Football forgets the Olmpic dream

”The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.”

“Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of a good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.”

(Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games)



The best thing about the Olympics is the timeless ideals it has held across centuries that focus purely on the joy of sport and the quest for victory.

Exactly when modern football turned its back on these ideals is difficult to say, but there has been a clear indication this summer that they are clearly defunct principles in the game’s corridors of power.

The big clubs blatant reluctance to release players and lack of respect for the competition is apparent for all to see.

Teams from across the globe will be battling it out for an Olympic gold medal but European supremos simply can’t get their heads around the value of a competition that isn’t measured in TV revenue or prize money.

Werder Bremen are taking legal action in a bid to stop Brazilian playmaker Diego making the trip to Beijing, Ronaldhino is going but AC Milan have made it clear he would not have been if they had signed him before the decision was made and Liverpool’s Rafael Benitez has openly called into question the inclusion of winger Ryan Babel in the Dutch squad.

It has been interesting to see the way the European sides have gone about objecting to Olympic call ups.

There has been no blanket condemnation of the tournament itself, no ‘Benitez slams Olympics’, just a self-interested challenge to the selection of individual players, ‘Benitez questions Babel call up’.

Of course, to attack the Olympic ideal would be bad PR for the club.
The Olympics still hold a mythical appeal based the quest for Olympic glory is a common bond across sports.

But football is in danger of breaking this bond as commercial interests become the foundations on which the game is built.

I do understand that the clubs are the players’ pay masters and they will be missing for crucial games such as Champions League qualifiers, but surely there is room for the Olympics in modern football.

The top clubs have such large squads these days and no single club has exactly lost loads of first team players to the competition because of the Under 23 rule.

But even other international tournaments such as the African Nations cause riots among club chairman and managers because the international footballers they sign have the cheek to want to represent their country.

More and more players are retiring early as they seek to extend or enhance their club careers, no doubt with financial considerations in mind.

It is clear the Olympics no longer matter, how much longer before international football itself is opposed by the big clubs because it relies not on cash but on national pride?

There is talk of a British team turning out for the 2012 games in this country, but if all the home nation’s FAs do ever come to an agreement, they will then have one hell of a job persuading managers to make a squad available if the current attitudes do not change.