Italy's youth inspire golden hopes

The last two years have not been happy for Italian national football. Limp performances in the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004 brought scathing criticism back home, with the sharpest barbs directed at some of the country's biggest names, including Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero and Christian Vieri.

The last two years have not been happy for Italian national football. Limp performances in the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004 brought scathing criticism back home, with the sharpest barbs directed at some of the country's biggest names, including Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero and Christian Vieri.

Over the next fortnight, however, the Italians hope to show that their next generation of footballers will be worthy of wearing the famous blue shirt. The Olympic tournament, which starts tonight two days before the Games' opening ceremony, is restricted to players under the age of 23 (with each country allowed also to select three over-age players) and Italy, as European Under-21 champions, start as one of the favourites.

The Azzurrini, coached by Claudio Gentile, won the European Under-21 tournament this summer playing largely without the cynicism and negativity all too often shown by their elders. Their Olympic party includes 15 members of that successful squad, including the Parma striker, Alberto Gilardino, who made a major breakthrough in Serie A last season. Significantly, Gentile resisted the temptation to include some of the country's biggest names when selecting his over-age players, choosing Milan's Andrea Pirlo and the Roma pair of Matteo Ferrari and Ivan Pelizzoli, aged 25, 24 and 23 respectively.

The Italians play their first game tomorrow against Ghana, while eight other teams open their campaigns tonight at venues across the country. Argentina, who meet Serbia and Montenegro today, also have a highly promising pool of young players, including Barcelona's Javier Saviola, and have reinforced their team with three over-age players of the highest quality, Roberto Ayala, Kily Gonzales and Gabriel Heinze, one of Manchester United's summer signings.

To add to Sir Alex Ferguson's frustration, the United manager is also having to begin the season without his young winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been called up by Portugal. Ferguson was so angered by Ronaldo's inclusion after his Euro 2004 exertions that he demanded the Portuguese give the player a thorough medical examination. The Portuguese federation duly obliged and said yesterday that Ronaldo was fit to play.

Rangers, meanwhile, upset by Craig Moore's insistence on playing for Australia, stripped him of the captaincy and placed him on the transfer list. His fellow countryman, Tim Cahill, who has joined Everton from Millwall, is also in the Australia squad. Even Sepp Blatter, Fifa's president, admits: "There are too many games and especially at club level. I enjoyed Euro 2004 but I was also a little saddened and forced to reflect. Like at the 2002 World Cup, many stars were physically and mentally exhausted."

While Blatter called this week on clubs to embrace the Olympic tournament more willingly, it seems that Fifa, which insists on the age limit, is determined to preserve the supremacy of its own competitions, particularly the World Cup. Relations with the International Olympic Committee have often been difficult and are likely to worsen as Fifa continues to insist that it must retain control of punishments for drugs offences, while other sports have agreed to come under the umbrella of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The Olympic tournament therefore remains a rather half-baked affair, with many of the game's strongest nations - including Brazil, Germany and the holders, Cameroon - missing from the current tournament. Greece, however, is obsessed by football, especially after the country's Euro 2004 triumph, and the competition has already accounted for more than a quarter of all Games ticket sales.

The hosts are not regarded as likely challengers for medals, but, after events in Portugal this summer, who knows?

The women's tournament also kicks off today, with 10 teams split into three groups. The gold contenders are likely to be Germany, last year's World Cup winners, Sweden, the losing finalists, China and the United States. The American squad includes Mia Hamm, arguably the world's most famous woman footballer, who is making her last appearance at a major international tournament.

Based in Britain: Players at Athens

Argentina

Gabriel Heinze (Manchester United).

Nicolas Medina (Sunderland).

Australia

Brad Jones (Middlesbrough).

Craig Moore (Rangers).

Tim Cahill (Everton).

Adrian Madaschi (Partick Thistle).

Luke Wilkshire (Bristol City).

David Tarka (Nottingham Forest).

Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United).

Luis Boa Morte (Fulham).

The Tournament Group Stages

Men's tournament teams

Group A: Greece, Korea, Mali, Mexico.

Group B: Ghana, Italy, Japan, Paraguay.

Group C: Argentina, Australia, Serbia and Montenegro, Tunisia.

Group D: Costa Rica, Iraq, Morocco, Portugal.

Women's tournament teams

Group E: Sweden, Japan, Nigeria.

Group F: Germany, China, Mexico.

Group G: Greece, US, Brazil, Australia.