Germans have had an extraordinarily unique perspective on the issue of Olympic boycotts — and what they might or might not accomplish.

Germany is the only country whose competitors missed the 1980 and 1984 Olympics due to boycotts. Germany was reunited in 1990. West Germany joined the U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan while Communist East Germany joined the Soviet Union and east bloc allies in boycotting the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

So it is perhaps worth listening to the views of Germany’s Olympic Committee. In a statement signed by German Olympic Committee (DOSB) president Thomas Bach, the DOSB said it won’t participate in any boycott of the Beijing Olympics in light of the unrest in and around Tibet — because past experience has shown their impact to be limited.

“After carefully considering all the arguments, the DOSB will send its team to the 2008 Olympics,” said the statement signed by Bach that nevertheless condemned the violence in Tibet. “Sport is not a suitable tool to be used to apply political pressure. Sport is not in a position to solve the problems that neither the United Nations nor individual nations were able to resolve despite decades of effort.”

Bach won a gold medal in fencing for West Germany at the 1976 Olympics, when African nations walked out in protest against a New Zealand rugby tour of racially segregated South Africa.  

But he did not get the chance to defend his medal in 1980 when West Germany joined the U.S.-led boycott. In recent weeks many Germans — both east and west of the Iron Curtain that divided Germany during the Cold War — have spoken out against a boycott, saying they are pointless. Even though some political leaders have raised their voice on behalf of a boycott, the DOSB underscored that view that boycotts do not work.  

“That’s been confirmed by all the previous experience. We believe sport is there to promote dialogue and international understanding. Sport builds bridges, not walls.”

Photo: Thomas Bach, president of the German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB). Photo by Alex Grimm

A trio of Bayern Munich defenders eager to play at the Olympics are about to feel some heavy-duty arm-twisting by club manager Uli Hoeness, who is not at all happy about the idea of Martin Demichelis, Lucio and Breno missing pre-season training and the first few games of the campaign to play in China.

"We're going to do everything we can to see that players who are already on their country's top international team are not going to be called up for the Olympic selection as well," Hoeness told Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper this weekend. 

"We're not going to take that lying down. We're going to pull every lever we can to prevent that. It's not going to happen."

The 27-year-old Demichelis, who just missed a place at the 2006 World Cup, was nominated last week for Argentina's Olympic squad, who will be defending the gold medal won in 2004 in Athens. According to media reports, Lucio (29) likewise wants to go as an over-age player for Brazil. His countryman Breno is 18 and was recently called up to the Olympics squad.

As Brian Homewood wrote last month, soccer at the Olympics carries a great deal of prestige in Latin America.

Hoeness appears less enthused with Olympic spirit and that could be bad news for Brazil and Argentina because the long-serving Bayern chief is an old hand at this game.

Ze Roberto, for example, was urged to formally retire from the Brazil international side before Bayern Munich would re-sign him last year and before that there was repeated friction with Elber and his international career for Brazil.

PHOTO: Lucio (L) celebrates a goal with team mate Martin Demichelis during Bayern's Champions League match against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, February 20, 2007. REUTERS/Victor Fraile