Golden Ambition
Andy Greeves talks to goalkeeper Giles Moore, who is included in Team GB's squad for the 7-a-side tournament at this summer's Paralympic Games in Rio.
5 July, 2016
Four years ago, Great Britain fielded a men's football team at the Olympic Games for the first time since 1960 and also had its first-ever women's side competing at the tournament.
Neither men's or women's teams will be involved in this summer's Olympic Games in Brazil though after the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish football associations objected to the prospect of British sides taking part in the Games once again in 2016. FIFA insisted on all the support of all the home nations for there to be two football teams representing Team GB in Rio.
There will however be British involvement in the sport at the Paralympics, with Team GB one of eight sides included in the 7-a-side football tournament. Britain secured its qualification for Rio by virtue of England finishing fifth at the 2015 Cerebral Palsy Football World Championships (also known as the Cerebral Palsy World Cup) and will take its place in Group A at the Paralympics along with Brazil, Ukraine and the Republic of Ireland.
Goalkeeper Giles Moore was recently named amongst a 14-man squad for the tournament, with the 19-year-old naturally excited about representing his country at the Games.
"This (inclusion in the squad for the Paralympics) is what every player dreams of playing as far as getting to play at the highest standard of my game at the Paralympics… I am over the moon," smiles Moore. "This is when the hard work starts though and we need to knuckle down towards the Games. We have a very challenging group with two of the best teams in the world (Ukraine and Brazil) so we have been put in a hard group. We are up against it but there's no pressure on us and with new talents in the squad, which could get into any team at the tournament, we have definitely got a chance."
All the players in the competition suffer with cerebral palsy or similar conditions which impair muscular coordination. Some players in Team GB's squad were born with such a disability while others saw it thrust upon them as a result of tragic incidents.
Skipper Jack Rutter for example was the victim of an unprovoked attack in his home city of Gloucester that saw him hit his head of a kerbstone and split his skull. Sean Highdale meanwhile was critically injured in a car crash which claimed the lives of two of his friends.
Both Rutter and Highdale were academy players with professional clubs at the time of these incidents, with Birmingham City and Liverpool respectively.
"We have players that played or still play professionally such as Jack and Sean," adds Giles. "Michael Barker played for Everton while Ollie Nugent is still playing for Chester."
Nugent moved from Tranmere Rovers to Chester FC last season, making a name for himself with a man-of-the-match performance against Oldham Athletic in the FA Youth Cup. He made his senior debut for the National League (one division below the Football League in England) side that same campaign in a Cheshire Senior Cup match and has spoken recently of his desire to be the first footballer in the UK with cerebral palsy to earn a professional contract in the sport.
While striker Nugent is a hot prospect at one end of the pitch, goalkeeper Moore has been impressing at the other. The teenager has already represented England in a European Championships and a World Cup. On both occasions, the Three Lions finished fifth at the competitions which is their best performance in the tournaments to date. Moore was England's number one during those successful campaigns and was named 'Best Goalkeeper in Europe' at the 2014 European Championships in Portugal.
"My best highlight in an England shirt was playing against Ukraine at the Euros in Portugal," reflects Moore on 2014 group stage clash. "We put in a great team performance and were winning 1-0 until the last minute when unfortunately we conceded an equaliser in the last minute. We had gone tail-to-tail with the second best team in the world though and we did the same against at the World Cup (when England went down to a narrow 1-0 defeat on June 20, 2015)."
"My personal highlight was being awarded the Best Goalkeeper in Europe award at the European Championship in Portugal. Winning this award is something that I could only ever have dreamed of and it was the best feeling ever."
Of the squad heading to Rio, all but two of Team GB's players will be making their Paralympic debut. Michael Barker and Jonathan Paterson are the veterans of the side, with this summer's Games being their third each but the rest of the player are newbies to this competition. Despite the relative lack of experience in the 14-man-squad, Moore is impressed with his team mates' ability.
"We have a number of world class players such as Jack Rutter, Michael Barker, Ollie Nugent and Sean Highdale as well as David Porcher (a former member of Hibernian's youth academy) and Matt Crossen who are all going to be important members of the team," says Moore. "The whole squad has great ability though and every member should be watched."
Four years ago, a Great Britain team that included Martin Sinclair - brother of Aston Villa midfielder Scott Sinclair, failed to progress beyond the group stage at the Paralympic Games in London. It was Russia who took the gold medal, with the Ukraine taking silver and Iran scooping bronze. In Rio, Moore is once again expecting Russia to be the team to beat.
"They (Russia) have a number of players that make them a step ahead… they have all got loads of talent," comments Moore. "In midfield Viacheslav Larionov is their playmaker and they have a great spine of the team with Lasha Murvanadze at the back, who sweeps up and is also very good attacking, and striker Dimitrii Pestretsov, who is a real goal poacher."
Team GB will be considered a dark horse by many to win a medal in Rio. Such a success would serve to bolster the nation's interest in different forms of disability football. This was raised back in 2004 when the first FA Football Development programme was launched and six years later the IBSA World Blind Football Championship was hosted in Hereford, England.
"Since I have been involved with cerebral palsy football the standard has risen considerably and the talent we have in the team is great," adds Moore on the growth of his own sport. "The players in our (Team GB) side has lots of different experiences, some of us being born with the condition or some of our ex pros that have had accidents. There's some great stories across the team and they are all inspirations. This is what makes our team unique and also what makes us stronger as a team. We would put our body on line for each other."
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