Beijing Olympic Games

Lionel and Kobe spend time together at Olympics

BEIJING (AP)—Golf and tennis have Tiger and Roger. Soccer and basketball appear to have Lionel and Kobe.

Though they play different sports, Lionel Messi and Kobe Bryant are big fans of one another.

They met for at least the second time Wednesday at the Beijing Olympics.

“He said hello. He was with us for a while. He was very good with us,” Messi said. “He is a legend and today he showed why. I gave him my shirt and I’m sorry he couldn’t see me play.”

Both men watched Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Serbia with Messi on the sideline resting for the team’s quarterfinal match against the Netherlands on Saturday. Bryant was among the 53,668 spectators at Workers’ Stadium who chanted Messi’s name throughout even though the FC Barcelona player was on the bench.

“It is the way it is,” Messi said about his day off. “Sometimes I can play, sometime it’s the turn of my teammates. I hope we can win the quarterfinal to come back to Beijing and I hope the fans will support us again.”

Even Messi smiled in acknowledgment of the attention when the stadium screen showed the 21-year-old winger in the 33rd minute.

Tiger Woods and Roger Federer—two athletes who have dominated golf and tennis in recent years—habitually turn up to watch one another at major tournaments.

Bryant is at the Olympics with the U.S. basketball team. The Los Angeles Lakers guard, who lived in Italy for eight years and is an avid soccer fan, also attended a Barcelona training session in June 2007.