Football at the 1908 Summer Olympics
At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, Great Britain, an official football tournament between national representative selections was contested for the first time: football at the two previous games had been played between club teams.[1][2] Eight teams entered (including two from France, the main team and a "B" side)[3], although Hungary and Bohemia withdrew before the start. Denmark's Sophus "Krølben" Nielsen set a record by scoring 10 goals in a 17-1 win against France. Great Britain won the gold. Among those representing the Danish team was the famous mathematician Harald Bohr.
 The "Challenge Cup", awarded to the winning team | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Great Britain |
| Dates | 19–24 October |
| Teams | 6 |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Great Britain (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Denmark |
| Third place |  Netherlands |
| Fourth place |  Sweden |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 48 (8 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Sophus Nielsen (11 goals) |
VenueEdit
The White City Stadium hosted all the matches
SquadsEdit
TournamentEdit
First roundEdit
| Denmark | 9–0 |  France B |
|---|---|---|
N. Middelboe  10', 49'Wolfhagen 15', 17', 67', 72'Bohr 25', 47'S. Nielsen 78' |
Report |
| Great Britain | 12–1 | Sweden |
|---|---|---|
| Stapley 15', ??' Woodward ??', ??'Berry ??'Chapman ??'Purnell ??', ??', ??', ??'Hawkes ??', ??' |
Report | Bergström 65' |
Semi-finalsEdit
| Great Britain | 4–0 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Stapley 37', 60', 64', 75' |
Report |
| Denmark | 17–1 | France |
|---|---|---|
| S. Nielsen 3', 4', 6', 39', 46', 48', 52', 64', 66', 76' Lindgren 18', 37'Wolfhagen 60', 72', 82', 89'N. Middelboe 68' |
Report | Sartorius 16' |
Bronze medal matchEdit
The French were so shocked by their 17-1 defeat against Denmark that they declined to play for the bronze medal; therefore, the Netherlands played Sweden for third place.[6]
| Netherlands | 2–0 | Sweden |
|---|---|---|
| Reeman 6' Snethlage 58' |
Report |
Gold medal matchEdit
| Great Britain | 2–0 | Denmark |
|---|---|---|
| Chapman 20' Woodward 46' |
Report |
| Team details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal summaryEdit
Medal tableEdit
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Great Britain
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | +17 | 6 |
|
Denmark
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 3 | +23 | 6 |
|
Netherlands
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 2 |
| 4 |  France [note 1] |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 26 | -25 | 0 |
| 5 | Sweden
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 14 | -13 | 0 |
- Notes
- ^ Summarizing performances of both, A and B teams.
MedalistsEdit
Complete list of medal winners:[8]
Denmark won the Silver Medal
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's tournament | Great Britain Horace Bailey Arthur Berry Frederick Chapman Walter Corbett Harold Hardman Robert Hawkes Kenneth Hunt Herbert Smith Harold Stapley Clyde Purnell Vivian Woodward George Barlow[9] Albert Bell Ronald Brebner W. Crabtree Walter Daffern Thomas Porter Albert Scothern |
 Denmark (DEN)[10]Peter Marius Andersen Harald Bohr Charles Buchwald Ludvig Drescher Johannes Gandil Harald Hansen August Lindgren Kristian Middelboe Nils Middelboe Sophus Nielsen Oskar Nørland Bjørn Rasmussen Vilhelm Wolfhagen Magnus Beck [9] Ødbert E. Bjarnholt Knud Hansen Einar Middelboe |
 Netherlands (NED)Reinier Beeuwkes Frans de Bruyn Kops Karel Heijting Jan Kok Bok de Korver Emil Mundt Louis Otten Jops Reeman Edu Snethlage Ed Sol Jan Thomée Caius Welcker Jan van den Berg[9] Lo la Chapelle Vic Gonsalves John Heijting Tonie van Renterghem |
StatisticsEdit
GoalscorersEdit
Danish Sophus Nielsen, topscorer with 11 goals
- 11 goals
- 8 goals
- 6 goals
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
GoalkeepingEdit
| Place | Name | Team | Goals allowed | Games | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horace Bailey | Great Britain |
1 | 3 | 0.33 |
| 2 | Ludvig Drescher | Denmark |
3 | 3 | 1.00 |
| 3 | Reinier Beeuwkes | Netherlands |
4 | 2 | 2.00 |
| 4 | Oskar Bengtsson | Sweden |
14 | 2 | 7.00 |
| 5 | Fernand Desrousseaux | France |
9 | 1 | 9.00 |
| 6 | Maurice Tillette | France |
17 | 1 | 17.00 |
BibliographyEdit
- Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
ReferencesEdit
- ^ Olympic Football Tournament London 1908, FIFA.com
- ^ "Football at the 1908 London Summer Games". Sports Reference. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ^ Great Britain's first home Olympic football adventure by Jon Carter on ESPN, 26 July 2012
- ^ Games of the IV. Olympiad - Football Tournament (London, England, October 19 - 24, 1908) by Lars Aarhus on the RSSSF
- ^ Olympic Tournament - 1908 London on IFFHS
- ^ IFFHS
- ^ "Netherlands 2 Sweden 0 (Match summary)". www.footballdatabase.eu. 23 October 1908. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
- ^ Footballers in London
- ^ a b c Those players were also in squad, but did not play any matches.
- ^ (in Danish) Slutrundetrupper 1908-2004 at Danish Football Association[dead link]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Association football at the 1908 Summer Olympics. |