Subject: The Olympic tournament pre-dates the World Cup
Posted by: Peake-a-Hoo on Thu Aug 7 2008 8:35:38 PM
Message:
England won the first olympic tournament 4-2 over Denmark in Stockholm on July 4,
1912. However, its profile suffered after the World Cup became popular in Europe
because of Italy's success in '34 and '38.
Over the years most national associations de-emphasized the tournament and sent
weakened teams. Eventually the tournament was restricted to under-21 then under-
23 players. The inclusion of over-age players is a relatively new innovation meant to
raise the level of the tournament.
Most soccer people would say the World Cup is the most prestigious tournament in
the world, while they would consider the European Championships to be the most
difficult to win (no minnows and a compressed schedule) and second in prestige.
