Well the season is here and to top it off the Olympics has just started with football games taking off. There was lots of issues in releasing players for the games as clubs did not allow their players to represent their nations, but this is always the case with the clubs. The ruling only allows the under-23 players to play and even this was disputed by the clubs, most of the three over aged players allowed by the IOC (International Olympic Commitee) were not the first choice by countries like Brazil as the clubs in Europe did not allow the players to be released.
What I would like to see in the Olympics is the romance of the amateur brought back with a slight twist, how about this for the next Olympics; all amateur players but three professionals irrelevant of the age. I can hear some people already laughing, but think about it, the pros have their avenues and football is played by everyone in every walk of life, shouldn't the games have someone from the "street" represent their country and the game? Wouldn't it fulfill the dreams of some players who would get the chance to play side by side with the professionals? Would the pros want to play? You bet they would and even if some pros did not want to play there will always be somone "picking up the tab" to represent their country as a professional.
Remember In the 1994 World Cup Sweden reached the Semi-final with a Goalkeeper whose occupation was electronics equipment sales man, dreams can come true.
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