The football aspect of the 2012 Olympics was met with mixed reactions in terms of seriousness and enthusiasm. While the Olympics are a prestigious event, Olympic football has traditionally not held the same weight as other major international tournaments like the World Cup or European Championship, primarily because it is largely viewed as an under-23 competition with a few over-age players allowed.
For Great Britain, though, the 2012 Olympics were significant due to the rarity of fielding a unified team, which hadn’t happened since 1960. This created a sense of novelty and national interest on home soil, and with it also came a unique lineup managed by Stuart Pearce. Team GB finished top of their group, having beat UAE and Uruguay and drawing to Senegal. But they crashed out of the quarter-finals having lost on penalties to South Korea – so, much like their national team counterparts, they too were unable to bring back glory.
As GIVEMESPORT revisits the members of this one-of-a-kind squad over a decade later, we explore their career trajectories and lives since the Games. From those who have achieved international stardom to others who have transitioned into different careers, this article uncovers the diverse paths taken by the 2012 Great Britain Olympic football team.
Position | Name | Where are they now? |
|---|---|---|
GK | Jack Butland | Crystal Palace |
GK | Jason Steele | Brighton & Hove Albion |
DF | Neil Taylor | Wales Under-21 assistant manager / Gulf United manager |
DF | Ryan Bertrand | Founder of the fintech brokerage Silicon Markets |
DF | Steven Caulker | Free agent |
DF | Craig Dawson | Wolves |
DF | James Tomkins | Free agent |
DF | Micah Richards | Pundit |
DF | Danny Rose | Free agent |
MF | Tom Cleverly | Watford manager |
MF | Joe Allen | Swansea City |
MF | Ryan Giggs | Retired |
MF | Jack Cork | Free agent |
MF | Aaron Ramsey | Cardiff City |
MF | Scott Sinclair | Bristol Rovers |
FW | Daniel Sturridge | Pundit |
FW | Craig Bellamy | Wales manager |
FW | Marvin Sordell | Retired |
As part of an agreement with the FA, no players from England’s Euro 2012 squad were selected. However, an agreement was made to allow Jack Butland to play on both squads. Meanwhile, due to disputes, no Scotland player was involved.
Goalkeepers
Jack Butland & Jason Steele
Jack Butland was once considered one of the most exciting up-and-coming goalkeepers while at Stoke City in the Premier League. But after their relegation in 2017/18, his career stalled. Nevertheless, while he hasn’t been able to notch more than nine England senior caps, he’s played out a steady tenure between the sticks. Recently, he moved to Rangers to become their first-choice glove-bearer – something he’s struggled to sustain since those cold, wet Tuesday nights defending the Britannia Stadium.
Meanwhile, Jason Steele has often had to settle for playing second fiddle wherever he’s gone. He was second in line for Team GB, and this is a trend that has haunted him ever since. Stints at Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers were successful idiosyncracies to this, but the 33-year-old is now second-choice at Brighton.
Defenders
Neil Taylor, Ryan Bertrand, Steven Caulker, Craig Dawson, James Tomkins, Micah Richards & Danny Rose
Neil Taylor was one of few Welsh players to make a Team GB squad littered with English influence. After playing out the rest of his playing days at Swansea City, Aston Villa, and Middlesbrough, he has since tried his hand at management. In an interesting dual role, Taylor manages UAE First Division side Gulf United FC during the season, but returns to his homeland to be Wales U21’s National Team on international breaks.
2012 came during a successful period in Ryan Bertrand’s life. In that same year, he won the FA Cup and Champions League with Chelsea, and then, 12 months later, he would add a Europa League title to that impressive haul. However, a reduction in his playing time saw him often go out on loan, and although a switch to Southampton in 2015 got him playing football with a smile on his face again, he was unable to recapture the previous high points he found in London.
