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

Amid all the Euro 2008 fuss, it has nearly been forgotten that one of the world’s great fixtures will be played on Wednesday when Brazil meet Argentina in a World Cup qualifier in Belo Horizonte.

Incredibly, Argentina have lost the last three meetings by three-goals margins — 4-1 at the Confederations Cup in 2005, 3-0 in a friendly in 2006 and 3-0 again in last year’s Copa America final.

That last defeat was particularly painful for Argentina as they had gone into the match as hot favourites. Brazil were missing Kaka and Ronaldinho, both rested, and had struggled through, losing to Mexico in the group stage and getting taken to penalties by Uruguay in the semi-finals.

Argentina, on the other hand, had swept through the tournament with five stylish wins. But, in the final, they were knocked out of their stride by Brazil’s physical power and lethal counter-attacks.

Once again, Argentina appear to start as slight favourites. If Juan Roman Riquelme, Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero all swing into action, they could do Brazil serious damage.

Brazil are also missing Kaka and Ronaldinho because of fitness problems and were beaten 2-0 by Paraguay on Sunday.

Brazil, however, are never as dangerous as when they have just been stung and seem also to revel in facing opponents who actually come out and attack them, leaving spaces at the back, as Argentina do.

Can Argentina end their run of defeats? Or will Brazil again outmuscle them?

PHOTO: Sergio Aguero (R) of Argentina celebrates his second half goal against Mexico with teammate Lionel Messi during their international friendly in San Diego, California June 4, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Kaka’s withdrawal from Brazil’s World Cup qualifiers later this month has raised more doubts over his commitment to playing for his country.

The AC Milan player missed last year’s Copa America at his own request, saying he needed a rest. He hasn’t played for Brazil yet this year and will now sit out this month’s World Cup qualifiers away to Paraguay and at home to Argentina after knee surgery.

Kaka underwent an arthroscopy operation on his left knee on May 23 and initially said he hoped to be ready for the games, two of the most difficult and important in Brazil’s qualifying campaign for 2010.

But on Wednesday, Brazil coach Dunga withdrew him from the squad after being told by Milan that Kaka could only start training on June 10, five days before the match in Asuncion against group leaders Paraguay.

Brazil doctor Jose Luis Runco said Kaka had suffered damage to the meniscus caused by overuse, leading to discomfort.

It was the timing of the operation, immediately after the end of the Italian season, which has been questioned by some critics. They argue that if the injury was serious, Kaka should have undergone surgery earlier and that if it wasn’t that serious, he could have waited until after the qualifying matches, when he would have had several weeks to get better.

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) are also upset at AC Milan’s refusal to allow Kaka to play in the Olympic Games as an overage player. Sources at the CBF said recently that the general feeling is that Kaka would have been released by the club if he had made a fuss.

Brian Homewood, Rio

Sven-Goran Eriksson has not even been sacked by Manchester City, yet he already finds himself under fire in Mexico where he is widely expected to be named as the replacement for Hugo Sanchez.

Despite leading Manchester City to a respectable ninth place in the Premiership, it’s been widely reported that Eriksson is facing the chop and at the Mexican Federation they are optimistic about naming him as their new coach as early as Monday.

Striker Jared Borgetti, who has scored a record 43 goals for Mexico, said in a surprisingly outspoken interview this week that the Mexican FA were trying to grab worldwide attention for themselves rather than concentrating on strictly football matters.

Borgetti said that if Mexico want to try their luck with a European coach, then they should appoint him when he has time to experiment and get to understand the psyche of their players.

But with the tortuous CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers just around the corner, Borgetti says Mexico needs a local coach who is familiar with the hostile atmosphere in Central America and the bumpy pitches and physical encounters of the Caribbean.

“I’m not talking about the standard, but in the way you take on the other teams. It’s not just about football, you have to face other things. When you go to play in Central America and the Caribbean, the conditions are very different to Europe,” he said.

The last European coach to try his luck with a Latin American national side was Italy’s Cesare Maldini, who was appointed to lead Paraguay at the 2002 World Cup.

It was not a happy experience.

During his six months in charge, Maldini was criticised for spending more time in Italy than in Paraguay and local coaches called for him to be kicked out the country because they said he was working on a tourist visa.

