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London 2012: Mexico win Olympic football gold


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http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/team-gb-olympic-football-scott-1148382

 

No ordinary bro: Team GB's Sinclair talks up his Paralympics-bound sibling

 

Swansea star Scott and big brother Martin will make history this summer as they compete in both versions of the London Olympics

 

 

Scott Sinclair is not used to taking second billing.

 

Not with his Premier League lifestyle, the cash, cars, glitz and glamour.

 

But at the Team GB hotel on Teesside, the Swansea winger was more than happy to be the butt of the jokes, the target of the brotherly banter.

 

Over the next month, Sinclair and his elder brother Martin will make history as the first siblings in Great Britain history to take part in the same year's Olympics and Paralympic Games.

 

While Scott might be the famous member of the family, for him it is Martin - the one who battled through cerebral palsy and a misdiagnosed fractured hip that confined him to a wheelchair for three years to earn his GB strip -  who is the real superstar.

 

And it was Martin who secured his place in Great Britain's cerebral palsy seven-a-side football squad for London 2012 two months before his brother got the call from Team GB men's football coach Stuart Pearce.

 

“I started giving him banter as soon as I was selected in April,” said the 26-year-old. “I kept asking him what it was like to be sweating on a place?

 

“That’s the way it’s always been with us.

 

"When he missed a penalty against Manchester City last season, I rang him up that night, as I always do. I told him I’ve got a 100 per cent record with penalties.

 

"And if he can’t get to our games, he’d better text me every day!”

 

The easy smiles between the pair were a refreshing and uplifting sight - especially when it became clear who had snubbed who in the dining hall in the Olympic Village on Monday night.

 

“He wasn’t sitting anywhere near me, “ said Scott. “He’s had enough. So he was on the table with Giggs, Bellers and Ryan Bertrand, mingling with them. He didn’t want to sit with me!”

 

Scott may have the trappings of success but growing together in Wiltshire, moving between Chippenham and Melksham, left a mark and bond far stronger than the lure of the Premier League.

 

That love became even stronger when Martin, now a teaching assistant at a special needs school, found himself spending eight years in and out of hospital.

 

A playground accident turned him into a wheelchair user before the extent of the injury was finally found. He was left with one leg three inches shorter than the other.

 

“I’m more proud of him than he is of me, definitely,” said Scott. “And he’s more critical of me than I am of him, too.

 

“He’s been through so much in his life. Being in a wheelchair for two or three years after breaking his hip and then being misdiagnosed by the doctors was a lot to go through. My mum and dad were stretching him out every day not realising he had a broken hip.

 

“So he keeps me level-headed, keeps my feet firmly on the floor. If I’m having a hard time, if I’m not scoring, it helps that I realise it’s not all about me.

 

“With the pressures of football not scoring seems like the end of the world but one phone call to my brother puts things in the right place. It helps me see football in perspective.

 

“I’m happy to take the second seat here. It’s all about my brother and what he’s been through. It kills you at times and I’ll never really know how he coped with it but he is amazing. I’m just so happy for him, it’s nice for him to take the spotlight and be able to tell his story.”

 

Their parents, Sheila and Martin senior, and youngest brother Jake - who is on Southampton’s books - are in for a busy few weeks.

 

“They’re ecstatic,” said Scott. “Just so excited for us.”

 

Martin was coaxed back into football after a conversation with Scott’s former boss at Plymouth, Ian Holloway:

 

“I never gave up on the dream of playing myself. There might be people who look at us and think ‘is that right?’ but when you see the standard you will know we can play football.”

 

In the same strip as his sibling. Brothers for ever. But for the next month, brothers in arms.

 

Nice story.

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Extremely nice article. I rarely get that impression of Scott whenever he has played, seems very selfish at times on the pitch, always nice to be reminded of how ones on pitch personality doesnt always translate to its off pitch personality.

 

Also tomorrow GB takes on Brazil at the Riverside Stadium.

 

Brazil likely to line up with

 

                      Rafael

    Rafael ThiagoS Juan Marcelo

            Romulo    Sandro

                      Oscar

        Hulk      Damiao    Neymar

 

Only real weak link in this team is central defence even with Thiago Silva since Juan looks clueless no matter who he plays with. Physical defender who has no sense of positioning or technical ability.

 

Whats GB expected lineup?

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                      Rafael

    Rafael ThiagoS Juan Marcelo

            Romulo    Sandro

                      Oscar

        Hulk      Damiao    Neymar

 

Whats GB expected lineup?

 

:lol: Don't give him the satisfaction lads

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We wont be though. Mano has us playing boring stuff. Only fun thing is when Neymar gets the ball because stuff happens as well as when our fullbacks go forward. Oscar is a very good but yet simple footballer. Hulk goes on goal every single time, and Leandro is a big powerful forward which aint that fun.

 

 

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Mate who is working at the Olympics said Gabon arrived first, coaches looked like a couple of del boys, just messed about in training having a laugh, lots of piggy in the middle.

 

Korea turned up and they were very professional, never spoke to any outside of their group. They had Korean media flooding the media box, trying to get photo's and interviews, doing broadcasts from the sidelines. He couldn't believe the stark contrast from Gabon to Korea. To be far they do absolutely love a photo so shouldn't be much of a surprise to him.

 

Spain arrive today, waiting for his review of them. Said Mexico have looked the best out of Korea/Swiss/Gabon.

 

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