Lionel Messi broke the heart of his close friend Ronaldinho on his way to Olympic gold in 2008.
At just 21, the Argentine talisman represented his country at the Beijing Games, where he faced his former club teammate.
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Messi’s Argentina knocked out Ronaldinho’s Brazil in the semi-finals
This was almost not the case however, as Barcelona chiefs initially barred Messi from participating as the tournament conflicted with Champions League qualifying matches.
Barely appointed to this post, manager Pep Guardiola intervened and allowed his starlet to travel to Beijing.
Guardiola himself had led Spain to the gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and thus recognized what this competition meant to Messi.
A month earlier, Ronaldinho had announced his departure from Camp Nou, after five years as a club icon.
Messi had learned a lot from the Brazilian during his formative years as he entered the first team and played alongside them.
Ronaldinho’s move to AC Milan has been seen as a passing torch to Barca, with Messi set to take over as the new star man.
This was only highlighted by the reunion at the 2008 Olympics.
Argentina started the tournament well, winning all three of their group matches.
Messi scored the first game in a 2-1 win over an Ivorian side made up of Salomon Kalou (23) and Gervinho (21).
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Guardiola cleared Messi to travel
He impressed again in the 1-0 win over Australia and rested for a 2-0 victory over Serbia, who had Aleksandar Kolarov (22) and Dusan Tadic (19) in their ranks.
Brazil matched their bitter South American rivals and also won all three of their group matches.
They started with a difficult 1-0 victory over a very strong Belgian team.
Their team included several future stars such as Vincent Kompany (22), Thomas Vermaelen (22), Marouane Fellaini (20), Kevin Mirallas (20), Jan Vertonghen (21) and Mousa Dembele (21).
After that, Brazil managed to comfortably beat New Zealand 5-0, with Ronaldinho securing a brace and then beating China 3-0.
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Each team had to submit a team of 18 players – 15 under 23 and a maximum of three older exceptions
In the quarter-finals, Argentina and Brazil were taken to overtime.
Legendary Diego Maradona cheered from the stands as Messi scored and assisted in a 2-1 win over the Netherlands, which had Ryan Babel (21).
While Brazil won 2-0 against Cameroon, a disappointment for Alex Song (20).
It was finally time for the two strongest teams in the tournament to meet.
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The Argentina team presented a number of future world-class stars
Messi and Ronaldinho aside, both countries are teeming with talent.
The Argentina team included Sergio Aguero (20), Juan Roman Riquelme (30), Angel Di Maria (20), Javier Mascherano (24), Pablo Zabaleta (23), Fernando Gago (22), Ever Banega (20), Ezequiel Lavezzi (23) and Sergio Romero (21).
While Brazil had Thiago Silva (23), Marcelo (20), Anderson (20), Lucas Leiva (21), Alexandre Pato (18), Ramires (21) and Rafinha (22).
Their semi-final was eagerly awaited and a crowd of 53,000 came to Beijing.
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Argentina was too strong for Brazil
Remarkably, this ended in a relatively one-sided affair.
Messi disrupted the Brazilian defense early on, although they held on tight and the game remained level at half-time.
Aguero broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute and then added a second soon after as Messi helped open up the opposing defense.
Messi also played a key role in creating the third goal, feeding Aguero who was knocked down in the box.
Olympic Games
Messi went straight to Ronaldinho after the win
Riquelme converted on the spot to conclude the game – a 3-0 win for Argentina.
Full-time, Messi headed for a heartbroken Ronaldinho who had failed in his quest for Brazil’s first-ever Olympic football gold.
Messi hugged him and consoled him in midfield.
Ronaldinho did not return home empty-handed as Brazil beat Belgium again, this time 3-0, in the bronze medal match.
The next day, Messi created a moment of magic in the final against Nigeria.
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Messi created the winning goal in the final
He played an exquisite pass to Di Maria who then lobbed the goalkeeper to snatch a 1-0 victory in the second half.
It was gold for Argentina and gold for Messi.
He told ESPN years later: “It was a spectacular experience for me to play in the Olympics, not only because we won, but for the experience I gained.
“It was a great experience staying in the Olympic Village and meeting other elite athletes from other sports and being just another athlete among them.
“It was very spectacular even though we didn’t spend a lot of time in the village.
“The World Cup is great, but the Olympics are something special. “
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The Olympic gold medal was a special prize for young Messi
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He really enjoyed getting on the podium…
IG: @kunaguero
And delighted to celebrate with Aguero, who posted the photo of the two with their medals following the recent Copa America victory they shared together.
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