After the World Cup, goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert said the players had spoken to each other in Guarani so that Maldini could not understand them and had ignored his instructions for the second half of the group match against Slovenia, which Paraguay won 3-1 to reach the last sixteen.

PHOTO: Eriksson waves to the crowd after Manchester City’s friendly against South China Athletics Association Team at Hong Kong stadium, May 22, 2008. REUTERS/Victor Fraile

South America’s Libertadores Cup has reached the quarter-finals and, for those lucky enough to see it (it’s sadly shunned by most tv networks outside the region), offers a refreshing change to the predictability of its richer European counterpart.  

Only three of the eight teams reached this stage last year, there are no clear favourites for the title and all four ties remain wide open after last week’s first legs.  

Titleholders Boca Juniors face a tough battle after being held 2-2 at home by Mexico’s Atlas but are far from dead and buried, especially if the mercurial Juan Roman Riquelme can hit form. They were in a similar situation last year after drawing at home with Libertad in the first leg, but hit back for a 2-0 win in Asuncion.  

Boca’s fellow Argentines San Lorenzo also drew at home last week, 1-1 against Ecuadorean champions LDU, but have already shown they are the last team you would want to write off.  

In the group stage, Ramon Diaz’s team somehow came from 2-0 behind to beat Real Potosi 3-2 away — at nearly 4,000 metres above sea level — and in the last sixteen they fought back from 2-0 behind with nine men against River Plate to draw 2-2 and win 4-3 on aggregate.  

LDU, on the other hand, remain a good bet to take the trophy to Ecuador for the first time.  

Sao Paulo, where Adriano is enjoying a revival after being loaned from Inter Milan, take a slender 1-0 lead to Fluminense in the all-Brazilian tie while Santos, Pele’s former club, are still confident they can overcome a 2-0 deficit against America, the other Mexican side.  

America have already pulled off the tournament’s biggest upset, winning 3-0 away to Flamengo in the last round after losing 4-2 in the first leg, and their Paraguayan striker Salvador Cabanas, ridiculed by the Brazilian media as “fat”, is joint top scorer with eight goals.  

Although it is ignored elsewhere and despite the continued exodus of top players, the Libertadores is flourishing.  

There were full houses for all four ties last week with 90,000 watching America at the Azteca stadium.  

And, whoever eventually reaches the final, their supporters won’t be forced to travel thousands of kilometres to watch as the tie is played over two legs.

Brian Homewood, Rio

For the last year, Brazilian club Flamengo have led an almost obsessive campaign for a ban on matches at high altitude. Following a match away to Bolivian side Real Potosi at 4,000 metres above sea level in the Libertadores Cup, club president Marcio Braga has gone on the warpath describing high altitude games as “inhumane” and comparing them to a form of doping for the home team.

Braga has taken his case to FIFA, the Court of Arbitration for Sport and even the United Nations human rights commission — all without success. Although FIFA has effectively banned World Cup qualifiers above 2,750 metres, the South American Football Confederation has refused to follow suit for the Libertadores.

So it was with great trepidation that Flamengo on Wednesday visited Cienciano at 3,300 metres in the Peruvian Andes, with the added worry that their campaign had understandably antagonised the locals. But their fears proved unfounded. Flamengo ran out comfortable 3-0 winners, even bettering their 2-1 win over the same opponents at the Maracana earlier in the group.

So what was the big fuss about? Recent results suggest that altitude does not really offer anything more than a small advantage to the home team, rather similar to playing on a bumpy pitch or in weather which the visitors are unused to. In the last World Cup qualifying competition, for example, Bolivia managed four wins, two draws and three defeats in La Paz.

It also begs the question: are Brazilian clubs and the media, which has helped stoke up public opinion, being hypocritical?

Writing on the BBC’s web site this week, correspondent Tim Vickery argues that they are. Vickery points out that, while Brazilian teams make a big song and dance about the players’ health being paramount, there is not a whisper from them when their own federation, in agreement with local television stations, schedules domestic games to be played in mid-afternoon in high summer.

When Brazil needed local backing for their 2014 World Cup bid, the Brazilian confederation kept quiet about the altitude issue. But when the South American federation last week asked FIFA to reconsider the 2,750 limit which had been reinstated, Brazil was the only country which refused to sign the declaration.

