So, the men’s Team GB football team have joined their female counterparts in the quarter finals of the Olympic Games, albeit with some more scares along the way.
A 1-1 draw against Senegal and conceding to the United Arab Emirates were blots on the copy book but the key thing is that the team has gotten out of the group stages unlike, say, Spain.
The progress made has been remarkably similar to that of England’s Euro 2012 campaign in terms of results and performances to an extent with impressive elements juxtaposed with poor football at other times.
However, the key differences appear to be the freedom that Team GB have enjoyed to play good football with the campaign is a real step into the unknown.
Nobody really had any expectations about how the men’s team would fair as they have never competed in the Games in modern times and that was reflected in the press coverage thus far.
A widely accepted contributory factor to England’s continued lack of silverware (success would be an incorrect term) is overwhelming public and press pressure for said success to be achieved.
Team GB has not had that expectation and so the players have had the freedom to play carefree football and the results have reflected that.
Perhaps another contribution to this is the role of the Welsh players in the squad.
Neil Taylor, Joe Allen, Ryan Giggs, Aaron Ramsey and Craig Bellamy bring vast experience at club level, no historical baggage with them and perhaps a desire to make a statement at this level as it is such a rare occurrence for them to so and they wish to make the most of it.
Their influence has been crucial in this campaign thus far and will continue to do so.
Finally, comparing GB to the England team is largely unfair as the nature and make-up of the teams is so markedly different.
A better comparison would probably be the England U-21 team in terms of composition and way in which their football is played..
The constituent parts of the team are very similar and the lack of public pressure is also a shared value.
The U-21 team has a rather fine record too under Stuart Pearce in recent years (Pearce being another key factor it would appear) unburdened with the freedom and fearlessness of youth.
There are a huge number of other factors in Team GB’s progress thus far and they have every chance of making the semi-final.
Much like last year, this is another team to be proud of for achieving in impressive style.
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