Changing China

Beijing Games: picture of the day

Rickey Rogers writes: Pictures of sports idols don’t get much better than this one. Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona kisses the hand of modern-day Brazilian idol Ronaldinho.

The rivalry between their countries, their differences in personality and the arrogance for which Maradona is known all make this fraction of a second one that in the sports world speaks volumes.

The original caption reads: Former Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona kisses the hand of Ronaldinho of Brazil after the medal ceremony for men’s soccer at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 23, 2008.  REUTERS/Alfred Cheng Jin

South American rivalry to spice up the Games

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.

A Ronaldinho revival? Don’t speak too soon

Ronaldinho’s two-goal performance against New Zealand in Sunday’s Olympic Games has already been hailed as some sort of revival after his miserable last season with Barcelona.

The former World Player of the Year showed flashes of his best form in the 5-0 win with plenty of cheeky flicks, shimmies and stepovers. And, of course, he grinned.

“This was a reward for everything which I have done and for all the people who believed in me and helped me to start playing again,” he told Brazilian media.

But the performance needs to be put into context.

The Olympic soccer tournament is an under-23 competition and Ronaldinho is competing as one of the three permitted overage players per team.

Brazil’s opponents qualified from a group in which Fiji were their strongest opponents. They have only three professionals in their 18-man squad. Most of the other players are university students who play football for fun.

Ronaldinho has just signed for AC Milan. He will play in arguably the world’s most unforgiving league and is going to have to fight hard just to get into the team every week.

Dunga far from happy despite Brazil win

If there was an Olympic gold medal for whingeing then Dunga, coach of the Brazilian soccer team, would be among the early contenders.

The 1994 World Cup winning captain, who as a player was an example of resilience and dedication to the cause, is not a happy camper.

First, he was complaining about the food — “When you try to talk to the chef to change the menu, he has to talk to his boss, who has to talk to his boss, who has to talk to his boss and by that time the Olympics are over” — and lack of training time in Shenyang, where Brazil have started their campaign to win a first gold in Olympic soccer.

After his team struggled to beat nine-man Belgium in their opening match on Thursday, he blamed  the pitch and his opponents for making life difficult (isn’t that what they’re supposed to do?).

“The ball bounces around all over the place and you need two or three touches to bring it under control,” he snarled. “The opposition just kept putting all their players behind the ball and used the high ball into the area. They’ve been together for four months and we got together 15 days ago.”

But the unhappy truth is that Brazil should have swept their opponent aside and might have done so if Dunga had been just a little more adventurous. A team boasting players such as Werder Bremen midfielder Diego, Premier League players Lucas and Anderson in midfield, AC Milan prodigy Alexandre Pato in attack, plus Ronaldinho, should not play in fits and starts as Brazil did on Thursday.