Messi Update

Radio Mitre is reporting that Messi's father has spoken to the Olympic team manager Sergio Batista and told him that Messi will be going to the Olympics.

Radio Mitre is also reporting that Messi will give a press conference tomorrow morning in which he will confirm that he will indeed participate in the Olympics.

Maradona: "The national team shirt can not be betrayed"

Diego Maradona has also weighed in on the Messi controversy.

In remarks made to Madrid newspaper MARCA, Maradona said the following:

'The national team shirt can not be betrayed, you have to give your life playing for it."

"We must know how to separate the millions that Barcelona can pay and the glory that can be had by playing for the national team."

Will Messi play in the Olympics?

It's been widely reported that Barcelona has been pressuring Messi into not participating in the upcoming Olympic Games because of the teams Champions League preliminary games that will take place at the same time as the Olympics. It seemed that the issue was settled when FIFA issued a communique last week stating that all club teams must release their players that are under 23 years old that are selected by their national teams to participate in the Olympics.

But, now the new Barcelona manager was quoted as saying that there has not been a final resolution in the Messi situation and that he expects FIFA to side with Barcelona and for Messi to stay with the team instead of going to the Olympics.

The Argentina FA President said that FIFA's rules are clearly on the national team's side and that he fully expects Messi to participate in the Olympics.

Barcelona begins its pre-season training next Monday and Messi is not expected to be there. Or will Lio be there and miss out on the Olympics in order to avoid a big conflict with his club team?

Olympic Squad List Update

U-23 manager Sergio Batista is being interviewed on Radio Del Plata and he is saying that Burdisso will probably not participate in the Olympics because of pressures by his club team Inter.

Batista also said that there is a possibility that Heinze will play in the Olympics afterall.

Official Olympic Squad List

Burdisso will anchor the backline in the Olympics.

U-23 manager Sergio Batista presented the official list of 18 players that will represent Argentina in the upcoming Olympic Games. It still remains to be seen if Gago and Messi will make the trip to China. Both of their club teams have been pressuring the players into not participating in the Olympics.

Argentina Olympic Team:

GK - Oscar Ustari (Getafe)
GK - Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar)

D - Pablo Zabaleta (Deportivo Espanyol)
D - Ezequiel Garay (Real Madrid)
D - Federico Fazio (Sevilla)
D - Nicolás Burdisso (Inter Milan)
D - Luciano Monzón (Boca Juniors)

M - Fernando Gago (Real Madrid)
M - Ever Banega (Valencia)
M - Javier Mascherano (Liverpool)
M - Juan Román Riquelme (Boca Juniors)
M - Angel Di María (Benfica)
M - José Sosa (Bayern Munich)
M - Diego Buonanotte (River Plate)

F - Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
F - Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli)
F - Lautaro Acosta (Sevilla)
F - Sergio Aguero (Atlético Madrid)

Argentina no longer first in FIFA ranking

The national team has dropped out of first place in the latest FIFA rankings. Argentina is now ranked the 6th best team in the world. Spain has taken the top spot, at least for now.

The current list is, as usual, very Eurocentric.

It seems absurd to me that Paraguay, who is in first place in the South American WC Qualifying standings, is not even listed in the FIFA rankings. Paraguay is surely a better team than at least 50 percent of the teams that made the ranking.

Also, Brasil is the highest ranked South American team even though they are currently in 5th place in WC Qualifying behind both Paraguay and Argentina.


FIFA Rankings - July 2008

1. Spain
2. Italy
3. Germany
4. Brasil
5. Holland
6. Argentina
7. Croatia
8. Czech Republic
9. Portugal
10. France
11. Russia
12. Romania
13. Cameroon
14. Turkey
15. England
16. Scotland
17. Bulgaria
18. Greece
19. Mexico
20. Ghana

Heinze out of Olympic squad

It appears that Gabriel Heinze will be the second player, after Demichelis, to opt out of joining the Argentina Olympic squad for the games this Summer. According to Madrid newspaper AS,
Real Madrid officials have convinced Heinze to stay home so that he may begin the pre-season preparations with the team and so that he can play in the first two official games of the season (the Super Cup) which will take place in August.

as.com

El Madrid convence a Heinze y no irá a los Juegos Olímpicos

Estará en el Algarve el 14 de julio

Quique Rubio | 02/07/2008

Finalmente Heinze no acudirá a los Juegos Olímpicos. El Madrid ha convencido al argentino para que falte a la cita de Pekín, por lo que podrá comenzar la pretemporada con el resto el próximo 14 de julio en El Algarve. La lesión de Cannavaro ha sido vital en las negociaciones. Heinze es consciente del problema que tiene el conjunto blanco por la recuperación del italiano en el arranque de la temporada y ha decidido centrarse en el Madrid, que disputará sus dos primeros partidos oficiales (la Supercopa) en agosto.

