Soccer: Huge crowds expected

Relations between the Olympic movement and the world's most popular sport have often been fractious, with neither side quite sure what the other requires of it.

This month's hybrid competition, which began on Wednesday night, will be deprived of several leading players from European clubs, and may be the last to feature any country from South America, yet it has proved hugely popular, and lucrative to the organisers.

For the first three decades of the 20th Century, the Games were effectively football's World Cup, before Uruguay's dazzling performances provided a springboard for the real thing to be staged in Montevideo in 1930.

Post-war, the Olympic tournament was dominated by the shamateurs of eastern Europe, until players with World Cup experience were banned and it became an Under-23 event. From 1996, three over-age players were permitted.

That allows for the participation of some well-known and highly-paid performers - if their clubs release them - and, when the women's tournament is taken into account, more people are expected to watch football over the next three weeks than any other Olympic sport, athletics included.

Once again, they will do so in venues other than the host city: Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne all stage matches before tonight's opening ceremony, though Sydney, unlike Atlanta, will host some games, including the final.

The event is organised like an old-fashioned World Cup, with four groups of four, then quarter- and semifinals, the 16 qualifiers having in this case been chosen from four different regions. Europe's only representatives are the quartet who qualified through the European Under-21 Championship in Bratislava last season: Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Italy, taking the competition seriously enough to have postponed the start of Serie A until October, play in Group A, which looks the most glamorous, also featuring the holders Nigeria, and the home country.

The four prominent Nigerians, Arsenal's Nwankwo Kanu, - who captained the team that beat the star-strewn Brazil 4-3 and then Argentina 3-2 to win in 1996 - Sunday Oliseh, Jay-Jay Okocha and Jonathan Akboporiaacé have all stayed with their European clubs, severely depleting the team's hopes of gold.

They got a surprise when held to a 3-3 draw by Honduras on Wednesday night, and will almost certainly need to beat Australia or the gifted Italians, coached by Marco Tardelli, even to reach the last eight.

Group D will be the other interesting section, and could have the most profound implications, in costing Brazil's Wanderley Luxemburgo his job as coach if they fail to impress.

With the World Cup qualifying campaign stuttering, Luxemburgo is already under more pressure than most Brazilian coaches, as well as having a court case for alleged tax evasion pending.

He has bravely decided against using over-age players, putting his faith in men such as the striker Ronaldinho, the playmaker Alex, and Athirson, an attacking fullback now with Juventus.

It does not help that Brazil - to their great displeasure - have never won the tournament, finishing runners-up in 1984 and 1988, then losing the dramatic semi-final to Nigeria, with a team including Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Juninho and Roberto Carlos.

Japan, Slovakia and South Africa complete Group D.

This may be the last chance for any South American country to win a gold medal, as the confederation president has suggested the Olympics has become too expensive a tournament in the increasingly cluttered calendar.

The region's other representatives are Chile, who eliminated Argentina, and will contest Group B with potential medallists Spain, Morocco and South Korea.

Group C features the African Nations Cup holders, Cameroon, though not their Middlesbrough striker, Joseph-Desiraacé Job, who is staying in Teesside. They are up against the Czechs, the United States and the outsiders, Kuwait.

Cameroon kicked off with a 2-1 win over Kuwait, and the US and the Czech Republic drew 2-2.

The form-guide for the women's tournament is last year's World Cup, where the US beat China in the final and Brazil overcame Norway for third place.

Those four are joined by Australia, Germany, Nigeria and Sweden.

- INDEPENDENT