On Friday night at 2am in Argentina, the Argentine men’s soccer team took on Nigeria for the Olympic Gold Medal and won, 1-0. Their victory gave them their second gold medal in a row (they won the gold in Athens in 2004) and it also erased their loss to Nigeria in the finals of the 1996 games in Atlanta.According to Reuters UK, Argentina’s victory can be attributed in large part to the country’s ability to produce talented young players, like Lionel Messi.  Argentina has been very successful in the Olympics, which is a under-23 tournament with each team getting three exceptions. They have also won five of the last seven World under-20 Championships.Now, Argentina’s coach is looking ahead to the World Cup in 2010, for many the ultimate prize in soccer, even above a gold medal.

Read the rest of this entry »

Argentina’s women field hockey team, Las Leonas, defeated New Zealand 3-2 and now moves on to play in the semi-finals of the Olympic Games.Currently unbeaten, the team has caught fire since their disappointing ties with the United States and Great Britain.They beat Germany 4-0, who they played previously in the finals of the Champions Trophy, which Argentina won.According to 7th Space, the other teams in the semi-finals are China, Germany and the Netherlands.Argentina will face the Netherlands to determine whether or not they will get a chance to go to the finals and play for the gold medal.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Argentine women’s field hockey team finally got a much needed win on Thursday when they beat Japan 2-1.In order to even have a chance of moving forward to the semi-finals and then the gold medal (or any medal), they had to win yesterday.According to the Clarín, Las Leonas had tied both of their first two games against the United States and Great Britian 2-2, and in both games they had originally gone up 2-0 before losing the lead.When they went up 2-0 yesterday, they had to fight hard against the anxiety that they would once again squander their 2-0 lead.Argentina came into the tournament as one of the favorites to win because they had recently won the Champion’s trophy in Europe.Now, it looks like they may be back on track, though they will face stiff competition before they reach their goal.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last Friday, the opening ceremony of the Olympics aired at 9:08 am, 8:08pm in China.In Buenos Aires, some of the nearly 60,000 Chinese people who live in the city gathered to celebrate the opening of the Olympics in China.  According to China View, many went to Chinatown in Belgrano, where the ceremony was broadcast live on a big screen on Arribenos street.The Chinese community also held a temple fair, where Chinese food, costumes, red carpets, lamps, and many other things were on sale.The event was supported by the Tourism Office of Buenos Aires in order to promote the activities of a community that is an important part of Argentine life.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Argentine women’s field hockey team played the United States on Sunday and the match ended in a 2-2 tie.According to The New York Times, this was an upsetting tie for Argentina, which is a powerhouse hockey team, ranked number 2 in the tournament and the defending bronze medalist.The United States was pleased with their performance, as they are an up-and-coming club.At the end of last year, in the final of the Pan American games, Argentina beat the United States 4-2, making it seem that the U.S. has improved in the last year.In their three Olympic matches prior to this year, Argentina has beaten the U.S. every single time.Now, the U.S. goes on to play Japan and Argentina will face Great Britain.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, the Argentine men’s soccer team played its first game as the defending gold medal champion at the Beijing games.According to Goal, the game was played in Shanghai Stadium in front of 57,000 people.Argentina was the favorite to win and they did not disappoint as they defeated the Ivory Coast 2-1.Lionel Messi, who Barcelona released at the last moment to play in the games, scored the goal that put Argentine ahead in the first half.Then, early in the second half, Ivory Coast tied the game up, making for an exciting finish.The final, game winning goal was scored by Lautaro Acosta in the 83rd minute of the game.

Read the rest of this entry »

Argentina and Brazil are considered to be the two teams to beat in the men’s soccer tournament at the 2008 Olympic Games this year.Argentina, of course, is eager to defend its gold medal from the last Olympic Games.Brazil, despite its prowess as a world soccer power for many years, has never won a gold medal in soccer.According to the Philadelphia Daily News, if Argentina or Brazil win their first round groups, they will go directly to the championships.Who might come in third?Assuming these powers perform they way that they should, the field is wide open, and the U.S., among others, is looking to at least get a medal, even if they can’t beat Argentina or Brazil.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Argentine Olympic soccer team arrived in Shanghai at dawn yesterday, going through rigorous security upon entering China.The only member of the Olympic squad missing was Lionel Messi, who arrived today in the early morning.According to the Clarín,Shanghai will be the site of their first game in the Olympics.It will be played next Thursday against the Ivory Coast.They will then face the other two teams in their group:Australia and Serbia.The players will spend their days until the game training hard and keeping their minds focused on defending the gold medal they won during the 2004 Olympic games in Athens.

Read the rest of this entry »

The long controversy over whether or not Lionel Messi would play soccer in the Olympics or stay with his club team Barcelona is over.Messi announced yesterday that he would be joining Argentina.His decision came after a decision by FIFA against Barcelona; a judge said that Barcelona must act according to FIFA rules that require all under-23-year-old players to be released for the Olympics.Barcelona is contesting the decision, taking it to the Court for Arbitration of Sport.For the moment, Messi plans on joining the Argentine team where they are training in Japan, preparing for the upcoming Olympics games.He says that if FIFA says it is the right decision, he will abide by their ruling and be thrilled to play for his country.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Argentine basketball player Manu Ginobili was officially added to the Argentine’s Olympic roster last Friday, ending the debate over whether he would be well enough to play in the Olympics.Having sprained his ankle in the NBA playoffs, his status was uncertain and he was under some pressure from the Spurs to not play unless he was 100 percent well.According to ESPN, Ginobili says he is experiencing no pain and is ready to play, a decision that the Spurs must accept.Part of Argentina’s 12 man roster, he will play a major part in defending the Argentine gold medal from Athens in 2004.They begin play again Lithuania.

Read the rest of this entry »