Comments on: Olympic soccer is a serious business — just ask Messi

By: njau

njau — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:21:07 +0000

You gotta feel for the Argentine coach who made his plans with Messi central to it and he now has to lose him as the Court ruled. Also for liverpool who lost babel and Leiva just to learn late they did not have to. Good luck to the Brave

By: diana

diana — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:07:38 +0000

gomez, I was just on the Eurosport website earlier and it has this news flash that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled in favour of the clubs. I also personally like to see the three you mentioned but then with this news, not sure how it will work out.

http://eurosport.yahoo.com/ticker/ticker hub.html?item=1657690

I had read somewhere that FIFA President Sepp Blatter said on Monday that even if the CAS really rule in favour of the clubs, they should allow their players to be in China. Unless they are injured.

By: Emily

Emily — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:12:25 +0000

Cool soccer video! http://olympics.cbseyemobile.com/users/c bsolympics/channel/item/2360

By: gomez

gomez — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:50:22 +0000

It can only be good for the Olympic football tournament when players such as Messi, Diego and Ronaldinho play there.

By: diana

diana — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:00:10 +0000

‘The moment I received the bronze medal in the Olympics in Seoul 1988 when Germany beat Italy it was my number one outstanding emotion’. – Juergen Klinsmann

FIFA President Sepp Blatter today quoted what (the new Bayern Munich coach) Klinsmann wrote in his autobiography when he took part in the 1988 Olympic football tournament in the South Korean capital. Obidike, I have to agree with what you said. And even when someone like Klinsmann said something like this of his own Olympic experience, it’s heartening.

The link – http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0 ,16368,3033_3909660,00.html

By: Vincent

Vincent — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:26:11 +0000

The Olympic tournament has always been taken very seriously by players in South America, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

It is the Western Europeans who tend to think that it is not important (partly because soccer is over-commercialized in Western Europe and partly because teams from this area have little hope of success).

By: Obidike

Obidike — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:10:28 +0000

Having the opportunity to take part in the olympics is a dream for every sportsman. For those club officials who are fighting against this, can anyone of them come out openly and say that if they were within the age bracket of U23 during their time to participate in the olympics that they would have turned it down for their clubs?
i see these so called offficials as sellfish & jealous people. Certinly if i was a footballer and had this opportunity, i would certainly turn my back to the club. The olympics is the epitome of all sporting events and has more credibility and history than any football club. Clubs should be grateful that youngsters in their clubs can showcase their talents in such an event as it markets the club presense at the biggest single event this planet has to offfer

By: vava

vava — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:26:07 +0000

As a matter of fact, Argentinian players are always proud to don the blue-white shirt. Even if their clubs are reluctant to let them play.

By: Beautifulgamer

Beautifulgamer — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 13:52:00 +0000

Brian – I think that the current U23 format is absurd. I think that a nice compromise between FIFA and the IOC would be for the IOC to run the U20 World Cup – which is closer to the “amateur” tradition than what we have now. And while I can understand player “sentiments” around wanting to play in the Olympics, I think that Messi in particular is being foolhardy in taking his temperamental body to Asia when he has yet to demonstrate that he can give the great club of Barcelona a full season of excellence.