Messi Scores One and Makes One in Opening Olympic Game
August 7, 2008
Doesn’t matter what Barcelona wants or what the Court of Arbitration for Sport says. Leo Messi played for Argentina against Cote d’Ivoire in the 2008 Olympics this morning and scored the opening goal (above).
Cote d’Ivoire equalized through Cisse, but in the 86th minute Messi (again) burst down the left and squared for Lautaro Acosta to score the winner.
Who knows if Barcelona will try and call Messi back for the Champions League Third Qualifying Round game next week now? But the little man has already made his mark on the 2008 Olympics.
UPDATE: Barcelona have struck a deal with the Argentinian Football Association to allow Messi to play in the Olympics:
1) If Messi get injured in China, the AFA will cover his salary and
2) Messi won’t be called up for any Argentina friendlies this season.
Here’s what Barcelona Sports Director Txiki Begiristain had to say:
“We took the decision last night before we flew back from New York to Barcelona after hearing the decision from CAS. Messi will play the Olympics.
“We spoke to the player first of all and with our coach Pep Guardiola.
“We have an agreement that there is an insurance that will cover the whole of the player’s salary if he is injured.
“We also have the word of the Argentina Football Association president that he will be released from having to play friendlies for the whole of the season.
“We wanted the player to be happy and he is.”
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Why Barcelona should let Messi stay in China
August 7, 2008
Spanish clubs are often cast as villains in South America. One minute they are refusing to release players to play for their respective national teams, the next they are accused of exploiting loopholes in transfer regulations to poach young talent without paying a penny.
Earlier this year, Vasco da Gama angrily accused Real Madrid of trying to make an offer to 15-year-old Philippe Coutinho behind their back. The club said that Real had offered a job to the player’s father and the chance to live abroad.
“They try to get around the law by taking those responsible for the player to live and work abroad,” said Eurico Miranda, club president at the time. “They offer a job to the father and take the player. But they’re not doing that here at Vasco.”
Last year, River Plate president Jose Maria Aguilar said FIFA’s rule that players could not be transferred internationally until they reached the age of 18 was routinely being broken.
“The way it happens is a club from a Spanish city contracts a woman to cook and by coincidence she has a 14-year-old football genius son,” he told Reuters in an interview. “They are stealing our players.”
Real Madrid also upset the Brazilian national team by refusing to release Robinho for Brazil’s pre-Copa America training camp last year even though FIFA’s international calendar was on the side of the South Americans.
The latest rift has involved Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi. Argentina picked Messi for their Olympic team, believing they were supported by FIFA’s rule obliging clubs to release under-23 players for the tournament.
Barcelona initially refused and took him off to a pre-season training camp in Scotland. Eventually, they allowed him to join Argentina in China, but appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the FIFA ruling. CAS has now ruled in Barcelona’s favour.
Winning an Olympic gold is almost as prestigious as the World Cup for South American footballers. Messi has made it clear that he wants to play for his country and it certainly seems more appealing than facing Wisla Krakow in a Champions League preliminary round, which Barcelona should be able to stroll through in any case.
Barcelona have made their point and won their case. If they drag Messi all the way back to Europe, he is hardly likely to be in the best of motivation or physical shape and they are guaranteed to win themselves a reputation for being spoilsports.
Letting him stay in China would be a much-needed public relations coup for them and Spanish clubs in general.
PHOTO: Messi in training at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Shanghai, August 6, 2008. REUTERS/Aly Song
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REAL MADRID NEWS 2008: CRISTIANO RONALDO TO STAY AT MANCHESTER UNITED - AT LEAST ONE MORE SEASON
August 6, 2008
It´s the news NEWS FLASH of this evening. MANCHESTER UNITED
Portugues star CRISTIANO RONALDO has announced on Portugues
daily “PUBLICO” web site, that he will stay at Manchester United this
season, in an exclusive interview.
The player however repeats his wishes to play at REAL MADRID,
which raises speculation that a “behind the scenes” deal has been
done between both Clubs & player. The deal has been rumoured to
be that Ronaldo will play one more year at Manchester before begin -
promised - transferred to Real for next season.
