"In 1981 Cameroon was in the Junior National Finals. In Spain we were present, and we are here today. This is a source of great national pride in Cameroon," says team director Raymon Fobette.
The team is led by internationally famous Theophile Abega, who captains the team from his midfield position. Abega, known as "The Doctor" for his precision play, scored the winning goal in the Nations Cup final and is known for his exceptional ball-handling.
Abega works with an extremely talented front line boasting two stars of French First Division teams, Roger Milla and Gregory M'Bida.
Unfortunately, like France, Cameroon's best goalie couldn't make the trip. Thomas N'kono, who minded the goal in the World Cup two years ago, became a national hero and internationally recognized star. That fame has, however, taken him away from his native country and he now stars for Barcelona of Spain's First Division.
Cameroon, however, sports one of the best one-two combinations in between the posts. Taking over for N'kono is Antoine Bell, who was Cameroon's hero during the Nations Cup tournament. His wins over the Ivory Coast (2-0) and Algeri (0-0) powered his country to the championship.
Qatar and Iraq enter the tournament after completely dominating the Asian division. Both faced their toughest competition at the regional level before moving to the continental competition, where they were the only teams to go undefeated. Iraq came out of a tough Middle Eastern division containing Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. In close round-robin competition between the three nations, Iraq was the only nation to survive without a loss. Qatar actually finished behind Kuwait in its first round competition, but moved into the final qualifying round with a vengeance. Allowing only one goal in four games, Qatar stormed its way into Olympic competition.
While Iraq and Qatar took similar routes to Boston, their teams are very different. Iraq, a respected soccer power for several years, finished just out of the money four years ago, placing fifth in the 1980 Olympics. Regarded for its experience and strong defense, the team is led by miserly goalie Abdul Fatah Jassim, who started in the Olympics four years ago and gave up only four goals in the qualifying tournament last year.
Qatar, making its first Olympic appearance, boasts a number of young, exciting players. The most dangerous man on the field is striker Mansur "The Falcon" Muftah, who scored 26 goals last year for Reain in Qatar's First Division. Their main disadvantage, however, may be their large number of players completely without experience at international play except for last year's qualifying rounds.
The only South American entry playing in Boston in Chile. Although the squad boasts a few well known players, principally goalie Roberto Rojas, whose acrobatic style put his team into the Olympics, the team gained their birth through the back door. South American soccer was dominated last year by Brazil, who swept through the qualifying rounds undefeated. Chile qualified for the Olympics over two other teams with identical 1-2 records by virtue of its superior scoring and defense records.
If Rojas is responsible for the high scoring against average, one of the men most responsible for the high scoring total is striker Joge Aravena, a 22-year-old college student who averaged a goal a game last year. He was also responsible for the decisive goal in the 2-1 win over Columbia this year.
The closest team to a home town favorite among the seven squads playing at Harvard is Canada. Almost all the players come from the ranks of one of the continent's professional leagues and one of the continent's professional leagues and one of the players. Harvard student John Catliff, put his Harvard soccer career on the line to represent his homeland in the Olympics.
Defender Bob Lenarduzzi has played more North American Soccer League (NASL) games than anyone else in history, and in his 10 seasons in the league has played all 11 positions on the field. Fellow defender Bruce Wilson has been an NASL All-Star for the past six years, and the coach is also an NASL veteran, having led the Vancouver Whitecaps to the championship in 1979.
The team entering the competition with the most to prove is Norway, who finished third behind East Germany and Poland in its qualifying tournament. But after those two teams joined the boycott, Norway was invited to participate. This has given the team only about six weeks to practice together and two exhibition games to prepare for the Olympics. But coach Tor Roeste Fossen says his players are in top shape from the ongoing Norwegian season and are ready to play.
Team captain Terje Kojedal says the country was somewhat ashamed of the team for being selected as a substitute and that he and the other players want especially to do well to prove the doubting Svens back home that they deserve to have made the trip.
Along with Kojedal, Fossen is looking to midfielder Kai Erik Herlovsen to lead this young team.
Norway is the only team which will play all three of its first round matches at Harvard, so fans should have a good opportunity to see how well they fare.