A reviving Sergio Aguero made a brace and an assist to help defending champions Argentina pounce old foe Brazil 3-0 to cruise to the Olympic men's soccer final on Tuesday.
Aguero squandered a dozen of chances in the last four outings and was yet to score a goal, but he proved his class by quickfiring two goals within six minutes, and creating a penalty in the second half.
"I have been always trusting him (Aguero). His goals are just the reward of my trust. He didn't play well in the last few games, but tonight he showed his great ability. We are expecting his goals in the final," said Argentina boss Sergio Batista.
The Brazilians suffered greatly in the demolition as both Lucas and Thiago Neves were sent out for rude tackles on Javier Mascherano at the end of the match.
The Albiceleste will meet Nigeria, who crushed Belgium 4-1 in the other semi-final, in the final showdown on Aug. 23 and stride towards their second consecutive Olympic title relentlessly, while the Brazilians have to taste the pain of losing the dream of taking their first Olympic gold in history.
"Nigeria is a very tough opponent. Twelve years ago They beat us in the final at Atlanta Olympics, but now it's the time to enjoy the victory. We'll think about it tomorrow."
Aguero pleased his father-in-law, Argentine soccer great Maradona who came to watch the game with some shining performance. The 20-year-old broke the stalemate with a 52-minute drove with his chest following Angel Di Maria's left wing cross, before ghosting inside the box to tap fellow defender Ezequiel Garay's low center into an empty net six minutes later.
The Atletico Madrid wizard didn't stop his show, and earned a penalty on 76 minutes to set up for skipper Riquelme, who sealed victory without problem.
The Auriverde didn't cause much trouble on the Argentine defence, and Ronaldinho's 65-minute freekick was their greatest chance of the game, which was rebounded by the near post.
"Our game against the Argentines is always like this: who scored first would take big advantage," said Brazil coach Dunga.
The total 90 minutes have witnessed both sides fighting hard with some understandable rivalry. In the battle-like first half, the two sides seemed to focus on one-on-one collisions and tried to use every means to beat the opposite player. Ronaldinho, Marcelo, Rafinha all showed their tricky techniques, while Riquelme and Linoel Messi adhered to their super self-confidence by protecting the ball well and sauntering freely amid fierce tackles and body contacts.
Dunga admitted they could do nothing to stop Messi, he said: "I've asked a player to mark him, but he always won the one-on-one, he is such a talent."
The surprising margin and the two red cards of the Brazilians may be a perfect revenge for Argentina, who was trounced 3-0 by Brazil in last year's Copa America final.
(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2008)
