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Sentiment:
While this is true with many sports in the US, it's not the same feeling in many countries overseas. Many players put more into their team, the Olympics is more of a "final piece of the puzzle" and played more for national pride. Many of the worlds top players avoid the Olympics due to it being in off-season times when they are not game fit yet.
The World Cup however is a different story, and like the Olympics it comes 1 time every 4 years. Some teams will allow players to play in the world cup but not necessarily the Olympics (the most recent is Argentina's star player Lionel Messi.
Rules:
There are a few rule differences in the Olympics, such as the new rule for 2008 where each team must use all under-23 aged players, but can have 3 players over-23 to help provide veteran leadership.
AnswerProfesional soccer is when you are selceted to play on a team and you get paid for it. You usually travel in a certain area. The Olympics and world Cup is a soccer players dream.by going to one of these you get to compete at the highest level of play and at the Olympics if you when you get a gold medal. In professional it isn't quite as high of an honor to win.
