OLYMPIC Tokyo 2020 officially rolling today, Friday (23/7/2021). Famous footballers like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo He has also appeared in the Olympic men’s soccer sport.
However, they appear in different editions of the Olympics. Cristiano Ronaldo took part in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi defended his country, Argentina, at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. So, who shines more?
(Cristiano Ronaldo at the 2004 Athens Olympics)
Cristiano Ronaldo who defended Portugal, at that time was only 19 years old. At that time, Cristiano Ronaldo was included in the U-23 category because he was still 19 years old. For your information, in Olympic football, the squad that is competed is the U-23 team.
However, each team is allowed to bring three senior players. Therefore, the Portuguese coach at the time, Jose Romao, called up three senior players namely Fernando Meira, 26, Nuno Frechaut (26) and Luis Boa Morte (27).
However, the presence of the three names above has not been enough to help Portugal. Joined in Group D with Morocco, Costa Rica and Iraq, Portugal is caretaker!
READ ALSO: Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr Ever Won Olympic Gold Medals, What About Cristiano Ronaldo?
Noted, Portugal fell 2-4 to Iraq and Costa Rica. Meanwhile, in one more match, Portugal won 2-1 over Morocco. In that match, Cristiano Ronaldo scored one goal.
Total, Cristiano Ronaldo down in two games with a collection of one goal. What about Lionel Messi’s gait? Just like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi entered the category of junior players when he took part in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, because he was 21 years old.
(Messi (above) and Di Maria, two Argentine stars at the 2008 Beijing Olympics)
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the three senior players brought by the coach of the Argentina U-23 national team, Sergio Batista, were Juan Roman Riquelme who was 30 years old, Nicolas Pareja (24) and Javier Mascherano (24).
The presence of the three senior players above, plus young players like Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero to Angel Di Maria, made Argentina appear superior. Joined in Group A, Argentina swept three games of victory.
Argentina beat Ivory Coast 2-1, Australia (1-0) and Serbia (2-0). In the group phase, Lionel Messi down in two matches, namely against Ivory Coast and Serbia. In those two games, Lionel Messi scored one goal and one assist, and it all came together in Argentina’s 2-1 win over Ivory Coast.
Then in the quarterfinals, Argentina won 2-1 over the Netherlands, beat Brazil 2-0 in the semifinals and beat Nigeria 1-0 in the final. Of those three matches, Lionel Messi scored one goal and one assist in the match against the Netherlands, then La Pulga also scored one assist in Argentina’s 1-0 win over Nigeria. So, Messi deserves to be called greater than Cristiano Ronaldo?
–
–
