Who will win the Olympic Gold in Men's Football?

Olympic Football is a different ball game all together. With a different criteria for the eligibility of the players, the tournament opens up lots of possibilities for every qualified team. In the men’s football, the national team of Spain, having won back-to-back Euro cup titles along with the World Cup, is again the favorite in the London Games. However, Brazil with a bunch of young and talented players, will pose a serious threat to Spain’s young team.

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 24: The draw for the Men

The criteria for the eligibility of players, established by FIFA, have changed several times over the years. Professional footballers are now allowed to take part and Olympic teams are now essentially ‘Under-23’ teams but with three over-age players permitted. Argentina won the last men’s tournament, beating Nigeria 1-0 in the 2008 Final in Beijing. Argentina, having failed to qualify for the London Games this time, will certainly hamper the interest of the viewers to some extent. But with some super talented youngsters with the likes of Neymar, Rafael, Lucas Moura, Alexandre Pato, Ganso, Oscar, David de Gea, Iker Muniain, Takashi Usami, Abdelhamid El Kaoutari, Maynor Figueroa, Tom Cleverley, Daniel Sturridge, Aaron Ramsey, Giovani Dos Santos, etc. the city of London is going to witness some mouthwatering football for the coming 15-20 days. Apart from these young guns, the worldwide football fans will also get to see the experience and technical football from the over-age footballers. Ryan Giggs, Juan Mata, Luis Suarez, Craig Bellamy are some of the biggest names of football who have enthralled football lovers for years.

Spain is the hot-favorite to win the Olympics Gold after their continued success with the national team. Spain is the best team in the world and so the entire world would be hoping for the young team to bring the Olympic Glory to the country. Brazil, on the other hand, is also touted as the favorite to win the Olympic Gold alongside Spain. With some super talented youngsters in the names of Neymar, Moura, Pato, Rafael and Hulk, Brazil will give up every dying breath on the field to win the Gold medal.

However, bolstered with the inclusion of veterans such as Ryan Giggs, Craig Bellamy and the Chelsea youngster, Daniel Sturridge, the team of Great Britain looks quite convincing. So, don’t get surprised if you see Great Britain in the finals. Their coach, Stuart Pearce has been saying all day that his team is improving all the time and is sure of an Olympic success in the city of London. However, Spain coach – Luis Milla, is annoyed and said that he doesn’t like all this talk about Spain being considered the favorites to win the Football Gold.

So, with just a day away from the biggest extravaganza of the year, we all hope to witness an attractive and high-scoring Olympic Football this time. Only time will tell whether Spain or Brazil or any other team will be the ultimate champion and win the Gold in the London Games on 11 August 2012 at the Wembley stadium.