Shanghai Surprise

Well this is likely to get messy.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

But perhaps the ruling earlier in the week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that clubs did not have to release players for the Olympics wasn't translated into Spanish as the one of the key figures in the row, Lionel Messi, was on the pitch for the Albicelete's Olympic opener against the Ivory Coast.

Barcelona wanted Messi in club colors as they have a Champions League qualifier that overlaps with the Olympic schedule, while Messi wanted to play in the Olympics to fulfill a boyhood dream of winning a gold medal.

Thing is this wasn't a sneak attach as Argentine coach Sergio Batista said that, even after the CAS ruling, Messi would play.

Good thing for the Albiceleste as Messi netted the first goal then, late in the second half, did all the hard work that led to the Argies 86th minute match winner. Messi got loose deep on the left side and let fly with a howler. The Ivorian keeper was able to get a hand on the ball, but it deflected right in front where Acosta poked it into an open goal: 2-1 Argentina.

Update: Apparently, Barca is totally cool with Messi playing, meaning that ultimately this story boils down to: "Soccer player plays soccer." Awesome.

Hey, sometimes this shit happens while we're asleep. We'll take credit just for finding soccer on TV at 7 am on a Thursday.