FIFA clears Messi for Olympic debut
July 30th 2008 23:02
Messi heads to Beijing despite Barcelona's plea for him to stay
Argentine ace Lionel Messi has been cleared by FIFA to participate in the Beijing Olympics this August.
Messi is still in camp with Barcelona but will fly to Beijing this morning to meet up with the rest of his teammates.
Sergio Batista, who is the coach of Argentina's Olympic side, was over the moon with the decision.
"We are very lucky to have solved this situation in favour of us after so many unexpected turns and circumstances" Batista said.
The soap opera surrounding Messi's presence at this year’s Olympics is over. Barcelona is not happy with the decision and will appeal to the tribunal of sports. However, it could be all too late.
Messi will arrive in Beijing though, underdone in terms of preparation and fitness. He only played one friendly with Barcelona which resulted in the Argentine scoring a hat trick.
Since then, there has been little to suggest that Messi is in peak condition with the Olympics just 8 days away.
Batista remains confident Messi will shine at the Beijing games.
"Leo did not have training leading up to the Olympics so we will be cautious" he said.
"The only time me and Leo met each other was in Catalonia. We have just started meeting each other, so our methods will take time to learn."
"My prime objective though is to have both Messi and Riquelme playing in unison in the midfield."
While Barcelona has to make do without Messi's services, the Argentine squad could not be happier. One of their biggest drawcards will be available for this year’s Olympics and will no doubt do everything possible to defend Argentina's gold achieved in Athens.
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