Zanetti: There are short circuits between Messi & Riquelme

Argentina Captain Javier Zanetti spoke on Radio Latina and said the following:

"There are short circuits that exist between Lionel Messi and Juan Roman Riquleme but it is something that should not be given so much importance because it is a good group."

"These are all things that are always going to exist. Someone like me who has had so many years in football learned to not give it that much importance."

"In a group of 25 to 30 persons it is difficult that everyone will be in agreement, the most important thing is the respect for each other because everyone has their own way of being."

I find it really interesting that the oldest veterans on the team Zanetti and Veron have admitted publicly that there are differences between Messi and Riquelme but younger players like Messi, Mascherano and Riquelme have denied everything and said that the rift between Messi and Riquelme was invented by the media in Argentina.

This inner fighting on the national team has been exposed and it's up to Basile, I think, more than the players involved, to find a resolution to it. The sooner, the better. It's troubling to think that the national team would carry this current turmoil into the next World Cup.

Riquelme-Messi Fight

On the eve of the big WQ Qualifier against Brasil some really unfortunate news has taken over the headlines from tonight's game. That is, an internal fight between Riquelme and Messi.

According to a myriad of media reports after Argentina's dreadful performance against Ecuador, AFA president Julio Grondona approached Messi in the locker room and said to him, with Riquelme nearby and within listening range, "Look, you are the owner of the team."

Riquelme did not like the remarks made by Grondona. This incident appears to be the spark that has brought to light some ongoing tensions between Riquelme and Messi.

As far as Messi, it is being reported that he has confided in a teammate (Veron) that he cannot tolerate the airs being put on by Riquelme, that of someone untouchable, of being above everyone else and Messi went on to say that he can no longer stand Riquelme. It is also being reported that 3 days before the Ecuador game, Messi was very upset with the whole situation and came close to leaving the teams training ground. A teammate had stopped him.

What did Riquelme say about this latest controversy that involves him?

The player spoke with a reporter in the hotel where the national team is staying in Belo Horizonte.

Q - How do you get along with Messi?

R - Why?

Q - Because there are reports of a fight and of differences between you both?

R - No, definitely not. It's another invention that is being placed in my way.

Q - Why do you think that you are always in the middle of these things? It happened in Boca, in the national team?

R - It must be that I'm not liked by alot of people.


It's hard not to read the situation as a clash of egos between Riquelme and Messi. On one side there's Riquelme who is backed 100 percent by Basile, who always makes sure to praise him in public and who has made it known to everyone that Riquelme is the undisputed leader and heart of the team.

On the other side there is Messi who is without a doubt the most talented player on the team and the team's biggest star. The only superstar on the national team. It wouldn't be hard to understand why he would be angry about the special status that Basile has given Riquelme and the existence, according to Messi, of some outward airs by Riquelme.

At the heart of this alleged fight may very well be both players desire to be the undisputed leader of the national team.

If all or even some of what is being reported is true, it is not only sad but a really troubling situation that will cause serious harm to the national team.

What happens from here on? How will Basile handle this situation?

Official: Demichelis out of Olympic team

After all the controversy, the back and forth between the player and Bayern Munich. AFA president Julio Grondona has made it official.

Martin Demichelis will not go to the Olympics with the U-23 team.

Grondona said the following:

"The Bayern president was not flexible and did not want to cede the player. So, therefore we have to try to not cause any harm to to the player, under any perspective."

Fuente: DPA

Demichelis no irá a Beijing

El defensor del Bayern Múnich no podrá integrar la selección argentina de fútbol que competirá en los Juegos Olímpicos 2008, confirmó hoy Grondona

"El problema que tengo insoluble es con Demichelis. El presidente del Bayern, (Karl-Heinz) Rummenigge, es muy reglamentarista. No tiene elasticidad y no quiere cederlo. Y entonces tenemos que tratar de no perjudicar al jugador por ningún punto de vista", declaró Grondona, también número dos de la FIFA.

En cambio, la AFA tiene "la posibilidad de arreglar" los problemas que se presentaron con el Liverpool de Inglaterra por la cesión del volante Javier Mascherano.

El técnico de la selección Sub-23 que irá a Beijing, Sergio Batista, analiza reemplazar a Demichelis por Nicolás Burdisso o Fabricio Coloccini.