The city of Rio di Janiero is in the final round of preparations to host the 31st edition of the Olympics, which would be the biggest sporting event that the planet has ever witnessed. More than 10,000 athletes are expected to participate this time, representing 207 nations.
Football is one the major attractions of Rio 2016 and the beautiful game has always been a part of the sporting extravaganza, except in 1896 and 1932. 16 teams are in the hunt for the gold medal in men’s football and 12 teams in the women’s section. The world champions Germany, European champions Portugal and South American duo of Brazil and Argentina are all part of the competition and their presence obviously adds a lot of glamour to the event.
Over the years, the beautiful game of football has produced some unforgettable moments in the Olympics and here are five of them.
#5 London 2012 – Another Loss For Brazil In The Final
When the Brazilian and Mexican teams walked out onto the pitch in Wembley, the entire nation of Brazil would have thought that this is the day on which their long wait for Olympic gold in football would come to an end. But it was not to be as Mexico defeated a lacklustre Brazilan team 2-1 and the Olympic gold medal would continue to elude Brazil. Peralta scored twice for Mexico before Hulk pulled one back, but to no avail.
The 5-time world champions have finished as runners-up earlier in Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988 when France and the Soviet Union defeated them respectively on those occasions.
Barcelona superstar Neymar would be hoping to succeed in doing what the likes of Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Romario, and Dunga have failed to do. The hosts are one of the hot favourites to win the gold medal.
Also Read: Rio Olympics 2016: 5 biggest names in football taking part in the Summer Games
#4 Athens 2004 – The Carlos Tevez Show and Argentina’s First Gold Medal
Argentina had to wait a long time to take the Olympic gold medal in football. It happened in 2004 when Argentinian manager, Marcelo Bielsa, led one of the strongest squads ever in the history of the competition to victory.
The Argentinians were impressive and a 20-year-old Carlos Tevez announced his arrival by scoring 8 goals in 6 games. He scored a brace against Serbia and Montenegro and one goal against Tunisia in the group stages. Tevez who played for Boca Juniors at that point of time scored a hat trick against Costa Rica in the semifinals, and also managed to find the back of the net against both Italy and Paraguay in the semi-final and final respectively.
Argentina didn’t concede even a single goal in the tournament and scored 17 goals in 6 games. The 2004 Olympic football event would always be remembered for the exuberant brand of football that the Argentinian side played.
#3 Atlanta 1996 – The Nigerian Triumph
Nigeria had to pull out of the African Cup of Nations that year due to political reasons in the country and they came into the tournament with relatively lower expectations. Being drawn with Brazil, Japan and Hungary only made it worse but, the unexpected was to happen.
They defeated Japan and Hungary by the score lines 1-0 and 2-0 respectively and finished second in the group behind Brazil on goal difference. The Nigerians comfortably overcame Mexico 2-0 in the quarter-final and they had to face Brazil in the semis who had already defeated them in the group stages. The match would probably be one of the most memorable in the competition’s history. Th
The Eagles came back from 3-1 down to win 4-3 in the extra time. Nwankwo Kanu scored the golden goal that day and Brazil who were the favourites crashed out of the tournament.
Nigeria defeated Argentina 3-2 in the final which was another exhilarating game of football and they became the first African nation to win the Olympic gold medal and that meant the world to the entire nation.
#2 Berlin 1936 – Germany vs Norway
Rio 2016 marks the 80th anniversary of the Berlin 1936 Olympics which is also known as the Nazi Olympics. The German team managed by Otto Nerz started the tournament in style as they swept past Luxembourg 9-0 in the first game and this impressive display meant that Adolf Hitler himself would be present to watch their next game against Norway.
Otto Nerz and his German team were strong favourites to win the match, Nerz had transformed Germany from an average team to one of the best in the continent. The majority of the 55,000 fans in the stadium expected the Germans to dismantle Norway with relative ease but, Norway took an early through Magnar Isakson in the 7th minute.
Germany’s attempts to break through the Norwegian defence failed miserably and Isakson scored again on the counter after the Germans had committed too many men forward. Hitler had seen enough and he left the stadium in the 83rd minute just after the second goal.
#1 Paris 1924 – Belgium vs Sweden
Belgium arrived in Paris with the hopes of retaining the Olympic gold medal which they had won in their home country 4 years earlier but, fate had other plans for them. The Belgians had to play the Swedes in the first round and the former would have hoped to begin their defence of the gold medal with a convincing win over their opponents but, what happened in the match was one of the most shocking upsets in the history of Olympics football.
The match finished with an astonishing 8-1 scoreline in favour of the Swedes. Not even one among the 8500 in the Stade De Colombes that day would have predicted a bizarre result like this one.
Oscar Verbeeck’s own goal in the 8th minute of the match started the proceedings and Sven Rydell scored a hat trick in the game. Henri Larnoe scored for Belgium that day but his goal was not even a consolation for the Belgians. Sweden had another brilliant result in the form of a 5-0 win over Egypt and went on to win the Bronze medal that year.
