Ryan Nelsen to play at the Olympics

Ryan Nelsen to play at the Olympics

He's available for the first two games against China and Brazil.

booooooo

great decision. good stuff

Don't encourage him...

Just the first two games? All or nothing I say.

wooo

I think he is rather happy that he gets to go to the Olympics. Once in a life time experience for any sportsperson.

If he gets back with lower fitness he will build up and get into the first team. I doubt he would go from Captain to a nobody just from missing a bit of the pre season/start of the season.

He will add a lot to the team, and is great to see him back play for NZ.

interesting, the cynic in me wonders if Rovers/Ince want Ryan in the shop window tigers2008-07-02 12:18:46

Must really be backing us to go the whole way eh! Sounds like - I'll play til we're knocked out then f**k off and leave the squad one man short.

If we win gold does he get a medal for leaving early?

Absolutely not.

I think his mere presence will be of great value to the team and will allow them to play with more confidence.

Brilliant news.

I couldn't care less about Nelsen missing a week or two preseason with Rovers.

Yeah I wonder if Ricki has been in Bouckenooghes (sp?) ear about the Belgians - he'd have been a good over age player actually

On the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/football/7484768.stm

Hang on. He's done f**k all for us over the last 5 years but we are prepared to gift him an Olympics appearance award for him to tell his grandkids about? Give me a break, he cares little about our football, why should we give a f**k about his?

And the angry man award goes to the Jam!!!!

The thing is can you name any really big games in that 5 years that he has missed?  It could be argued that he hasn't really missed anything at all

Sorry but I completely disagree. You have to take a practical view on this, he's not going to risk his premiership career for an AWs game, and to be honest I don't think he should be expected to.

You are saying "for an Aws game", but it's not just a single game, it's 5 years worth. Five years of withdrawing from squads, and now we'll gift him an Olympics appearance at the expense of someone like Greg Draper? Not on.

We have to get the best players we can for the olympics under the rules, and we have. Its a shame Draper didn't make it, but rather have Nelsen there, he will add a lot more. Im sure there has been reasons why he hasn't been able to play for the AWs the past few years, now he is available we have done the right thing and sellected him. Lets see if he plays in the World Cup qualifiers later this year as well.

TheJam2008-07-03 14:27:32

The reasons he hasn't been available are that he didn't want to force the issue with his club.  He looked after himself, which is understandable. if not commendable.  TheJam2008-07-03 14:28:34

The Olympics isn't really a development tournament.  We're fighting for our international credibility every time we play in one of these tournaments.  Getting into a squad isn't a reward for attendance or attitude.  It's a reward for quality.  Better players should always get into our international teams first.

The Olympics serve no purpose whatsoever for football - in fact football is only there as a favour to the Olympic committee. In fact, NZ is  one of the very few countries that will take football at the Olympics seriously. So we shouldn't use it as a tool for bettering ourselves on the world stage, cos it won't. It has absolutely no affect on our world ranking. If no-one else takes it seriously as a football tournament why do we?

Because we have a better chance to get there than to the World Cup. And any chance to take a team to the world stage (apart from the fact that it is expensive) is good for the game. And that is a huge call to say no one else takes it seriously. Silly thing to say.

Also more importantly for some of the lads this weill be their best chance ever to impress overseas scouts and land a contract overseas.

But it is not an important tournament internationally, and it doesn't matter how often you say it is, that won't make it so.
Sure the players who go there will play hard and try their best to win, but at the end of the day very few in the footballing world will be paying attention to it. The reality now is that most scouts won't bother either - U23 players are quite 'old' by today's scouting standards, meaning that they seek to pick up the 'bright new thing' at a much earlier age (we're talking 16, 17 here). Sure an exceptional performance or two may get some attention, but by and large very few players burst onto the scene on the basis of the Olympics. Consider Carlos Tevez, who carried the Argentinian Olympic team in 2004, yet no-one showed too much interest in him until his performances with Corinthians (when he was widely considered the best player in Brazil, much to the consternation of Brazilians) that brought him the attention and offers of big moves.
Where does this leave NZ? There's definitely merit in sending a team to the Olympics, primarily because we need to get exposed to the higher level of international play than we get in Oceania. But this needs to be tempered with realistic expectations, and a realisation that we need need years and years of sound planning and hard work before we can hope to be competetive at the highest international level. Which the Olympic tournament is not, and never will be.

its not important internationally but is important for the credibility of the game in new zealand. like it or not people in new zealand will take an interest in how the olywhites do. why cant you get that el grad? this isnt about international football, its about credibility of the game in nz

Back to Ryan Nelsen, I wonder if his great desire to play at the Olympics tells us something about his expectations of the All Whites' World Cup qualifying campaign.

Will the Olywhites do any better than the U20s last year? Highly doubt it.
How's that going to improve the 'credibility' of the game here?
Secondly, the average Joe here only cares about sports which will bring medals, or at least get close enough to think they may get one. Olywhites won't feature there, and will make about as much impact as the Black Sticks or whatever that hockey's team name is. Along the lines "were they there?", "I think so, but not sure. Maybe?".
As I've said, we definitely need to be there, but some of the expectations, both on and off the field, strike me as somewhat fanciful. I would have sent our full U23 team, and be all over the media stressing the restrictive nature of the tournament and its importance for player development, rather than branding it as the 'once in a lifetime opportunity' that some in the football media have. el grapadura2008-07-03 18:05:55

crap! people didnt care about the u20 world cup not mainstream sports fans anyway. do you remember 2000 olympics? the hockey teams game against argentina rated higher than the bledisloe cup that year and they didnt win a medal. its the olympics, people will care full stop. im sorry you're to cynical to see thatbopman2008-07-03 18:09:57

We will be better with Nelsen than without.

Our results will matter here and overseas.

Players are more likely to be noticed if we do well, which is more likely with Nelsen than without.

TheJam - if it's of no importance would you support NZ not going?  Or sending an U17 team?

I for one am going to be very interested in our football team at the Olympics, and I know a lot of other people that will. Even more so now that Ryan is involved.

Its friggin great to have them there, so let's celebrate it not whinge and moan for gods sake.

Feverish2008-07-03 21:02:11

Firstly, who are we as NZers to say that a tournament is not important?  Every tournmament we play in is important for the players involved.

What he said.