Until FIFA considers banning matches in other extreme conditions, it will be hard not to sympathise with the likes of Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.

Brian Homewood, Rio de Janeiro

The fact that Martin Palermo is Boca Juniors’s regular penalty taker speaks volumes about his strength of character.

Back in 1999, Palermo made international headlines for the wrong reasons when he missed three penalties for Argentina in their 3-0 Copa America defeat by Colombia. Yet, instead of hiding in his hotel room, Palermo came out and faced the media the next day, promising to get on with his career.

Three days later, he bounced back to score in a 2-0 win over Uruguay. Nine years later, Palermo is Boca’s all-time leading scorer, having overtaken the previous record of 180 goals set by Francisco Varallo in the 1930s. His Argentina career never got off the ground but he has become a cult figure at Boca, having returned after stints with Villarreal, Real Betis and Alaves in Spain.

By Argentine standards, Palermo is a somewhat clumsy, lumbering forward. Yet his ability to bounce back from adversity and his knack for alternating brilliance with tragicomedy have endeared him to the club’s fanatical supporters. At Villarreal, Palermo famously broke his leg while celebrating a goal when he stood on a small concrete wall which collapsed under the weight of fans.

After returning to Boca, he was one of the central figures in a brawl which sparked a crowd riot in a Libertadores Cup game against Guadalajara. The match was abandoned, Boca were knocked out and Palermo banned. On the flipside, Palermo succeeded where Pele had failed by scoring from just inside his own half against Independiente.

Boca’s last two matches in the Libertadores have been fairly typical of his ups and downs. Two weeks ago against Chilean champions Colo Colo, Palermo missed another penalty with his team 1-0 down and reduced to 10 men. Yet, two minutes later he scored — and Boca went on to win 4-3.

Tuesday’s match against Mexico’s Atlas was one of his unlucky days. With the score at 1-1 and Boca on top, Palermo contrived to miss an open goal from six metres as he sidefooted the ball wide. Atlas came out for the second half with fresh ambition, won 3-1 and left the defending champions facing an early exit at the group stage.

But you can be sure that Palermo will be forgiven by Boca fans. And don’t bet against him scoring a hat-trick in the final group game at home to UA Maracaibo.

Brian Homewood, Rio de Janeiro

AS Roma’s Chilean midfielder David Pizarro has taken Cristiano Ronaldo’s stepovers, fancy flicks and double dummies personally.

Pizarro was booked for kicking Ronaldo after the Manchester United player performed some of his repertoire during Tuesday’s Champions League match. The Roma man then came out with some stinging criticism.

“There is no doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo has quality, but it is also true that he’s a big head,” Pizarro said after United’s 2-0 win. ”He could leave out some of the fancy tricks. It’s necessary to respect the opponent. You can bet that we’ll have something to show him in the return.”
 
It is not really surprising that a South American has taken exception to Ronaldo’s tricks. All sorts of things are tolerated in this part of the world, but the one big no-no is to deliberately make your opponent look stupid.
 
During United’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa the previous Saturday, the Brazilian television commentary team were remarking on how disciplined the Villa players remained as Ronaldo effectively taunted them with his footwork. Such behaviour in Brazil, they said, could end in a brawl or worse.
 
Last year, there was huge debate after Cruzeiro forward Kerlon performed his famous “Seal dribble” – in which he nonchalantly flicks the ball up and bounces it on his head while still running — in a derby against Atletico Mineiro. Atletico defender Coelho ended the run with a crunching tackle, earning himself a red card and sparking a brawl.
 
Even more controversial was Efrain Viafara’s cheeky ball control during Sport Ancash’s 2-1 win over Universitario in Peru.

With two minutes to go, Viafara performed a sitting motion and brought the ball under control with his buttocks. He was knocked to the ground by enraged Universitario players, a fight ensued, Viafara was chased down the touchline, trouble spread to the stands and the match was abandoned. It all led to this irresistible headline at The Offside: “Efrain Viafara starts a riot with his bum”. 
 
Like Ronaldo, both Kerlon and Viafara said it was their way of playing and that no offence was intended and Graham Fisher, writing at Soccerlens this week, was one blogger to broadly support that view:

“Football is an entertainment industry. It relies on people wanting to watch it. It is these fantastic players such as Ronaldo that bring in the crowds, bring in the money and encourage youngsters to ‘have a go’ at doing what they do.”

