Interview with Thomas Bach: from the desire to bring the Olympic Games to Argentina to the enthusiasm of seeing Messi in Paris 2024

While in Santiago de Chile thousands of athletes are competing for 2,986 medals (947 gold, 947 silver and 1,092 bronze) and are fighting to guarantee their places at the Olympic Games in Paris next year, the president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, visited the authorities of the Argentine Olympic Committee (COA) and toured the facilities of the new museum that the entity inaugurated in its offices on Juncal Street.

Accompanied by Gerardo Werthein, member of the International Olympic Committee and Olympic Broadcasting Services; Mario Moccia, head of the COA; Secretary General Víctor Sergio Groupierre; Vice President Alicia Masoni de Morea; Secretary of Records Mabel Roca; and Deputy Secretary Mariano Rodríguez Giesso, the German director toured one of the emblematic sites of the City of Buenos Aires. And his memories settled on his greatest sporting achievements. The thing is that in Buenos Aires, the former fencer was crowned world champion in 1977 and in 2013 he was elected as the head of the international entity.

After receiving the affection of some albiceleste glories, such as Paula Pareto, Cecilia Carranza, Santiago Lange, Sebastián Crismanich, Delfina Merino and Facundo Conte, the European leader spoke exclusively to Infobae and recognized his desire to promote Argentina as one of the possible venues for the Olympic Games of the future. “Argentina has everything. It’s a nation full of passion for sports. It is a country that is represented in all Olympic sports. In addition, it has very good facilities for competitions. I think they would be in a position to organize very sustainable Olympic Games, with great athletes who are true champions and represent Olympic values in an extraordinary way. Without a doubt, Argentina would be in a position to organize the Olympic Games in the future,” he said.

Almost 9 months after the event in the City of Lights, Thomas Bach stressed that the event in the French capital will mark “a new era”. “They will be more inclusive, with more young people and more sustainable. They will be the first Olympic Games in history with full gender parity. After the pandemic, I think everyone is looking forward to the arrival of these Games. Especially because of all the divisions we have in our world, in Paris we will have the ideal setting to meet and celebrate the Olympic spirit together”, he stressed.

In this regard, the European leader also referred to the war conflicts affecting Israel and Ukraine. “The Olympic movement or the IOC cannot create peace, but we can establish a symbol of peace with the Olympic Games, where athletes have tough and fierce competition with each other, but at the same time they live together under one roof in the Olympic Village, sharing their meals and their emotions,” said the German. And he argued: “We can show that the world would be a better place if everyone accepted the same rules as athletes in sports. And if people tried to find common ground, they would look for opportunities where they could agree and not look for situations that could generate division or confrontation. Our message refers to unity, because these Olympic Games will be a true symbol of peace. It would be ideal for the world’s political leaders to give peace a chance.”

One of the aspects that he is most excited about is based on a statement given by Javier Mascherano in the recent past. The fact is that the coach of the youth team considered the possibility of summoning Lionel Messi and Ángel Di María if they achieve qualification in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament to be held in Venezuela, from January 20 to February 11 next year. “It would be great to have these two outstanding players in Paris. And for Lionel Messi it would be even more fantastic because he could write the history of sport. He has already written many pages of the history of football, but with his participation and, perhaps, with the triumph of the gold medal, he could become the only football player on the planet to have won two Olympic gold medals and the World Cup. In addition, as captain in these three major events,” he analyzed. He continued: “I think he has a fantastic opportunity to represent his country in this way and to write a new story. I can only cross my fingers to make it work.”

Anyway, Thomas Bach recalled that he doesn’t want to interfere with the coach’s decisions. La Pulga, Olympic champion in Beijing 2008 under the technical direction of Sergio Batista, could play his second Olympic Games at the age of 37 in a city from which he left in mid-2023, after his time in Paris Saint-Germain, where he endured hostile treatment especially after his consecration in the World Cup in Qatar after beating France in the final.

Apart from the enthusiasm about the presence of the Rosario star, the manager left open “the surprise” of enjoying another legend of world sports in the City of Light. “A bit of the magic of the Olympic Games is that: in each edition a legend is born and I couldn’t say what it will be today. We’re going to find out for the duration of the competition,” he said.

Finally, with regard to his plans for the future, the head of the IOC considered the chance to add e-games to the Olympic calendar. “They are an opportunity to inspire the young generation with our Olympic values, and at the same time to continue to be relevant among the new generations. We have four billion players around the world and we want to inspire them with the Olympic values. We also seek to motivate them to become physically active and thus have a healthier lifestyle,” he concluded.