It has been 100 years since they staged an Olympic event at this stadium in Colombes: those were the 1924 Games made famous in Chariots of Fire. A century later Nick Park picked up where Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams left off with a spectacular Hollywood finish of his own – his first international goal on his Olympic debut – to set Great Britain’s men on their way to an impressive 4-0 win over Spain in their Pool A opener.
This storied venue also hosted the 1938 World Cup final but can’t have witnessed many better strikes than Park’s solo effort late in the first quarter when GB had been under the cosh. The 25-year-old dispossessed one opponent just inside the Spanish half before setting off on a 40m run, brushing off another defender, drawing the keeper, and flicking the ball high into the top right corner. Park has 19 caps and had never scored: this one bore all the hallmarks of Maradona or Messi.
He wasn’t the only one writing his own script. The Welshman Gareth Furlong, who made his international debut only in June at the age of 32, then scored twice, a strike early in the second quarter followed by a penalty corner finish in the fourth. Did these guys think there were movie moguls in the stands or something?
Rupert Shipperley added a fourth late on and it was job done for the world No 2 side who have been on an upward curve under their head coach, Paul Revington, and his “shackles off” approach that has drawn plenty of Bazball comparisons.
“I wish I could say I do that all the time but I don’t,” said Park. “It was a peculiar position to find myself through on goal. I was over the moon to finish it off.
“I’ve grown up watching the Olympics. I remember 2008, 2012, 2016 – it’s great to be here living it. Walking in the Olympic Village I was getting flashbacks to London 2012 and watching it all with my little sister. It’s a hell of a journey. I managed to spot my family in the stands. It’s really special to share this moment with them.”
Park’s memory doesn’t go back all the way to 1924, though. Asked about scoring on the ground that witnessed Liddell’s famous gold medal, he said: “I wasn’t aware of it – that’s amazing. To have this stand here, and the history of the stadium, is incredible. I’m really glad.”
This place has changed a bit in the past 100 years – no cinder track, no grass pitch for that matter – and you’d be forgiven for making comparisons with Trigger’s broom in Only Fools and Horses (“I’ve used the same one for 20 years: this old broom has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles in its time”), but don’t let that spoil the script.
Spain will also be the opponents when a new-look GB women’s team, shorn of retired stars such as the goalkeeper Maddie Hinch, play their opener on Sunday in a fixture that will give an early sense of their readiness to fight for a fourth straight Olympic medal. GB’s men are also back in action on Sunday evening against South Africa, scriptwriters’ pens at the ready.
