Olympic soccer is Cinderella to the World Cup - the World Cup's global audience dwarfs that for the #Olympic Games as a whole
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012#Olympic football was, for decades, restricted to amateurs. Socialist countries, whose World Cup players had fake day jobs, won every time
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012Amateurism long-gone, #Olympic football now restricted to Under-23s, plus 3 overage players (useful players rather than fashion icons)
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012David #Beckham is no longer a useful player in top-level soccer; hence his exclusion from "Team Great Britain"
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012"Team Great Britain" is a fiction in international football. FIFA recognizes Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as independent countries
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012Scotland and N. Ireland kept their players out of Team GB to avoid questions re their FIFA status. Team GB is no weaker for their absence
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012If Spain's regions had same FIFA status as Britain's do, #Catalonia would be World and European champs. Basque Country would beat Madrid
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012The greatest football gold came in '88: Zambia 4 Italy 0 youtu.be/4gPcgvGILqs Most of Zambia's team died in a plane crash 2 years later
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012Senegal open the tournament against Team GB on Thursday, looking to repeat their World Cup team's 2002 opening day victory over France
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012France that day featured Dakar-born Patrick Vieira. Today's Olympic team features alumni of Vieira's Senegal academy bbc.in/LKqtbk
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012Spain are favorites with peerless recent record at all levels of international game, squad including Alba, Mata, Martinez, Muniain, Tello
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012Outrageously gifted squad makes #Brazil other favorite: Neymar, Pato, Hulk, Oscar, Ganso, L Moura, Sandro, Rafael, Marcelo, T Silva etc
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012Don't count out Uruguay, winner of first two Olympic golds, and current LatAm champs, featuring L Suarez, Cavani, Lodeiro, G Ramirez etc
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012Team GB? Not even addition of gifted Welshmen Giggs, Ramsey, Allen and Bellamy can lift them above gloomy expectations of Ingerland
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012#Olympics will be opposite of World Cup: open, attacking football; flat atmosphere. Olympic crowds just don't go tribal in the same way
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Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) July 25, 2012