You may think that this is confusing & its a contradiction with previous
statements, however it closely follows yesterdays comments from coach
Ferguson that the “Cristiano saga” had ended & that he would stay at
Manchester. It also follows comments yesterday by Real Madrid
President Calderon that the Van der Vaart signning may well be the
first & last signning for Real Madrid this season.
Football is full of distorted messages & changes quickly, this maybe the
case,but right now at this moment it looks definately like Cristiano
Ronaldo has “thrown in the towel” & accepted a compromise: just one
more season, please!
Go to Source
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CAS Says Messi, Rafinha and Diego Must Return to Clubs
August 6, 2008
Just when you thought the club vs country Olympic argument was settled…
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has sided with Barcelona, Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen by ruling that its NOT mandatory for clubs to releases Under 23 players for the Olympics. CAS found that releasing U-23 players was “customary” but - because the Olympics isn’t in the FIFA calendar - not mandatory.
“The Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008 is not included in the Co-ordinated Match Calendar and there is no specific decision of the Fifa Executive Committee establishing the obligation for the clubs to release players under 23 for this tournament,” read a CAS statement.
“The requirements to justify a legal obligation of clubs to release their players for the Football Tournament Beijing 2008 on the basis of customary law are not met.”
And so the court says Leo Messi, Rafinha and Diego have to pack their Beijing bags and return to their clubs. But it’s not as simple as that…
Rafinha and Diego both went to China against the will of their clubs, and it’s not clear whether the CAS ruling will have any affect on their decision. Certainly a CAS ruling that releasing U-23 players was mandatory would have vindicated the two absentees, but the ruling that it’s not doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll return.
UPDATE: - Schalke and Bremen have cleared Rafinha and Diego to play in the Olympics and won’t be recalling them.
With Leo Messi it’s even more complicated. He didn’t meet up with the Argentina squad until Sepp Blatter made it known that - in his eyes at least - clubs had to release players. Now Messi’s stuck between a rock and hard place.
Argentina’s first Olympic game is against Cote d’Ivoire and kicks off tomorrow. Argentina coach Sergio Batista expects Messi to stay and play: “He [Messi] will be on the start list for tomorrow from the beginning and I am sure he can be here with us for the rest of the competition.”
Barcelona won’t like that. They want Messi back in time for the Champions League Third Qualifying Round game against either Beitar Jerusalem or Wisla Krakow on August 12th and now they have CAS on their side.
This whole thing has gotten ridiculous now, and been left far too late (seriously, why make a ruling the day before the tournament starts?) And the bigger problem than what’s mandatory and what isn’t is the short term selfishness shown by the clubs, which has now been approved by CAS.
The reason the release of U-23 players was “customary” is because clubs had been happy to go along with it, to respect the wish of their players and to respect the Olympic tournament. Now clubs are flexing their muscles.
Here’s what Barca President Joan Laporta told our own Dave Martinez (whose interviews with Barca players and staff will be published later today)
“We are simply trying to protect our interests. That is all.”
No kidding Joan.
But do Barcelona really need Leo Messi to beat Beitar Jerusalem or Wisla Krakow? I’m sure Eto’o, Xavi, Iniesta and co can take care of it. And don’t Barca, Schalke and Bremen realize they risk permanently damaging their relationships with their players? If Diego wasn’t leaving Bremen for somewhere bigger and better before, then he almost certainly is now. (Bremen and Schalke won’t be recalling their players, see above)
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Messi likely to miss Olympics
August 6, 2008
News just out that the Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled in favour of Barcelona and decided they will not have to release Argentine forward Lionel Messi for the Olympics.
Assuming Barcelona do not have a change of heart, it means one of the biggest-name athletes at the Games will not be taking part. Brazilians Diego and Rafinha, of Werder Bremen and Schalke 04, will now also presumably be going home.
As Brian Homewood writes, the presence of Messi has helped raise the profile of soccer at the Olympics enormously. His departure will be a big blow to Argentina, and to all those hoping hoping to catch a glimpse of the man.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said recently that Barcelona and other clubs should let their players stay and compete in the Games even if CAS were to rule in their favour. Let’s see what Barcelona say.
We’ll have more on this later.
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