Their victims, of course, did not see it that way.
 
Brazil coach Dunga has suggested that the acid test is whether such players are prepared to perform their tricks with their side losing 3-0 or facing imminent elimination from a major competition. If they are not, suggests Dunga, then they are just showboating.

PHOTO: AS Roma’s Philippe Mexes challenges Ronaldo during their defeat by United at the Olympic stadium in Rome, April 1, 2008. REUTERS/Max Rossi  

Mexico make a rare visit to Europe when they face Ghana at Craven Cottage on Wednesday in what could be their last game under coach Hugo Sanchez.

The former Real Madrid striker is widely regarded as the finest player Mexico has produced and seemed the obvious choice to replace Ricardo La Volpe following the 2006 World Cup.

Sanchez had been lobbying for the job for a long time, brashly promising to win the World Cup and claiming that his winning mentality would rub off on a team long been regarded as underachievers.

Yet, barely 18 months after taking over, Sanchez’s job is on the line. Defeat against the United States in last year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final went down very badly, especially after Mexico also lost to Honduras in the group stage and struggled to 1-0 wins over Panama and Guadeloupe in the same tournament.

Things looked much better in the Copa America shortly afterwards as Mexico beat Brazil 2-0 in the group stage and thumped Paraguay 6-0 in the last eight before going down to a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina in the semi-finals.

But last week’s failure of the under-23 team, which Sanchez also coaches, to qualify for the Olympic Games has put him firmly back in the firing line.

On the plus side, Sanchez has secured the services of Nery Castillo and Giovani dos Santos when other national teams had been after after them.

But critics say his 4-4-2 system is too predictable and he does not have the tactical know-how to change the course of the game with substitutions.

The under-23 team were in poor physical shape and their preparations for the CONCACAF Olympic qualifiers in the United States took them to no fewer than five cities in the U.S. and Mexico.

Sanchez is also criticised for refusing to recognise his mistakes and for what some see as a failure to practice what he preaches. Before taking over as Mexico coach, he had complained about the team playing too many friendlies in the United States — but this has continued under his leadership with games in Phoenix, San Diego, Oakland, Denver, Los Angeles and Houston. The Ghana game will be the first time Mexico have ventured outside the Americas under him.

And, having criticised La Volpe for fielding naturalised players, he has done the same thing himself.

As a club coach, Sanchez won back to back Mexican championships with Pumas UNAM in 2004. But, when they lost form the following year, he was unable to halt the decline and was eventually fired.

The Mexican FA’s national teams committee is due to meet on March 31 to discuss Sanchez’s future.  Should they allow him to carry on?

FILE PHOTO: Hugo Sanchez gestures during Mexico’s Copa America game against  Argentina, July 11, 2007. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

FIFA has put its foot down and refused to reconsider its ban on international matches being played more than 2,750 metres above sea level.

That means that both Ecuador and Bolivia have been turfed out of their traditonial venues in Quito (2,800 metres) and La Paz (3,600 metres) and will have to stage their home World Cup qualifiers in smaller stadiums.

FIFA says it has the welfare of the players at heart. No problem with that argument, but if that’s the case isn’t it about time we introduce a heat limit (and possibly a cold limit) for matches as well? It would be quite simple to work: if the temperature rises above, say, 28 Celsius, then the match will have to wait until the mercury drops or it will have to be played another day or moved to a cooler venue.

Of course, this will play havoc with television schedules and could mean that tournaments such as the World Cup and European championship are moved away from their traditional slots in June. But haven’t FIFA just told us that the health of the players is paramount?

Brazilian clubs, who have to play Libertadores Cup games in the Andes, have been among the vociferous critics of playing matches at high altitude, using terms such as “inhumane” and “a violation of our human rights” to vent their frustration. Yet, when their own federation condemns them to mid-afternoon kick offs at the height of the Brazilian summer for domestic games, they meekly obey.

As hosts of the 2014 World Cup and with many of their proposed venues lying within the tropics, perhaps Brazil would be the ideal place to begin experimenting with a heat limit.

Brian Homewood, Rio de Janeiro