Friday Five – The alternative players to watch at London 2012

With the memory of Euro 2012 fading faster than one of Jordi Albas lightening surges, the upcoming summer Olympics provides an intriguing fix to those struggling to plug the gap before the league season is underway. While the British public continue to eye the football competition with cynicism and, as shown in the poor uptake of tickets, casual indifference, the wider continent are embracing the challenge and have assigned strong and exciting teams to the task of bringing home gold at Wembley on August 11^th.

Although the talents of the likes of Giggs, Suarez, Mata and Ba  will come as no surprise to the home crowds, the U23 format of the tournament will give a British audience a rare opportunity to watch some of the exciting young talents that are likely to have a big impact on the season ahead in there respective regions. As such, Tea & Busquets bring to you our alternative top 5 players to watch out for, with not a mention of Craig Bellamy in sight.

1. Pablo Henrique Ganso (Brazil) – With European based heavyweights Thiago Silva, Hulk and Alexandre Pato in tow, as well as the ridiculously gifted Santos striker Neymar, Brazil will rightfully go into the games as favourites to capture the one international event that has so far eluded them. Despite boasting such heralded talents, much of the sides creative influence is likely to fall on the shoulders of Neymars club mate, the mercurially talented Ganso.

It’s over two years now since the skilful midfielder made his full debut for Brazil, and at 22, he is now at an age where many of his luminaries have moved on and established themselves at top European clubs. Injury problems and loss of form at key moments have derailed his progress thus far, however after a well documented fall out with the Santos hierarchy and a blank refusal to negotiate a new contract, this is the moment when the man labelled the new Socrates can finally announce himself to the world.

He comes with a point to prove, as anyone who watched Santos play Barcelona in the 2011 Club World Cup will testify. On that day, the much trumpeted duo of Ganso and Neymar were completely marginalised by a fluid Barca performance. With injury problems now behind him, and with coach Mano Menezes attempting to bring back the swashbuckling style of Brazil teams of old, breaking free of the over cautious approach that blighted Dungas reign in charge, Ganso will see this tournament as the opportunity to showcase his talents to the European market. With Arsenal and Manchester United already linked with big money moves, a strong tournament may mean we will be seeing a lot more of him in the future.

2. Steve Caulker (Great Britain) –  With Ryan Nelsen recently released, William Gallas reportedly set to leave the club and Ledley King retiring, 20 year old Caulker is expected to play a big part in this seasons Spurs revival under Andre Villas Boas. Last season saw the Londoner firmly establish himself as a Premiership quality centre back, becoming a mainstay in the heart of an impressive Swansea side. A ball playing centre half with no shortage of pace, Caulker is a natural fit to replace the departed King, and has the strong technical attributes that will surely sit well with his new managers footballing principals. 

Caulkers partner in the heart of Team GB’s defence is likely to be the experienced Micah Richards, with Chelsea’s Ryan Bertrand occupying the right back spot and Welshman Neil Taylor on the left. Despite the lack of tournament experience, this is a strong, quick defensive line with plenty of big game club experience. They may come unstuck against the more established countries such as Brazil and Spain, however  there are plenty of reasons to suggest Team GB may surprise a few of the doubters this summer.

3. Nicolas Lodeiro (Uruguay) – At just 23 years old, attacking midfielder Loderio has already led an eventful career that has saw him leave his native country in a blaze of promise, before disappointing in Europe and returning this season to South America with Brazilian side Botafogo.

The tricky Uruguayan burst onto the scene as a 19 year old during the 2008/2009 Copa Libertadores, helping Nacional reach the semi finals and quickly establishing himself as one of the hottest prospects in South America. His rapid progress culminated in a move to Dutch cracks Ajax, and a full international debut in the CONCACAF-CONMEBOL Play Off match for the 2010 World Cup. Lodeiro’s impressive displays led to a place in the 22 man squad for the tournament, however a red card in the opening game against France brought a sudden and disappointing end to his tournament.

Despite forging a promising partnership with countryman Luis Suarez, Lodeiro’s stint in Holland was a frustrating one. Injury ruled him out of the entire 2010/2011 season, and he struggled to regain a regular role in Frank De Boers side on his return. A return to former side Nacional was muted, however he chose to try his luck in Brazil and has recently signed for Rio club Botafogo. Known for his quick feet and blessed with two good feet, Loderio will be hoping to make the headlines in an international tournament for the right reasons this time.

4. Alvaro Vazquez (Spain) – A player who will be well known to La Liga followers, Vazquez has already chalked up over 60 appearances for Espanyol and goes into the tournament as Spains main striker. The boy from Barcelona already has tournament experience, after lighting up the U20 World Cup in Columbia last summer. Vazquez tied for the golden boot with Brazil Henrique, netting five goals including a quick fire hat trick against Australia. He further enhanced his growing reputation with an equaliser in the derby against Barcelona last season, and leading the line well following the departure of Pablo Osvaldo to Roma. Sevilla and Atletico Madrid have already made there interest known, and he has also caught the eye of Martin O’Neil at Sunderland.

As an out and out striker, his tournament will depend on whether Olympic coach Luis Milla decides to go against the route taken by the senior side, and deploy a number 9 in the majority of games. Milla boasts a formidable looking midfield featuring the likes of Chealsea star Juan Mata, Athletic Bilbao’s Ander Herrera and Barcelona duo Thiago Alcantara and Cristian Tello. Both Tello and Mata are a shoe in for the wide attacking roles, leaving space for either Vazquez or Atleticos’ Adrian Lopez. Following a double on his U23 debut in February, the Espanyol man should get the nod.

5. Marco Fabian (Mexico) –  22 year old Fabian is the latest production from the renowned Chavas Guadalajara production line, and hoping to emulate his friend Javier Hernandez in securing a big money move to Europe. Following Hernandez departure in 2010, the exciting midfielder has taken on the creative duties for his club, and will be looking for his international breakthrough to come this summer in London. Along with Cruz Azul star Javier Aquino, Fabian will provide the attacking thrust from midfield to support a main striker, probably Spurs forgotten man Giovani Dos Santos.

Those with a keener eye for European football may already be aware of his talent. In a friendly last summer, Fabian stunned the then European champions Barcelona with a double, including an acrobatic scissor kick Leo Messi would have been proud of. He comes into the tournament in stunning form, Having scored 13 goals in 11 games for the U23 team that Mexico are bringing including the winner in the recent friendly with Team GB. He has some catching up to do also, he has only recently returned to the international fold having served a 6 month suspension for breaking disciplinary codes at a team gathering in Ecuador.   Dogged by inconsistency in the past, when everything clicks Fabian is the best playmaker in Mexican football and the Olympics could be the platform in which he demonstrates this.