POSTED: March 31st 2011
NewsUpdate
US Olympic veteran urges Bale to defy Wales bosses over London 2012 chance
KEIR RADNEDGE in Manchester / Sports Features Communications
MANCHESTER Mar 31: Brad Friedel believes that any non-English players – such as Gareth Bale – approached to line up for Team GB at London 2012, should play in defiance of their own Scottish or Welsh or Northern Irish associations.
Aston Villa’s veteran goalkeeper – who played for the United States in the 1992 and 2000 Olympics – was speaking up for the unique Olympic experience in a debate about the controversy at the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are refusing to consider allowing their players to be part of what promises to be an England-only Team GB squad because they fear the concession might endanger their independent status within world football.
However Friedel, a semi-finalist with the US in Sydney, considered competing at the Olympics as the equal of playing in the World Cup.
He explained: “I grew up in the US where the Olympics is considered the pinnacle of all sports so putting on the US shirt in 1992 and 2000 was very different to the World Cups I played in.
“For players such as Gareth Bale to miss out on that experience would be terrible. It’s not just the actual matches it’s the entire learning experience. You get to be around all the other sportsmen and women and for players to miss out on it in Great Britain would be a travesty.”
Friedel, now 39, said he had been surprised by the intensity of Team GB row.
He added: “I can understand the problem a little bit but I’d like to think that sport would prevail, not politics. It’s impossible to put into words how great the Games are. This is the Olympic Games . . . when will it will be here again? The Olympics is a world event.”
Fixtures pressure
Expanding on the player’s experience of being involved in the Games, Friedel added: “When I was 20 I found myself in the Village having breakfast across the table from Boris Becker and Jim Courier. That was such a big deal for me.
“To win the Olympics for me is right up there alongside winning a World Cup. It’s as good as. It’s the Olympics, you’re out there for your country.”
The 2012 Olympics will be squashed between the finals of the European Championship and the start of the Premier League season but Friedel played down concerns about player burn-out. He said: “The more games, the better. You’re only a footballer for a certain time in your life . . . and it’s something not to be missed.
“Just because it’s basically and under-23 event doesn’t lessen the credibility because many countries use the over-age players to field their top players. In 2000, when we got to the semi finals with Cameroon, Spain and Chile they all had world recognised stars as their over-age olayers such as Samuel Eto’o and Ivan Zamorano.”
Asked directly whether non-English British players should defy their own associations, Friedel said: “I’d advise them to play. There might be a threat not top pick them in future but I would hope there would too much pressure to prevent that.
“Playing at the Olympic Games is an experience they shouldn’t miss.”
Keywords · London 2012 · Olympic football · Friedel · Bale
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