Gers' Moore named in Australian Olympic squad

Craig Moore is set to fulfill the dream which has cost him his Rangers career after being named in Australia’s Olympic squad.

The defender was stripped of the Ibrox captaincy and placed on the transfer list after telling manager Alex McLeish that he wanted to represent his country in Athens next month.

That would mean missing the beginning of the new league campaign, as well as the third round Champions League qualifier, and McLeish was furious that Moore had chosen his country over his club.

Tensions had been simmering between the pair for the last couple of months.

McLeish blasted his captain towards the end of last season when Moore revealed he would be unwilling to extend his stay at Rangers if unhappy with the manager‘s summer signings.

The captain‘s armband has now been handed to goalkeeper Stefan Klos, with new signing Alex Rae acting as his deputy.

Moore is one of three overage players selected for the under-23 competition, along with Millwall midfielder Tim Cahill and Osasuna‘s former Coventry striker John Aloisi.

Moore will captain the side, who kick off their campaign against Tunisia on August 11 before taking on Serbia & Montenegro and Argentina.

Squad: Brad Jones (Middlesbrough, England), Jade North (Perth Glory, Australia), Shane Cansdell-Sheriff (Aarhus, Denmark), Craig Moore (Rangers, Scotland), Jon McKain (National Bucuresti, Romania), Adrian Madaschi (Partick Thistle, Scotland), Ahmad Elrich (Busan, South Korea), Luke Wilkshire (Bristol City, England), John Aloisi (Osasuna, Spain), Tim Cahill (Millwall, England), Alex Brosque (Feyenoord, Holland – on loan to Westerlo, Belgium), David Tarka (Nottingham Forest, England), Carl Valeri (Inter Milan, Italy), Brett Holman (Feyenoord, Holland – on loan to Excelsior, Netherlands), Anthony Danze (Perth Glory, Australia), Spase Dilevski (PSV Eindhoven, Holland – on loan to Rot-Weiss Essen, Germany), Ryan Griffiths (Newcastle United, Australia), Eugen Galekovic (South Melbourne, Australia)