1908 Olympics

Great Britain

So, the first Olympic tournament to be contested by International representative sides took place in London in 1908. Eight teams entered. A disagreement between FIFA and Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques regarding which body was responsible for French Olympic Football,France entered two teams in the tournament, one under the direction of each body. Hungary (financial constraints) and Bohemia (lost FIFA membership) withdrew before the tournament began. 
This left:
Great Britain (The squad consisting entirely of players from the England national amateur football team (formed in 1906).
Denmark. 
Netherlands.
France (A&B)
Sweden. 

Six matches were played and a total of 48 goals scored

High scoring games indeed, an  average of 8 goals per match. England thumped Sweden (playing only their 3rd international) 12–1, and Sophus Nielsen bagged 10 in Denmark's 17–1 demolition of France A. It was a miserable outing for the French, their B team having lost 9-0 to Denmark in the previous round and the A's having reached the semis by virtue of a walkover. They were so humiliated by their defeat by the hands of the Danes that they declined to play the bronze medal match.

Great Britain won the gold, beating Denmark 2-0 in the final, and The Netherlands claimed bronze, beating Sweden by the same score. 

Netherlands might be considered fortunate to come away with bronze from a record of  played 2 won 1 lost 1 for 2 against 4 .

The attendance at  White City for the Gold Medal  match was 8000. To put this into context the  attendance at the 1908 FA cup final was 74,967, whilst a crowd in excess of 120,000 watched that years Scotland England clash at Hampden.

 Stapely was Great Britains top scorer with 6, finishing behind  Denmark's Wolle Wolfhagen (8) and Nielsen (11).

Great Britain team:
Horace Bailey  (Leicester Fosse, goalkeeper, age 27)
Herbert Smith (Reading F.C., left back, 28)
Walter Corbett (Birmingham City F.C., right back, 27)
Frederick Chapman (South Notts F.C., half back, 25)
Robert Hawkes (Luton Town F.C, half back, 28)
Kenneth Hunt (Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., half back, 24)*
*Harold Hardman (Everton F.C., forward, 26)
Harold Stapley (Glossop North End A.F.C, forward, 25)
Arthur Berry (Oxford University, forward, 20)
Vivian Woodward (Tottenham Hotspur F.C., captain,forward, 29)
Clyde Purnell (Clapton F.C., forward, 31)

* The greatest name of any England International? Reverend Kenneth Reginald Gunnery Hunt

Sophus 'Krølben' Nielsen

 

Sophus 'Krølben' Nielsen spent most of his  career with his  local team, Boldklubben Frem.
Nielsen was called up to the first official Danish national team, for the 1908 Olympics. Nielsen scored one goal in Denmark's first ever international , a 9-0 defeat of France B. On October 22, 1908 Denmark played France A and won 17-1. Sophus Nielsen scored a record ten goals; he completed his hat trick in the 6th minute^. Denmark went on to win the silver medal, after they were defeated 0-2 by Great Britain in the final.

  Back at the Olympics in 1912- Nielsen second from left.

 Nielsen has been called Denmark's first professional footballer and in 1910 he and his brother migrated to Germany to play for Holstein Kiel (who finished runners up to Karlsruher in the German National championship that year. I can't find any evidence that Nielsen and the other ten goal man, Gottfried Fuchs, ever faced each other though. Remarkably, at Kiel Nielsen bagged 72 goals in 18 appearances!

Neither have I been able to ascertain the meaning of Nielsen's nickname, 'Krølben'.