FIFA president Sepp Blatter says he does not see any need to change the format of the Olympic soccer tournament, which is restricted to under-23 teams and allows each to field up to three overage players.

Many people, however, feel that soccer is something of an unwelcome gatecrasher at the Games and that not bringing its top players is rather like turning up at the party with a bottle of cheap plonk.

Like many compromises, the under-23 solution succeeds in pleasing nobody, the critics say.

But what should the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and FIFA do? It is an interesting dilemma.

Lifting the age limit could effectively create an alternative World Cup, devaluing the real thing, cluttering up the international calendar and infuriating the European clubs.

The other extreme would be to drop soccer altogether. But with a total of 2.14 million paying spectators at the 2008 Games, the most of any sport according to FIFA officials, this is hardly a feasible option, either.

PHOTO: Lionel Messi (R) of Argentina fights for the ball with Dele Adeleye of Nigeria during the men’s gold medal soccer match at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 23, 2008. REUTERS/Phil Noble

The cheers before kickoff in the Beijing Workers’ Stadium were for five-times world champions Brazil and Ronaldinho. At the final whistle, the Chinese crowd rose to acclaim Argentina after a 3-0 win against nine-man Brazil sent them through to the Olympic final.

China may be a relatively untapped soccer market, but the 50,000 plus crowd knew that the best team had won on the night.

The Olympic tournament, with its uneasy format of under-23s and a smattering of over-age players, has plenty of critics, but Brazil v Argentina is a big match in any competition.

So much so that even the ultra-efficient Beijing organisers struggled to shoehorn the hundreds of accredited press and associated media folk into the seating reserved for them. The post-match press conference was an all-ticket affair, with Portuguese and Spanish-speaking reporters given priority.

Argentina, inspired by captain Juan Roman Riquelme and the darting Lionel Messi, made their superiority count after halftime, running in their three goals in the space of less than 20 minutes.

All the marginal decisions went their way - Brazil appealed in vain for offside when Sergio Aguero scored his second to put Argentina 2-0 ahead. Shortly after Brazil’s Pato had the ball in the net, but this time the goal was ruled out for offside and there was no way back.

So plenty to think about for national coach Dunga, who has given the impression during this tournament of wishing he were elsewhere. Plenty too to ponder for Ronaldinho, who looked out of sorts as he prepares for life with AC Milan after a disappointing  final season with Barcelona.

For defending champions Argentina, it’s a showdown at noon on Saturday with Nigeria in the Bird’s Nest Stadium. That’s a repeat of the 1996 final, a cracking match won 3-2 by Nigeria thanks to two late goals.

Let’s hope the two teams can defy the heat and serve up another classic for the maligned Olympic soccer tournament.

PHOTO: Argentina’s Lionel Messi (L) speaks with Brazil’s Ronaldinho after Argentina won their semi-final soccer match in Worker’s Stadium during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, August 19, 2008. REUTERS/Daniel Aguilar

Argentina could yet pay a heavy price for the deal which has allowed Lionel Messi to play at the Olympic Games.

A lengthy tug-of-war with Barcelona for Messi’s services ended with the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling that Barcelona were not obliged to release him for the Olympics.

However, with Messi already in China and having made it clear his heart was in the Olympics, Barcelona relented and said he could play — provided certain conditions were met.

One was that the Argentina Football Association (AFA) would effectively pay Messi’s wages while he is in China — costly but not unaffordable.

Another was that Argentina would not pick Messi for any friendly internationals in the next year, and that is where the AFA’s coffers could be hit hard.

The arrangement of friendly matches is one of the sport’s most lucrative growth industries.

The likes of Brazil and Argentina are paid handsomely for taking their national teams overseas but the entrepreneurs who arrange the games usually demand the presence of all the top players before they cough up.

Argentina may have plenty of other exciting players such as Carlos Tevez, Juan Roman Riquelme, Sergio Aguero and Fernando Gago, but Messi is the one the fans really want to see.

Without him, Argentina’s appearance fee will likely suffer a considerable knockdown.

Still, at least his presence is working for the team on the pitch. He was the driving force again on Sunday as Argentina beat Australia 1-0 to seal their place in the quarter-finals.

PHOTO: Messi pictured during Argentina’s Group A match against Australia at the Olympic Games in Shanghai, August 10, 2008. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci