THEY DID IT!!!

YES! YES! YES!



( MORE PICS BELOW THE CUT )

ARGIES THROW A PARTY

These are my favourite pics so far of yesterday's (todays?) final. Getty had the best photos, but sorry for the watermarks.

I don't know who was the bigger kid - Ever Banega or Kun Aguero. But they are both delightful in their celebrating.

And - oh, Gago!



( MORE PICSPAM BELOW THE CUT )

MORE ARGIE PICSPAM! THE UNSUNG ONES

I plan to do a small series of picspams in order to share the most beautiful quality photos I've found of the Argentine National Team, in their successful pursuit of the Olympic Gold Medal.

First, I want to start with those players I consider 'unsung' - the subs, or the players who were not the original choices for the positions. For instance, Jose Sosa, a talented young midfielder with Bayern Munich, who came on once or twice during the tournament. Yesterday he replaced Angel Di Maria, who had to come off because of heat exhaustion.

ISN'T HE GORGEOUS? There are more pics below the cut.



( JOSE SOSA - HE WEARS NO. 7 )

SERGIO ROMERO: THE REPLACEMENT GOALKEEPER DID A PRETTY GOOD JOB!

Sergio Romero was fantastic last night. (LOL. I mean in goal. I wouldn't know about anything else. XD) Becoming the No. 1 goalkeeper because of an injury to Osky Ustari, he did a damn fine job. Quite perfect, in fact, along with the stunning Argentine defense, in order to stop an onslaught of attacks from a very good Nigerian squad.

SERGIO ROMERO - SHOTSTOPPER EXTRAORDINAIRE!



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EZEQUIEL GARAY: THE REAL MADRID DEFENDER NOBODY HAS SEEN

Ezequiel Garay caught my eye during the Olympics. I was aware of him before, because he was out on loan from Real Madrid to Racing Santander, another Spanish club. I watch the Spanish primera Liga every week, and I've seen him a lot, but I've never seen him stand out like he did at these Olympics. He and the other defenders did an awesome job yesterday.

EZEQUIEL GARAY



( EZEQUIEL GARAY WEARS NO. 2 )

EZEQUIEL LAVEZZI: NOT TOO SHABBY

Lavezzi is a very good striker, having proved himself in Argentina with San Lorenzo before moving to Napoli in Italy where he established himself as a fan favourite. Not hard to see why. But he can score lots of goals too, and it's only because of the wealth of talent in Argentina that he is not a starting striker for the National Team.

EZEQUIEL LAVEZZI



( LAVEZZI WEARS THE NO. 9 )

EVER BANEGA: HAPPY NO MATTER WHAT

Ever Banega was not used very much. He plays somewhat the same position as Fernando Gago, except that their styles are very different. And since Gago is one of those players who never seems to get injured (oh my, I hope I haven't jinxed him), Ever doesn't get much of a chance to play. He did come on in the waning moments of the game to replace one of the strikers, in order to shore up the midfield. It wasn't enough time to prove himself, although he did get a couple of touches. However, his celebrations are joyful and exuberant, and worthy of a picspam.

First, here is Ever on the pitch, trying to control possession.



( EVER BANEGA WEARS THE NO. 8 )

KUN AGUERO: THE KUN AND MESSI SHOW

Argentina's two main strikers are Kun Aguero and of course, Lionel Messi. Messi usually plays behind Kun, where he is almost more like a midfielder. The two of them hook up very well, and although neither scored a great number of goals in this tournament, their quality is evident.

They also make quite a fetching pair.



So this little picspam is dedicated to both of them.

( KUN AND MESSI: LOOKING GOOD )

FERNANDO GAGO: POETRY IN MOTION

Fernando Gago has that ability to make you want to grab him, hold him in your arms and squish him. His moves on the pitch are incredible, and if you look carefully at each and every picture of him in action, he looks fantastic in stop motion, no matter what he is doing. His allure is fascinating. And he is only 22!!!! So feast your eyes. These pics are really good.

A teaser:

I wanted a photo of his shot on goal, and here it is. Look at the way he holds his arms, his hands. And the positions of his feet. He is always so poised. It's almost as if he dances out there.



( MORE PICS OF GAGO UNDER THE CUT )

CELEBRATIONS AND THE PODIUM CEREMONY

Except I don't think Argentines do ceremony! I mean, they are anything but stuffy and proper. For instance, see that bouquet of flowers all smashed on the grass in front of Gago? He made that mess! He stomped on them and ruined them! I saw it in a slide show!



( MORE FUNNY PICS BELOW THE CUT )