Olympic Preview: Men's Soccer
With David Beckham's Olympic dream over, it will be former teammate Ryan Giggs and young Brazilian star Neymar attracting all the attention at the men's football tournament in London.
Beckham failed to make the British team, ending his chances to cap a successful career with an Olympic victory at home, so it will be up to the 38-year-old Manchester United veteran and the 20-year-old Brazilian sensation to try to create some hype about a competition which lacks the luster of football's top events.
With only three players older than 23 allowed in each team, few fans would pay much attention to the tournament if it weren't for the likes of Neymar and Giggs.
Neymar will be the leader of a Brazil team which will be mostly at full-strength, filled with players who will also be at the World Cup it will host in 2014. The Olympic tournament is the only significant football title Brazil hasn't won.
Giggs will headline a Britain team which will be playing in the men's Olympic football tournament for the first time since 1960. The hope was that Giggs would reunite with his former Manchester United teammate, but Beckham on Wednesday announced that he didn't make the 18-man squad selected by coach Stuart Pearce.
"Everyone knows how much playing for my country has always meant to me, so I would have been honored to have been part of this unique Team GB squad," Beckham said in a statement. "Naturally I am very disappointed, but there will be no bigger supporter of the team than me. And like everyone, I will be hoping they can win the gold."
Beckham was hoping to make his national team for the first time since 2009. It would have been extra special to be in the Olympic team because he was very active in helping promote the London bid, lending his global brand and helping attract attention to the city's efforts. After London was selected as host in 2005, he became an official ambassador for the games.
Giggs hasn't officially been picked yet but was likely to make the team along with former Wales teammate Craig Bellamy and England defender Micah Richards as the overage players in the squad.
"I've not played in [an Olympic] tournament so it would be nice to be involved in a tournament atmosphere I've never experienced," Giggs said.
Brazilian hope
Neymar was only a few years old when Giggs and Beckham began playing together at Manchester United. As their careers are coming to an end, the Brazilian is just beginning to attract the world's attention.
He is the player carrying Brazil's hopes for success in London and at the 2014 World Cup. The Olympics will give him a chance to prove that he can be the decisive player the entire country expects him to be.
Neymar has already been sought after by teams such as Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona. He was in the list of 23 players running for FIFA's player of the year award in 2011, and won FIFA's prize for the most beautiful goal that same year.
"To play in the Olympics is a dream for any athlete," Neymar said. "Especially to play for Brazil, which has never won this competition before."
The five-time World Cup champions won the Olympic silver in 1984 and 1988, and the bronze in 1996 and 2008, when Argentina took gold with Lionel Messi. The Argentines, which didn't qualify for London, also won the gold in 2004.
Brazil is one of the favorites this year, along with host Britain and Spain, which won the under-21 European Championship last year to clinch its spot in the Olympic tournament.
The Brazilians have an advantage because it is the only team which will bring most of its top players. The senior squad is made up of several under-23 players and they'll all likely be in London, including Neymar, Alexandre Pato, Leandro Damiao, Oscar and Paulo Henrique Ganso.
"The Olympic tournament will mark an important stage in Brazil's preparations for the World Cup," Brazil coach Mano Menezes said.
Tournament debut
Four of the 16 teams in London will be playing in the Olympic tournament for the first time — Senegal, Gabon, Belarus and the United Arab Emirates. Britain won the gold in the first two editions of the men's tournament, in 1908 and 1912. The only other champions playing in London will be Uruguay (1924 and 1928) and Spain (1992).
The men's tournament will run from July 26 — a day before the opening ceremonies — until Aug. 11. Matches will be played across Britain in six cities — London, Cardiff, Coventry, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow.