.tv/barcelonaec for Italy game, decent picture.

Mike.

emc2

mike65 wrote: »

http://www.justin.tv/barcelonaec for Italy game, decent picture.

Mike.

You're slowing down mike! see post #45!

emc2

3-0 italy
1-0 usa

mike65

Italians could rack up a big number.

Mike.

CHD

Meh no teams standing out.

Roll on Argentina