Argentina's fountain of youth springs eternal

Argentina's team celebrate their gold medal at the end of the men's soccer competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, August 23, 2008.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Argentina's second successive Olympic gold is a reflection of the country's ability to produce talented young players.

With the possible exception of Brazil, no other country can match Argentina's fountain of youthful soccer talent.

The country churns out dozens of gifted youngsters each year, all of whom are eagerly snapped up by European clubs.

Argentina have dominated age-restricted competitions, winning five of the last seven World under-20 championships in addition to their wins at the Olympics, an under-23 tournament with three over-age players allowed per side.

"I'm certain our victory will help the national team on the road to the 2010 FIFA World Cup," said coach Sergio Batista after Saturday's 1-0 win over Nigeria in the gold medal match.

"One of our goals is to prepare the young players for the senior team. We're very pleased with the work we're doing in youth development at the moment."

Much of the credit goes to the clubs, who despite chronic financial difficulties invest heavily in youth development programs which turned naturally talented boys into the finished article.

Boca Juniors, River Plate and Velez Sarsfield employ scouts all over the country and give trials to thousands of youngsters every year.

The best are given full boarding at the clubs, who also take care of their education.

NEW APPROACH

Equally significantly, the country's football philosophy has moved away from the win-at-all costs approach which dominated during the 1980s and early 1990s, particularly when Carlos Bilardo coached the national side.

Influenced by coaches such as Alfio Basile, Jose Pekerman, Marcelo Bielsa and Daniel Passarella, Argentina have moved to a refined, attacking style at all age groups, a far cry from the gamesmanship and skulduggery which once marked their game.

Size does not matter as much in other countries and Argentina are noted both at youth and senior level for having one of the smallest national sides.

Few other countries would even consider fielding a player such as midfielder Diego Buonanotte, at 1.57 meters and 49 kilos the smallest player in the tournament.

Argentina played him in the group game against Serbia and he scored from a free-kick in the 2-0 win.

Sadly, the talent is strictly for export.

European clubs are frequently accused of trying to find loopholes in transfer legislation which bans international transfers of players under the age of 18.

"The way it happens is a club from a Spanish city contracts a woman to cook and by coincidence she has a 14-year-old football genius son," River Plate president Jose Maria Aguilar told Reuters in an interview last year.

"They are stealing our players."

Even when the deal is above board, players spend a frustratingly short time in their homeland with local clubs simply unable to compete with the wages offered in Europe.

Midfielder Ever Banega made only 29 appearances for Boca Juniors before moving to Valencia, Sergio Aguero was sold by Independiente to Atletico Madrid just after his 18th birthday while Lionel Messi joined Spain's Barcelona as a 13-year-old.

(Editing by Jon Bramley)