Messi: Argentina Aren't Favourites

Argentina ace Lionel Messi has told Fifa.com that he and his teammates are in no way complacent heading into their Olympic Games final against Nigeria on Saturday...

The Barcelona man has enjoyed the Games thus far, but he realises that there are bigger tests to come.

"The Olympics? It's just as I expected, very beautiful and special," he said.

"As the days have gone gone by, I've been able to see for myself everything that people had spoken to me about before I came. I've experienced some wonderful things that I'll remember for the rest of my life. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so you have to make the most of every second.

"But as for the final, it's true we're in good form, but there are no real favourites in a final, where anything can happen. If you believe the script, we shouldn't have any problems. However, we still have to produce it where it matters, out on the pitch with our football. That's the only thing we should be thinking about."

Brazil Thrashing

Having been involved in the albiceleste's 3-0 mauling of Brazil, the Barcelona man revealed his thoughts on that encounter.

"We'd had a couple of games against them that hadn't gone at all well for us. We'd been hoping to be able to beat them and we were in the kind of form to do just that, but we never imagined we'd beat them so emphatically," he said.

"It makes me feel very happy, everything turned out perfectly. And Agüero? It was such a joy to see him find the net. He really needed it because people were starting to question him, some were saying certain things that just weren't true. Fortunately he was able to score and shut a lot of people up. That's good for him.

"I spoke to Ronaldinho at full-time. We exchanged greetings and I wished him well with his latest move [to AC Milan]. He'll have to start again from scratch with another team, so I wished him the very best. He deserves it. He's always been wonderful to me, and has helped me a lot."

In closing, he discussed the prospects of his having a gold medal around his neck by Saturday afternoon.

"It would be something very special, because of everything I've mentioned: the significance of taking part in such a tournament, and the fact that you might never get the opportunity again. Winning a medal would be a unique souvenir of this whole experience. As I've said all along, it's always been my dream to win a gold medal," he concluded.

Steve Michaels, Goal.com