The London 2012 chairman believes that Manchester United’s young players could gain valuable experience from joining the Great Britain football team at the Olympics.
Despite Sir Alex Ferguson’s objections to his players featuring in the Euro 2012 and the Olympics, Lord Coe said that newbies such as Carlos Tevez had benefited from being part of the Games.
He told the BBC, “A lot of countries use the tournament as a way of giving young players tournament experience. There are a lot of players that would like to play in the Olympic Games”
Although Coe understands Ferguson’s decision, he believes that the Scottish manager knows that development is an important to every player.
“I know that Alex and other managers will want their players to be fit and healthy for the Premier League.
“But actually Alex is a believer in Olympic football and I have spoken to him about it. “That is very clearly Alex wearing his Manchester United-Premier League manager’s hat and I know some managers will inevitably do so.
“But this is about prioritising. There are a lot of players that would like to play in the Olympic Games and there are a lot of managers that think it is an important part of the development of a player.”
A self confessed football fan, Coe also said that he was impressed with Tevez’s performance in the Olympic final in Athens.
“I went to the Olympic final in Athens just as a fan. I watched Argentina against Paraguay in the final and [Manchester City striker] Carlos Tevez was playing, basically making his international debut, and [Barcelona forward] Lionel Messi played in the 2008 final in Beijing.
“So there is an extraordinary opportunity for young players and a lot of countries do use the Olympic tournament as a way of giving young players that tournament experience when it is probably less important in a way for them than their European or continental championships or even a World Cup.”
