How will a Great Britain football team shape up?

 

Roar Guru

By Ben Carter, 16 Feb 2011 Ben Carter is a Roar Guru

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 2012 Olympic Games, England, England Football, football, Manchester United, United Kingdom, Wayne Rooney

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Imagine – it’s August 11, 2012. Wembley Stadium, London. The clock ticks over into the 90th minute as Nathan Delfouneso of Aston Villa, age 21, slots home past the Uruguayan keeper in a cool finish to take the Olympic Games football gold medal. England win! Well, not as we know it they won’t.

Due to the fact that there still (perhaps understandably or unbelievably, depending on your point of view) exists an at-times fractious relationship between England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales football administrators, there will only be a Great Britain or United Kingdom team entered in the 2012 Olympic tournament.

How amazing was Rooney’s wonder-goal against Man City at Old Trafford last week? A pity you won’t get to see him do the same thing at the Olympics.

“It was a moment of sporting beauty, a lacerating volley from an improbable starting position…A once-in-a-lifetime strike” was how The Guardian‘s Dan Taylor described it.

Rooney’s once-in-a-lifetime chance for a gold medal has been denied to him, though.

According to a report on the Aussie Four Four Two website dated February 10, London 2012 Olympic boss Seb Coe has said UEFA clubs may be able to stop their players from taking to the pitch in both the EURO 2012 tournament in Ukraine/Poland and the Olympic series as they are both roughly on at the same time.

“Clearly it may not be possible for players to play in both tournaments,” said Coe, responding to the European Clubs Association – including English clubs Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United – which indicated Rooney and co cannot be forced into two major competitions in any one season.

“A player who is in the squad for EURO 2012 should not then be in the Olympic squad,” said David Gill, chief executive officer for United and an ECA board member.

However, he then strangely added that “football is a key part of the Olympics and we are very happy to participate”.

As most know, football at Olympic level is for under-23 players, with three over-age additions to the squad permitted. That’s where Coe rightly sees the continuing value of the tournament.

“An Olympic football tournament, when it’s used as it is in a lot of countries, is a way of seasoning young players to future tournament football,” he said.

“It’s a great springboard and a number of young players have understood the nature of the international game through Olympic competition and gone on to play in World Cup finals.”

“We will create and deliver a great Olympic football tournament,” Coe has said.

Whether England can deliver all of greater Britain the gold medal is another matter.

Funnily enough, the Great Britain team has existed before at Olympic level. Representing the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (naturally), the XI competed in the 1908, 1912, 1920, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1968 and 1972 Games.

However, by a quirk of the competition rules, no GB team has entered since. Each separate nation plays in the UEFA under-21 championship, but cannot represent all of Great Britain at the Olympics.

The closest any of the home nations have come (had they been allowed to enter as they are) was in 1992 and 1996 (Scotland) and 2008 (England).

Interestingly, when Great Britain entered that first Olympic tournament – it was in London – and the XI was entirely made up of English-born players.

Apparently, as far back as 2007, the English and Northern Irish were keen to revive the co-operative approach for next year’s event, but the Scots didn’t even turn up to any meetings to discuss it. The Welsh, however, did – and told the other two nations that it was not interested.

The Northern Irish association then followed the Welsh out the door.

The last time FIFA boss Sepp Blatter talked about the issue, in 2008, he was of the opinion that England should be the only country allowed to field players in a GB team.

“This will then not provoke a long and endless discussion of the four British associations,” he was quoted as saying on BBC news on March 9, 2008.

As it now stands, England will indeed become all of Great Britain for the purpose of pursuing Olympic gold – as all three other “home nations” have written statements saying they don’t object to the move. That’s a relief – but still no Rooney.

According to a BBC news report from May 29 last year, England is likely to play its under 21 team as is in 2012, courtesy of FIFA allowing them do do so. Darn. Definitely no Rooney, then.

BBC Radio 5 Scotland football correspondent Roddy Forsyth summed it up well: “The Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh Associations recognise that England want to do this and there’ll be no further opposition from them to England taking part as Team UK providing they do not attempt to include any Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish players.”

Stuart Pearce is the front runner to coach the team, as he’s currently the England under-21 Young Lions boss. That makes perfect sense.

At least one Scottish MP though, sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe, told the Beeb he was disappointed in the decision, however understandable it may have been.

“I think it would have been a great opportunity for young players under 23 to experience playing in our great arenas at the Olympics,” he said.

Cheering for Great Britain might prove a mite harder now if the team plays any matches in Cardiff or Glasgow…

Let’s look at this hypothetically. Of the current England youth squad (under 21s), this ruling would mean that Welsh midfielder Scott Sinclair of Swansea City would be eligible in age terms for London 2012 but not because of his place of birth. The same goes for Paul Hanlon of Scotland’s Hibernian, and quite a few more promising youngsters.

It’s sad that nationalist parochialism has gotten in the way of a higher ideal here.

Or, to put it more bluntly, which of the best under-23 players from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales would be daft enough to let their home association deny them the chance to put score their own once-in-a-lifetime Rooney goal or a finger on a gold medal?

TRULY A UNITED KINGDOM – A POSSIBLE GREAT BRITAIN 2012 XI (based on most experienced players age under 21 in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales as of February 2011, from the back, with a 4-4-2 formation)

Scott Loach (Watford – ENG, goalkeeper), Paul Hanlon (Hibernian – SCO), Darren Cole (Rangers – SCO), Ash Richards (Swansea City – WLS), Kyle Naughton (Leicester City – ENG), Fabrice Muamba (Bolton – ENG), Jack Rodwell (Everton – ENG), Joe Allen (Swansea City – WLS), Jack Cork (Burnley – ENG), Kayelden Brown (Tranmere – WLS), Scott Robinson (Hearts – SCO)

ENGLAND ALONE – A POSSIBLE ENGLISH GREAT BRITAIN 2012 XI (based on most experienced players age under 21 in England only)
Scott Loach (Watford – goalkeeper), Kyle Naughton (Leicester City), Ben Mee (Leicester City), Kieran Trippier (Barnsley), Reece Brown (Manchester United), Fabrice Muamba (Bolton), Jack Rodwell (Everton), Jack Cork (Burnley), Henri Lansbury (Norwich City), Nathan Delfouneso (Aston Villa), Connor Wickham (Ipswich Town)

GREAT BRITAIN’S OLYMPIC GAMES FOOTBALL RECORD
London 1908 – gold
Stockholm 1912 – gold
Antwerp 1920 – first round
Berlin 1936 – quarter-finals
London 1948 – semi-finals
Helsinki 1952 – first round
Melbourne 1956 – quarter-finals
Rome 1960 – first round
Tokyo 1964 – did not qualify
Mexico City 1968 – did not qualify
Munich 1972 – did not qualify

2012 OLYMPIC FOOTBALL VENUES
Wembley Stadium, London
Old Trafford, Manchester
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
St James’ Park, Newcastle
Hampden Park, Glasgow
City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry

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