BRAZIL

Roster shines like gold

While most Olympic teams scheduled warmup matches against A-League and USISL franchises and local colleges upon arriving in the U.S., the World All-Stars awaited Brazil July 14 at Giants Stadium. ‘Nuff said about Brazil’s determination to win an Olympic gold medal in Atlanta and finally complete its FIFA collection.

The gold medal has become an obsession for coach Mario Zagallo, who steered Brazil to the 1970 World Cup title.

He’s been tinkering with his roster for almost two years. The end result is easily the most talented, experienced and sought-after collection of players currently on tour, with hordes of European scouts waiting to pounce once the medals are handed out.

The team includes home-based stars like Luizao (Palmeiras), Danrlei (Gremio) and Savio (Flamengo) and experienced European pros such as Roberto Carlos (Inter Milan), Juninho (Middlesbrough) and Ronaldo (PSV Eindhoven).

Then there are the three overage players — Bebeto, Aldair and Rivaldo — each of whom has gobs experience and are so good that World Cup hero Romario failed to make the cut.

The fact that this U-23 squad has been representing Brazil for almost a year at major events such as the 1996 Gold Cup only adds to its prestige.

History: 8 appearances (2 silvers: 1984, 1988).

Qualifying: Peru 4-1, Paraguay 3-1, Bolivia 4-1, Uruguay 0-0, Venezuela 5-0, Uruguay 3-1, Argentina 2-2.

NIGERIA

Super Eagles need stability

Easily the most troubled team in the tournament, Nigeria is going to be awesome if it ever gets its act together. But the political instability back in Lagos, the coaching chaos and the lack of big-game experience that has haunted Nigeria for the last two years threatens its hopes.

Nigeria has been on a downward slide since squandering a one-goal lead against Italy in the second round of the 1994 World Cup, and its clumsy boycott of the 1996 African Nations Cup got the national team banned from that tournament until 2002. In fact, coach Jo Bonfrere was so frustrated that he quit for more than a month this spring, only being lured back by promises that Nigeria’s political leaders will keep away.

The good news is that many of the same players who helped Nigeria crack the world elite are on the Olympic team, including defenders Taribo West and Celestine Babayaro, midfielders Nwankwo Kanu and Jay Jay. Okocha, and forward Victor Ikpeba — all of whom pay for top-notch European clubs. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s overage players feature World Cup stars include Uche Ukechukwu and Daniel Amokachi.

The talent is there for Nigeria to win.

History: 3 appearances.

Qualifying: Kenya 0-0, 3-0, Egypt 3-2, 1-1, Zimbabwe 1-0, 1-0.

JAPAN

What the J-League sowed

Thanks to the massive success of the J-League, Japan is finally producing players to compete on the world level.

Although it finished second to archrival South Korea in the qualifying tournament, Japan outscored its opponents, 25-6, and showcased midfielder Masakiyo Maezono as a bona fide star. Maezono scored both goals in a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia that clinched Japan’s berth. Other J-League standouts include midfielder Yuji Hironaga (Verdy Kawasaki), striker Shoji Jo (JEF United) and Yokohama Marinos goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguichi.

But the decision not to call up any overage players for the Olympic team is a risk, especially since national team scoring ace Kazu Miura was clamoring to go, and the defense is very, very young. Japan is still the only Asian country to win an Olympic medal, taking third place in 1968, but that was also its last appearance in the tournament.

History: 4 appearances (1 bronze: 1968).

Qualifying: Thailand 5-0, 1-0, Chinese Taipei 4-1, 6-0, Iraq 1-1, Oman 4-1, UAE 1-0, Saudi Arabia 2-1, South Korea 1-2.

HUNGARY

A power of yore

There was a time when Hungary owned the Olympic Games, but that was long ago.

Hungary placed five times over a 20-year period, beginning with a gold medal in 1952. That year it could legitimately claim the world’s best team, but then the inequities of the state-supported teams of the Communist era made Olympic “amateur” soccer the plaything of Eastern Europe.

The collapse of Communism leveled Hungarian soccer, and the 1996 Olympic team is a solid, if unspectacular, team.

Led by coach Antal Dunai, who was a member of the 1968 Olympic team, Hungary is mostly drawn from the Big Three clubs (Ferencvaros, UTE and DVSC Epona) and yet still struggled through an easy Olympic qualifying group.

On a team with no overage players, the most dependable player is Gabor Egressy, who scored several key goals during Olympic qualifying.

History: 8 appearances (3 golds: 1952, 1966, 1968, 1 silver: 1972; 1 bronze 1952).

Qualifying: Turkey 2-1, 1-2, Sweden 1-0, 2-1, Switzerland 1-0, 3-2, Iceland 1-1, 3-1, Scotland 2-1, 1-3.