Only one thing would give Argentina more pleasure than winning their second Olympic gold and that would be to stop Brazil from winning their first in the process.

The Olympic soccer tournament does not cut much ice in Europe but it is taken much more seriously in South America. Brazil have won the World Cup five times, the Copa America eight and the Confederations Cup twice and their failure to add an Olympic gold to their collection rankles.

It would be especially painful if their latest attempt to win the competition is ended by their greatest rivals.

So, when the two sides meet in the Beijing Workers Stadium in Tuesday’s semi-final, it will not be quite the real thing but almost — possibly around 70 percent.

The Olympic tournament features under-23 teams but both teams have taken advantage of a rule which allows up to three overage players per team. Brazil have selected Ronaldinho as one of their quota while mercurial playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme is part of Argentina’s.

Argentina also have Lionel Messi, who falls within the age limit. Several other players make regular appearances at senior level including Fernando Gago, Javier Mascherano, Sergio Aguero and Pablo Zabaleta.

On the Brazilian side, Anderson and Diego make frequent appearances at senior level while Marcelo, Rafinha, Hernanes and Breno appear set to break into the squad.

At senior level, Brazil have enjoyed some recent dominance. They won three matches in a row by three-goal margins — at the Confederations Cup final in 2005, a friendly in 2006 and the Copa America final in 2007 — before the run was ended with a 0-0 draw in a World Cup qualifier in June.

Argentina are just about the only team with the courage to go out and attack Brazil, but in doing so they have often played into Brazil’s hands.

A more cautious approach might be advisable this time.

PHOTO: Argentina’s Lionel Messi (C, top) celebrates with team mates Angel Di Maria (11), Sergio Aguero and Juan Roman Riquelme (L) after scoring his team’s first goal against the Netherlands in their Beijing 2008 Olympic Games men’s quarter-final soccer match at the Shanghai Stadium August 16, 2008. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci

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

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.

The Olympic soccer tournament, which starts next Thursday, has enjoyed unprecedented publicity in the run-up to Beijing, unwittingly helped by the belligerent attitude of the European clubs.
 
In their attempts to avoid releasing Argentina striker Lionel Messi for the Games, Barcelona helped raise the profile of the competition to a level it has rarely enjoyed in the past.

Barcelona finally relented last Wednesday when FIFA reinforced its ruling that clubs must release their under-23 players, although the Spanish club have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sports and will demand the player fly back from China if there is a ruling in their favour.

Earlier, Barcelona had dragged Messi off for a pre-season tour to Scotland and the controversy dominated headlines on both sides of the Atlantic.

Messi’s presence, even without the added publicity, is a huge boost and and means soccer will have one of the most illustrious athletes in the entire Games.

German pair Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen also helped the Olympic cause by refusing to release Brazilian pair Rafinha and Diego. Like Barcelona, they too are awaiting a ruling from CAS.

Unlike Messi, however, Rafinha and Diego took the case into their own hands as they simply defied their clubs and flew to join the Brazilian squad on a pre-Olympic tour.

Their actions show how seriously Olympic soccer — an under-23 tournament with three overage players allowed per team — is taken outside Europe.

Brazil, five-times winners of the World Cup, have never won an Olympic gold in soccer and will not consider their trophy cabinet to be complete without it.

Dunga, coach of the senior side, will be in charge of their team here as well. Already under pressure, he could lose both jobs if they fail — just as Wanderlei Luxemburgo did after a quarter-final exit in Sydney eight years ago.

They tried to include Kaka as an overage player but, after AC Milan refused to release him, called up Ronaldinho instead.

It is not just in South America that Olympic soccer is taken seriously.

Just listen to United States midfielder Freddy Adu. ”Most of the players, I’d say about 99.9 per cent, want to go to the Olympics. This is a big, big, big deal,” Adu told a news conference on Friday.

“Guys want to go but they’re just being held back by their clubs. They’re important for their clubs and you can understand it but I think it’s a great rule that they have to be released.”

Argentina also boast Sergio Aguero, the overage Juan Roman Riquelme, Real Madrid’s Fernando Gago and Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano in an impressive line-up and start as favourites to retain their crown.

Brazil, with AC Milan’s Alexandre Pato leading the attack, look capable of mounting a serious challenge if Dunga can overcome naturally cautious approach.

Netherlands and Italy are likely to lead the European challenge while Africa also look strong, represented by Nigeria, winners in 1996, and Cameroon, who won four years later.

PHOTO: Lionel Messi arrives in Shanghai, August 1, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer