The intention of Sergio Ramos to participate in the next Olympic Games, revealed by 'El Mundo' newspaper, would put the captain of the Spanish national team in the possibility of adding the missing title to his resume and achieving what no one has accomplished since 1938, being World and Olympic champion.

Only twenty players in history (16 Uruguayans and four Italians) have managed to become Olympic and World champions with their national teams.

In the case of Uruguayans, the World title in 1930, in the first World Cup, was nothing but a continuation of the success of the Olympic team that had been crowned in the 1924 Paris Games [where they invented "the victory lap"] and four years later in Amsterdam.

Those Olympic tournaments served as World Cups and allowed historical figures like José Leandro Andrade, José Nasazzi, Héctor 'El Manco' Castro, Héctor Scarone, or Pedro Petrone to be crowned champions.

'El Negro' Andrade or the 'Gran Capitán' Nasazzi are mirrors in which Ramos can look at himself. Central defenders and also continental champions (of the Copa América) with their national teams.

Italy, on the other hand, two years after being crowned champion in the "Mussolini World Cup," presented a team filled with "students" to participate in the Olympic tournament in Berlin 1936, which only allowed amateur athletes.

Of that Italian team that became champion in the final against Austria (2-1), four players successfully made the jump to the senior national team that became victorious again in the 1938 World Cup in France, the defenders Pietro Rava and Alfredo Foni, the midfielder Ugo Locatelli, and the forward Sergio Bertoni.

Rava, a central defender and captain like Ramos, was in charge of debunking the legend that Italian players had been threatened by Mussolini before the final (Win or Die). The defender admitted that they did receive a telegram from the dictator before the match against Hungary, but he claimed it was to give them encouragement. Nobody believed him.

Among those who came close to achieving both titles is Leo Messi, winner of the Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Games, after defeating Nigeria in the final with the number 15 on his back (number 10 belonged to Riquelme).

Six years later, he came close to being world champion, but the 'Albiceleste' was defeated in overtime by Germany, and Messi was not even consoled by being chosen as the tournament's best player.

Similarly, Brazilians Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo, Kaká, or Juninho Paulista, World champions in 2002, came close to Olympic glory in 1996. They lost an incredible semifinal against Nigeria (which they were winning 1-3 until the 77th minute), and Nigeria managed to equalize in the last ten minutes and won with a golden goal from Kanu in overtime. EFE