10 world-class stars you had no idea played at the 2012 Olympics: Neymar, Salah, Mane…
The 2012 Olympics in London seems an awfully long time ago now – but some of the greatest footballers of their generation participated at the Games.
Cardiff, Coventry, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Wembley all hosted matches which saw Mexico win the Men’s Gold and the USWNT win their fourth Olympic Football Gold.
Ahead of the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, we’ve identified ten proper ballers who we can’t believe competed at the Olympics those twelve long years ago.
Mohamed Salah
The Egyptian King was just 20 years old when the 2012 Olympics came around, and was still making a name for himself at FC Basel in Switzerland.
He’d already notched an impressive eight goals in 14 appearances for the Egyptian national team (he’s on 57 goals and 100 apps now).
Salah scored twice in the group stage, helping the Pharaohs to advance to the knockout rounds, only to be defeated 3-0 by Japan.
Neymar
Neymar was still a Santos player at the time of the London Games, and all we’d seen of him were sketchy YouTube clips of him doing rainbow flicks whilst sporting a Robbie Fowler nose band.
The then 20-year-old phenom scored what turned out to be the winner against Mo Salah’s Egypt, and eventually finished the tournament with a silver medal after narrowly losing out to Mexico in the final.
Sadio Mane
The thought of Sadio Mane—then of Metz—playing against Ryan Giggs and Craig Bellamy at the Olympic Games makes our brain go a bit soupy. It doesn’t quite compute.
Mane was booked at the end of the first half and, according to the Guardian’s running commentary, he should’ve had three yellows in the game.
The best line from that liveblogged commentary is probably this from Ian Copestake, though.
“Is it an act of cocksnoopery or sympathy that the GB strip is designed to look like a Scotland strip?”
Cocksnoopery. Incredible.
Unfortunately both Senegal and Egypt went out in the first knockout round (the quarterfinals), otherwise Mane and Salah would’ve faced each other in the semis.
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Ellen White
White may have just retired, but it’s still crazy to think she was kicking about in 2012 alongside Fara Williams, Rachel Yankey, and Kelly Smith.
She didn’t manage to find the back of the net in the group stage, and Team GB were knocked out by Canada in the quarterfinals, but the rest of White’s career more than made up for that we reckon.
White retired aged 33 partially due to a punctured lung that she suffered during an acupuncture treatment… Jesus Christ!
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
You read that correctly. Aubameyang was a Saint-Etienne player at the time, and Gabon actually came close to progressing out of their group following draws with Switzerland and South Korea.
Auba was, of course, the man who scored Gabon’s only goal at the tournament. He’s now closing in on a move to the Saudi Pro League.
Raul Jimenez
Mexico’s path to Olympic glory was forged by a squad of players made exclusively of ballers who played their club football in Mexico (except for Tottenham’s Giovanni Dos Santos).
That run to the final featured several cameo appearances from a 21-year-old Raul Jimenez, then of Club America in the Liga MX.
It would be another six years before the big man with the low socks turned up in Wolverhampton.
Alex Morgan
USWNT won the 2012 Olympic Football tournament, because of course they did.
The USA’s future salty tea-sipping captain notched a couple of goals against a strong France side in the group stages, and played alongside then-captain Christie Pearce (then known as Christie Rampone), who is now literally 49 years old.
Morgan is at San Diego Wave (who have a class club badge, by the way) in the NWSL, in 2024, and the 35-year-old is still banging goals in for fun.
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Fabian Schar
Mohamed Salah’s FC Basel teammate was the starting centre-back for Switzerland’s first two group games at London 2012. Schar was dropped for the final group game with Mexico, which the Swiss lost 1-0, finishing bottom of their group.
As any Geordie will tell you, Fab always has a screamer in him. Just let him cook.
Chris Wood
Our brain can’t compute Chris Wood at the Olympics but here we are—this is the timeline we live in. The ex-Newcastle and Burnley man scored New Zealand’s only goal of the tournament, in a 1-1 draw with Egypt. Guess who scored Egypt’s goal… Yeah. Mo Salah.
Wood was an uncapped 20-year-old at the time of the tournament. He’s now got 34 goals in 74 games for the All Whites.
Wendie Renard
Renard has spent her whole club career at Lyon, right? And she’s scored 142 goals. She’s a centre-back.
A hundred-and-forty-two goals from centre-back. What are you talking about, Wendie?
Like Ronald Koeman and Steve Bruce met up in a secret laboratory in Martinique, lightning slashing through the night sky, thunder shaking the Earth, and set about creating the ultimate goalscoring centre-half.
Renard is still only 33, but the then 22-year-old was on hand to see France through to the semifinals. Scored twice, obviously, including the winner against Sweden in the quarterfinals. Unbelievable.