There was no love lost between the Barcelona soccer club and the Argentina Olympic team over the past month, as each side fought to have super-star Lionel Messi on its team.Now, the Olympics are over and Messi has returned to Barcelona with a gold medal around his neck.According to Goal, the Barcelona team is not actually in Spain right now, but has traveled to Poland to face Wisla Krakow in the second part of the Champions League Qualifier.It was these very qualifying games that Barcelona was so reluctant to have Messi miss.Still, instead of rushing him out to play, they are giving him some time to train and recover from the Olympics before the La Liga begins.

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On Saturday, Manu Ginobili led the Argentine basketball team to a decisive victory over Iran, 97 to 82.Ginobili scored 32 points, nearly a third of the team’s total, and was the leading scorer from either team.According to China View, Iran felt pleased to have finished within 15 points of the defending gold medal champion.This is Iran’s first time competing in the Olympics for basketball.Argentina was less pleased with their performance, as they made many mistakes, but they got the win and continue to be a strong contender for a medal.Argentina will play Russia later today.

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The Argentine woman’s soccer team played China yesterday in the last game of group play and lost 2-0.The third loss in three games for the Argentine women, it marked the end of their Olympic bid for 2008.A frustrating showing, their losses went remarkably unnoticed in Argentina, where men’s soccer is far more closely followed than women’s soccer.The Chinese victory meant that they finished first in Group E, having also between Switzerland and tied with Canada, and will continue into the next round of the tournament.There, they will play the United States for a chance to go on to compete for the gold medal.

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Despite a strong performance by Manu Ginobili, who scored 19 points, Argentina lost its first basketball game to Lithuania yesterday.According to The Boston Globe, the final score was 79-75 and the game came down to a tense finish.In the final minutes of the game, Argentina went on a run, with two free throws made by Ginobili, a basket by Carlos Delfino, and a basket by Luis Scola.Argentina pulled to within one of Lithuanian but their efforts were not quite enough to bring the victory home.While a disappointing loss, Lithuania is one of the best teams in the Olympic tournament this year and Argentina will have several more opportunities in group play to get back their loss.

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Lionel Messi is one of the best soccer players in the world and he is caught between his club team, Barcelona, and his country’s Olympic team. Barcelona has been unwilling to release Messi for the games and eventually FIFA was forced to rule that Messi had to be released for the Olympics. Now, however, the tables have turned again.According to Reuters, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), to which Barcelona appealed FIFA’s decision, said that Barcelona, in fact, does not have to release Messi. Now it is up to Messi to decide if he will defy his team and stay with the Argentine Olympic team. It is still possible that Barcelona will release him at last, but they have fought so long to prevent it that that outcome seems unlikely.

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The Argentine artist Gloria Achucarro received a bronze medal for her statue entitled Tiempo y Ser (Time and Being).According to Revista Ñ, the statue was chosen from among many in an international competition that lasted several years.In 2006 over 3,000 artists registered to participate.From that original number, 290 works were then chosen to be judged and displayed around the world.29 pieces eventually were selected as the best in the world and Achucarro received a bronze medal to recognize her achievement.Now, her statue will be on display at the Olympic Games in Beijing, along with the other winners.

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Manu Ginobili, basketball star of the San Antonio Spurs, has been chosen to carry Argentina’s flag in the opening ceremonies of this year’s Olympics in Beijing.This decision comes in the midst of controversy about whether or not Ginobili will be well enough to play.His ankle, which he injured in the NBA playoffs, is still not healed completely.A member of Argentina’s gold medal team from 2004, Ginobili is clearly beloved here and posters of him are all over the city right now as part of a Nike advertising campaign.Everyone hopes that he will be able to play and no one is sure who might replace him, if he is ultimately unable to suit up.

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According to the Fifa website, the Argentine soccer is the team to beat in the upcoming Beijing Olympics.The champions at the 2004 Athens games, the Argentines were not only undefeated but did not let a single goal be scored against them—a truly impressive feat.This year, they have two stars, Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero, who are expected to lead them to a second gold.One of these two twenty-year olds, Messi, is even considered by some to be the new Diego Maradona.The other team to beat seems to be Italy, who got the bronze metal at Athens and was the World Cup winner in 2007.

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Emanuel Ginobili, the most well-known Argentine basketball player in the world, may be unable to play in this year’s Olympic games.The three-time NBA championship winner stated yesterday that the lesion in his ankle is worse than he had thought at the end of this year’s NBA season.However, according to China View, Ginobili does really want to participate in the games if he can and he stressed that he was “optimistic” about a potential recovery.He will certainly be doing everything he can to speed the healing process along.For Argentines, who follow his progress in the NBA with pride and have high hopes for their national basketball team, Ginobili’s announcement is anything but good news.

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