Jordi Alba, a recently signed Barcelona defender who helped Spain win the European Championship on July 1, is heading to London to represent his country at the Olympics. "It's completely clear from his side that he wants to be here," Spain Olympic coach Luis Milla said. "Barcelona has always been an exemplary club in these types of situations. I'm at ease because I know Jordi wants to be here." Barcelona appears to be one of the few European clubs that will relent rather then risk the wrath of players who feel they are being kept out of the games. Four years ago, Barcelona went to sport's highest court and won a decision that let clubs decide whether its players competed in the Olympics or not. Despite the favorable decision, it buckled and allowed Messi to play in Beijing, where he and his Argentina teammates won the gold medal. Unlike Messi, who was 21 during the Beijing Olympics, Alba is one Spain's three overage players. The 23-year-old defender will play alongside Juan Mata of Chelsea and Javi Martinez of Athletic Bilbao in London. But while Spain's three overage exemptions are being allowed to compete by their clubs, players from Gabon, Senegal, Morocco and New Zealand haven't been so lucky. In 2008, FIFA President Sepp Blatter feared the ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport four years ago would prompt other clubs to withdraw their players from the Olympics. But Liverpool has allowed Luis Suarez to play for Uruguay, which is also counting on Edinson Cavani of Lazio. Mexico is on the other side after Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson kept Javier Hernandez from participation so he could rest up for the coming season. Arsenal duo Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain weren't included in Britain's team after playing for England at the European Championship. Luckily for Mexico and Britain, they have deep squads. Others aren't so lucky. Gabon's medal hopes are slim, and French club Lorient hasn't helped by denying defender Bruno Ecuele-Manga a spot on the Olympic team. "I'd like to play at the Olympics. It's a competition you rarely get the chance to participate in. And you never know when a country like Gabon will qualify again," Ecuele-Manga has said. "There's some deception but I understand the decision. I'm still going to try and convince (Lorient coach Christian Gourcuff) to let me go." Gabon coach Claude Albert Mbourounot called on his federation to "speed up negotiations" with European clubs with key players like Pierre Emerick Aubemayeng of Saint-Etienne also being denied a spot on the Olympic team. Newcastle strikers Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba were left out of Senegal's squad after the two sides failed to reach common ground. Morocco defender Mehdi Benatia has been denied a chance to play by Italian club Udinese, while West Ham has refused to release defender Winston Reid to New Zealand. So while some clubs risk the wrath of their talent, Barcelona prefers to comply. Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola showed his trademark wisdom with one of his first decisions after taking charge in 2008, when he let Messi play at the Beijing Olympics. The Argentina forward won three Ballon d'Ors and helped Barcelona win 14 trophies over the four seasons since. Guardiola's replacement, Tito Vilanova, and sport director Andoni Zubizarreta seem ready to relent over Alba this time around. Zubizarreta initially said Barcelona had "to look out for its own interests," but spokesman Toni Freixa said this week that "if (Alba) or any other player wants to go the games, we should accept that." Alba, who joined Barcelona from Valencia last month, started in all six of Spain's Euro 2012 matches. He even scored in the 4-0 victory over Italy in the final. "I'm in favor of him playing," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said. "Surely it's the last chance he'll have and you can't prevent a player from going." (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports)
