SIDEBAR: The little angel shines brightly amongst the stars

By Peter Auf der Heyde Aug 23, 2008, 6:23 GMT

Beijing - In an Argentinean Olympic football side that boasts the likes of Barcelona star Lionel Messi and Boca Juniors' Juan Riquelme, Angel Di Maria was an unlikely match winner.

But the midfielder, who plays his club football for Benfica in Portugal, not only scored his side's match-winning goal against Nigeria in the gold medal match at the Olympic football tournament, he also put the Nigerian defence under constant pressure.

Watched by a near capacity 89,000 crowd including Argentine football icon Diego Maradona in Beijing's Bird's Nest, Di Maria tormented the Nigerian defence in temperatures going up past the 30 degrees mark.

Di Maria, who is known as 'The Little Angel', was born on Valentine's Day in 1988 and made his professional debut as a 17-year old in 2005 for Rosario Central.

Two years later Russian club Rubin Kazan tried to sign him, but, after first agreeing, he changed his mind and decided to stay in Argentina to gain more experience.

In the same year he was picked for his country's under-20 side that won the youth World Cup. His performance in the tournament, during which he scored three goals, brought him to the attention of several prominent clubs and in the end it was Benfica who signed him for a fee of six million euros (8.9 million dollars).

When Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira announced the signing, he told the press that he had bought the South American to replace Benfica's iconic captain Simao.

Di Maria quickly found his feet in Portugal and broke through into the first team. Although he has been with the club less than two years, he has already played 36 times for them.

His performances in Beijing have further increased his stature and Real Madrid and Inter Milan are said to be considering making an offer for him.

But again the youngster has indicated that the time is not right for a move to an even bigger club. 'My thought is that I'll be at Benfica for another year, and I will be champion,' he told the press in Beijing.

Di Maria, however, did not rule out a move at a later stage. 'After that? We'll see,' he said.