Nowadays, Bertrand is the founder of the fintech brokerage Silicon Markets, which provides machine learning and algorithmic trading tools for retail traders in the Foreign Exchange and CFD markets. Elsewhere, Steven Caulker is still somewhat playing, having recently had to leave his role as player-manager at Malaga City due to work visa issues, while Craig Dawson also still has one or two years left playing, being a regular starter at Wolves.
James Tomkins recently left Crystal Palace after spending eight years residing in south London, thus now being a free agent at 35 years old. This same tale of free agency applies to Danny Rose, but instead of having recently been playing football, the former England starter has endured a frustrating career ending. He was frozen out of the Tottenham squad by Jose Mourinho, before unsuccessful spells at Newcastle and Watford have left him without a club since 2022, despite still being only 34.
Last, but certainly not least, Micah Richards needs no introduction. After failing to live up to his wonderkid status due to injuries and mental health battles, you can now find him making the whole Sky Sports studio laugh, as he’s proven to be a naturally-talented pundit – one of the best!
Midfielders
Tom Cleverley, Joe Allen, Ryan Giggs, Jack Cork, Aaron Ramsey & Scott Sinclair
Following on from the theme of successful post-playing careers that Richards left us in defence, Tom Cleverley is now the Watford manager. He initially started the role on an interim basis following the dismissal of Valerian Ismael in March 2024, but having lost just once in seven games, he earned himself a long-term gig in the Vicarage Road hot seat. Only time will tell how far he can go in management, but he’s impressed an otherwise trigger-happy ownership already, and that’s a promising sign.
Joe Allen, who was once nicknamed ‘Welsh Xavi’ and ‘Welsh Pirlo’ by his former Swansea City and Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, still plies his trade at the former after he returned to his boyhood club following a successful 212-appearance stint at Stoke City. But while success stories are prevalent about the last three players, the less said about Ryan Giggs the better.
He may be a legendary footballer who holds the record for most Premier League titles, but whilst he was in charge of the Welsh national team between 2018 and 2020, Giggs would be forced to step down from his position in November due to sexual assault charges and an impending trial. Since then, the former Manchester United icon has seemingly gone into oblivion, making it very difficult to know his whereabouts in 2024.
Jack Cork has only just recently retired, having spent most of his career at Burnley from 2017 onwards. Here, he would earn the captaincy and be a stalwart for Sean Dyche in an era where The Clarets would earn a reputation for their ‘Brexit football’ – something that is weirdly endearing when you look back on that period.
Arguably, nobody has been more successful on the pitch since 2012 than Aaron Ramsey in this team. He played his best football at Arsenal, winning the FA Cup three times, before then adding a Serie A title to his medal cabinet at Juventus in 2020. Stints at Rangers and Nice followed, and he is now back at his boyhood club, Cardiff City, and captains the Welsh national team at 33-years-old.
Scott Sinclair’s inclusion in Team GB is one of the more surprising ones. Nowadays, he flounders in League One with Bristol Rovers, but that didn’t come before he collected three Scottish league titles with Celtic, as well as being a crucial part of the Aston Villa side that reached the FA Cup final in the 2014/15 season.
Forwards
Daniel Sturridge, Craig Bellamy, Marvin Sordell
In the same vein as his former England teammate, Micah Richards, Daniel Sturridge can also now be seen trying to get a smile from Roy Keane in the Sky Sports studio – although not a regular fixture on the program. Injuries blighted a lot of his career following 2012, but he still has two Champions Leagues and a Europa League to his name.
Craig Bellamy retired just two years after the 2012 Olympics, showing he was one of the senior figures in that side. But after taking a bit of a step away from the sport, the former Newcastle, Liverpool, and Cardiff City forward earned his coaching badges and is now the main man in the dugout for the Welsh national side, having been appointed as head coach in July 2024.
On a sad ending note, Marvin Sordell’s career trudged precariously after 2012, with him citing his mental health as a determining factor in his decision to retire in 2019 at just 28 years old. He also spoke about a failed suicide attempt in 2013, as well as ongoing racial abuse. Thankfully, he has used these negative experiences to make something good out of it, now being a mental health ambassador for CALM.