Chapter 67: Olympic Gold Medal

“yeah!!!!!!!!”

At the moment of the whistle, Santhiago threw the towel into the sky, then rushed to the court desperately, pounced on the exhausted Riquelme, and crushed him under him and roared. The rest of the team was almost the same, everyone was ecstatic, and only they knew how much pressure they were under before the Olympics began.

But at this moment, everything disappeared, and the pressure was exchanged for endless honors, which was worthy of the expectations of Argentine fans! This experience is like a nirvana rebirth for the players of the national Olympic team, and the whole person's mental outlook has changed. This is the confidence, this is the confidence that belongs to the champion!

"Hooray! Long live Argentina! The fans in the stands and in front of the TV also raised their arms and chanted! And the fans at the scene were even more excited, they hugged each other warmly, and some even shed tears of excitement! There was a huge cheer from the Bird's Nest Stadium, and the cries from the Argentine fans firmly suppressed all the other voices. At this moment, Santiago, who was still pressed against Riquelme, was suddenly grabbed from behind and lifted, and then he was thrown into the air by the excited team members!

One, two, three......

Almost every player has enjoyed this treatment once, and in their eyes to win this precious Olympic gold medal, the successful defense of the title is a credit to everyone, and everyone deserves this treatment! Then the Argentine lads rushed back to the sidelines, lifted their manager up and threw him into the air! This championship belongs not only to the players, but also to the dedicated coach Batista!

Tonight belongs to Argentina! And they succeeded! Successfully defended the title!

"Argentina's victory at the Beijing Olympics broke the curse of no defending champion in men's football since Munich 1972. In addition, the unbeaten streak of 12 matches in two consecutive Olympic Games also rewrote the winning streak set by Uruguay 80 years ago, and became a new Olympic record in the 100th century.

Of course, this unbeaten record is also due to Bielsa. The "Maniac" coach led Argentina to their first ever Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. They started with a 6-0 thrashing of Serbia and Montenegro in the group stage, and in the next six games, the Argentine team led by Tevez won all six games, scored 17 goals and did not concede a single goal, and finally won the title. Coincidentally, the Uruguayan team's winning streak that year also started with the Yugoslav team, the predecessor of the Serbian and Montenegro team. ”

"The last time an Argentine suffered a defeat at the Olympics was in Atalanta in 1996. On August 3 of that year, at the Arsenal Stadium, the Tango Legion, which had Zanetti, Almeida, Claudio López and Crespo, lost 2-3 to the African Eagles Nigeria. Since that defeat, Argentina has been on an unbeaten path. The opponent in this final is precisely the African eagle who made the Argentines swallow the bitter fruit of defeat that year. In 12 years, defeating Nigeria, Argentina avenged the revenge of the sword that year. When will their unbeaten run end? This can only be answered in London four years from now! ”

The players were surrounded by a flood of reporters to record the madness, and after landing on the ground, Santhiago waved excitedly to all the fans in the stands, almost unable to help himself. Finally, after cheering and celebrating for more than ten minutes, the staff set up the podium, and after the expressionless Brazilian players and the frustrated Nigerian players lined up one by one to receive their respective medals, the Argentine players after the carnival also changed into brand new jerseys and lined up to walk towards the podium under the cheers of the fans and the witness of all the fans in front of the TV.

At the forefront of the pack is naturally coach Batista, followed by Riquelme and his players.

Their arch-rivals, Brazil, were not happy when they attended the ceremony, as if receiving the award was an ordeal, with the exception of Ronaldo. His trademark smile still hung on his face, and the big rabbit teeth smiled from time to time. He was the only Brazilian to talk and laugh with the Argentine players, and even posed for photos with several Santiago Argentina internationals.

When Argentina reached the winner's podium to accept the gold medal, only two of the large Brazilian Olympic team applauded: Ronaldo and centre-back Alex Silva, with the others looking at it in complete dismay. Of course, the Argentines did not forget to show favor to Ronaldo, and many young internationals came to greet their idol, and the football king Maradona also comforted him.

It can be seen from one point that Xiao Luo's status, Xiao Luo's mind, Xiao Luo's vision and Xiao Luo's connections are still second to none in the Brazilian Olympic team.

After a group photo with Xiao Luo in an intimate hug, Santiago stood on the podium.

Streamers and petals flying in the sky, brilliant fireworks lighting up the night sky, deafening music and cheers from the fans form the perfect music for the winner! Santhiago stood with his teammates and smiled happily, believing that this was only the first championship since the beginning of his Nirvana rebirth, and by no means the last! All the fireworks also rose into the sky at this moment, lighting up the night sky of the entire Bird's Nest!

Coming off the podium, Saint-Tiago, who provided the only assist of the game, was naturally chased by the media, and in an interview, Saint-Thiago could not hide his excitement: "This gold medal has a special meaning for all of our players, we have formed a team together and have given our all from the first day of training, so this dedication should be recognized and respected." It's also very important to me because it's my first Olympics. I'm very happy to be at the Beijing Olympics and I'm proud to have had that experience in my career. ”

As he said this, Saint-Tiago blinked, and then rushed into the locker room, entangled with his teammates, and the sound of champagne and singing echoed through the dressing room of the Argentine Olympic team.

But the cheering soon ceased, and the lads all cattled without making a sound, until the door to the dressing room was opened again.

If it is a meritorious deed, Argentina will win the championship thanks to Riquelme, San Tiago...... However, it is the coach Battista who should be thanked the most.

Batista won the World Cup with Maradona 22 years ago, and after retiring as an unknown coach in the youth team. Until the end of last year, the president of the Argentine Football Federation half-jokingly tested Battista and asked him if he was interested in taking over the national Olympic team, and Battista agreed after serious consideration. At the end of last year, the Brazilian Football Federation, which aims to win the first men's Olympic gold medal in history, also made an important appointment, with national team coach Dunga also leading the national Olympic team.

In the eyes of the Argentine media, Batista is already a reserve cadre of the national team, and "El Nacional" believes that the team has played very well from the group stage to the final final, and the lineup and tactical ideas are very clear. According to the report, the Olympic championship has greatly increased the possibility of Battista becoming the successor of the head coach of the Argentine national team, Basile.

There are also media who believe that only Batista will be able to play Maradona's role in Argentine football if he takes over the national team. Although the football king has always wanted to do things for the national team, his relationship with the president of the Football Association and the coach of the national team is not very good, and he has never been able to fulfill this old wish. And Batista and Maradona are close friends, he withstood the pressure of public opinion, gave the king's son-in-law Aguero's firm trust, and can be regarded as selling the king of face to the king, and the gold medal is the best proof of the pair's happy and successful cooperation.

Of course the players know that, but the way they thank the manager is different.