'I wish we had stayed in the Olympic village the whole time, in order to get the authentic experience - we only stayed there a few days': 2012 Team GB star reveals regret from London Games
Team GB didn't spend as much time in the London 2012 Olympic village as much as he would have liked
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Team GB men's football team made their first appearance at the Olympics in 62 years at London 2012, with the side returning to action as the nation hosted the Games.
Over the course of 10 days, Team GB played four games: against Senegal, UAE and Uruguay in the group stages, and South Korea in the quarter-finals. Matches took them across the UK, from Old Trafford in Manchester, to London's Wembley and finally two games at the Millennium Stadium in Wales.
Those games away from London meant that the Team GB men's football team stayed away from the Olympic village for the majority of the tournament. Housing the majority of athletes from across the world competing in the Olympics, the village has a unique feeling some of the best sportspeople in their chosen disciplines come to love.
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For Daniel Sturridge, who played in all four of Team GB's games, scoring twice, having to spend time away from the Olympic village clearly still rankles.
"I wish we had stayed in the Olympic village the whole time, in order to get the authentic Olympic experience," Sturridge tells FourFourTwo. "We stayed there for a few days, but we also played games in Cardiff and Manchester.
"When we did stay in the Olympic village, I remember meeting Anthony Joshua. This was before he became the heavyweight champion – he was a young boxer at the Olympics. I went to meet him with Micah, and we became cool. He was trying to be a heavyweight champion and you saw a similar mindset and lifestyle.
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Sturridge scored twice at the Olympics (Image credit: Getty Images)
"Then our careers both developed; I started progressing further in my career and he began advancing further in his. He’s done exceptionally well. We don’t talk often, but sometimes I’ll speak to him at a fight or we’ll exchange a text, like, 'Hey, are you cool?', 'Yeah, I’m good', that type of thing."
Sturridge was ultimately the villain in the quarter-final for Team GB, missing the only penalty of the shootout against South Korea in Wales.
Had he scored, and Team GB progressed, they still wouldn't have had more time in the Olympic village in Stratford, however. The semi-final against Brazil was back at Old Trafford, with the final held at Wembley. Mexico, meanwhile, enjoyed all three of their knockout matches in London - perhaps why they won the gold medal on that occasion in 2012...
Sturridge missed Team GB's crucial penalty (Image credit: Getty Images)
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
