Famous Ukrainian journalist Andriy Shakhov has shared his opinions about the soccer tournament at the Olympic Games in Paris. For the first time in history at such competitions will play the national team of Ukraine.
Andrei Shakhov (photo: facebook.com)"The Olympic tournament is such a mysterious phenomenon that to give predictions is a thankless business. Sometimes this soccer tournament because of the lack of logic reminds me of some women's competitions, where such sensations occur that you do not know from whom and what to expect. And as if you always expect something serious from the traditional favorites, such as Brazil or Argentina, as well as the famous European grands. But then again, if you look at the lineup for the tournament at the 2024 Olympics, not all the grandees even made it there. The Brazilian national team itself, which did not overcome the South American selection... will not participate.
If you dig deeper, the Olympic Games in soccer used to be won, or at least played in the finals, by teams that have never achieved anything at the World Cup level. For example, Nigeria or Mexico. At one time successfully played the national team of Cameroon. In short, there are a lot of sensations at the Olympics. And the fact that only young players can participate in the tournament (with the exception of three older players who can be added by the team), only increases the likelihood of surprises.
It's also very important that the Olympic tournament takes place on so-called non-FIFA deadlines and clubs don't have to let their leaders go. This also makes it harder to make any predictions. If we look back at the last Olympics, since Spain in 1992, no other European team has ever won the Olympics: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Cameroon, and Nigeria have all won. Interestingly, Brazil is the reigning Olympic soccer champion without even making it to the Olympics. So I would hold off on predicting the outcome of this tournament at the Olympics.
Of course, we are far from having the optimal composition of the Ukrainian national team. But clubs have their own interests. And it is possible to understand the clubs. I am generally in favor of giving much more respect to soccer clubs. Because it is in the clubs that players get paid, spend most of their career.
At the same time, you can understand the coaching staff of the Olympic team. They are, to put it mildly, dissatisfied and can only throw up their hands about the fact that it was not possible to gather all the strongest. This is another reason why I personally do not expect anything outstanding from the European teams at these Olympic Games. It still seems to me that the favorites will not be Europeans. And even if the Olympics are held in Paris, I don't expect anything outstanding even from the French team.
If I make a prediction on the performance of the Ukrainian national team, then I am simply lost here. If we had such a group at the World Cup, we could say that Ukraine should go out. And at the Olympic tournament, Argentina, in my opinion, will be one of the favorites. What to expect from Morocco and Iraq, I have no idea. In general, at the last Olympics, African teams perform quite well," - said Shakhov.
