No Kaka...
No Ronaldinho...
No Gilberto Silva...
No Adriano...
No Ronaldo...
No Problemo.
Copa America 2007 Final
Brasil 3-0 Argentina
Baptista 5'
Ayala o.g. 40'
Alves 69'
Even if you hate footy, you have to admit the cartoonish
sound effects on Brasilian TV are pretty sweet.
The last time Argentina played Brasil was in a friendly match in September at Emirates Stadium in London. As it happened I was in Buenos Aires at the time, and there was mondo excitement leading up to the match- the country came to a damn near standstill for 2 hours. Brasil dominated Argentina 3-0 that day, and it was like a day of mourning in Buenos Aires, the feeling of disappointment/letdown was palpable in the air. That was just a friendly, so I can't even imagine what BA is like this evening.
Brasil got off to a flying start thanks to La Bestia, Julio Baptista, who scored a wonderful golaso against the run of play that filled me with another round of bitterness, the third round of bitterness in the last week to be precise. Again, Julio, where the fuck was that all last season during your failure at Arsenal? Thanks alot, fucker. The goal gave Brasil a huge shot of adrenaline and confidence, which they never relinquished for the entire 90 minutes.
Argentina came within inches of equalizing a few moments later when Riquelme rocketed a left footed blast off the post, and it was on. The first 20 minutes were pretty pulsating stuff, but then the match settled down a bit, and Argentina were never really able to get into full gear offensively.
A tight match turned less tight before halftime when a dangerous cross was volleyed brilliantly into the Argentine goal... by Argentine defender Ayala. Oops. 2-0 into halftime. Touogh day at the office for Ayala the Argentine captain, who also got schooled by Baptista on his golaso.
You figured after the break that Argentina would come full bore in wave after wave after wave of attacks, but they still couldn't seem to get into full gear. Huge credit to the back 4 of Brasil, who played a wonderful game without the cover of their suspended invisible wall. Obviously at this point the third goal would be crucial, because it would either mean game on or game over. It came on a counter attack in the 73rd minute, when Dani Alves did what he did all season for Sevilla, make a bombing overlapping run on the right and slot home a sweet one-timer shot into the far corner. 3-0 and that was that. The rest was a formality, and just to add insult to injury Messi scored a perfectly legitimate goal in the final 10 mintes that was incorrectly ruled offsides.
A huge statement win for Brasil to put one over on their biggest rival with far from their strongest squad against a full strength Argentine side {OK, Crespo was injured, but still}. Brasil have had the hoodoo over Argentina in the last decade or so, and this win will just add to it in a massive, massive way. I can't think of a great comparison, the first one that comes to mind would be if Georgia entered the Georgia-Florida game 8-0, Florida were 5-3, Tebow was out injured, Georgia were 14 point favorites, and Florida still won 28-6. The hoodoo that Brasil currently enjoy over Argentina is not as strong as the hex Florida has over UGA the last 17 years, but that was the first thing that popped into my mind- I'm sure there are better comparisons out there.
And for Argentina this will be a huge mental blow, after all the buildup and promise and expectation to win, only to have your full strength team get embarrassed by a far from full strength Brasil team. This was to be Argentina's first major tournament win since the 1993 Copa America {outside of a youth tournament}, so to fall flat against their most hated rival will leave a scar that will take a good long time to heal and fade away. Their next chance will be the 2010 World Cup, by which their winless stretch will be 18 years.
Riquelme did not boss the midfield, and will again be ridiculed for supposedly disappearing in the biggest of stages, which I think is unfair today and in general. He had Argentina's best chance when he rattled the post early on, and a bunch of his teammates were pretty anonymous today as well, including Messi, Tevez, Veron, Mascherano, and Cambiasso {by the by, I thought 34 year old Zanetti played a blinder for the albiceleste}. He seems to get a similar treatment that Thierry Henry is subject to: when he kicks ass and dominates everyone is up his ass and full of praise, but in the matches where he doesn't kick ass and dominate then suddenly everyone says he sucks ass and is a choker, when the former happens a hell of a lot more than the latter. I wonder if there is commonality on treatment because both players a a bit moody and mercurial- would they get more slack of they were the never say die super passionate bulldog type like say Gattuso, or even like Steven Gerrard? I wonder...
Let's be clear, it wasn't a total and complete domination. In fact, Wagner Love once again largely did nothing- granted his run and pass on the last goal were very good but that was about it, making me conclude that he just isn't good enough to be a starting striker for the Selecao. Robinho was also largely anonymous. The match was probably tighter than the final score indicated, but 2 moments of magic from Baptista and Alves, plus the midsummer Christmas gift from Ayala, and there you have it. But again, the fact that this result occurred when Argentina had assembled their dream team of worldbeating superstars and Brasil were decidedly less than full strength was the significant point, making it the mental equivalent of a dominant beating in the eyes of both teams, sets of fans, and nations.
Speaking of Wagner Love, the most disappointing thing about him was the complete abandonment by the Univision announcer of saying his name like the Ladies Man {blah blah blah Wagner Loooooovvvveee} after the 2nd game. I cannot believe that the play by pllay man did it of his own volition, so my guess is that either someone in Love's camp asked them to stop or some suit at Univision asked him to stop {although perhaps he trotted it back out today for the grand final- I was at a pub today which had the GolTV feed}. Either way it was disappointing to say the least.
Oh, and it finally dawned on my today who Riquelme is. He's Gilbert Gottfried with short hair. Same face, although I cannot iagine that Juan Roman's voice is anywhere near as irritating as Gilbert's.
In yesterday's 3rd place match Mexico beat Uruguay 3-1. That's about all I know since I didn't take the time to watch a match that is essentially a meaningless friendly.
Overall the Copa America was a wonderful event with lots of attacking footy and tons and tons of goals. Eighty six of them, to be exact, in 26 matches, for a healthy 3.3 goals per match. A very pleasant and refreshing surprise after the offensively challenged World Cup 2002, Euro 2004, and even World Cup 2002.
The South American 2010 World Cup qualifying starts this fall. Anyone care to wager against Brasil and Argentina finishing 1 & 2? Not me...
Showing posts with label Copa America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Copa America. Show all posts
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Copa America Update: El Super Clasico Del Sudamerica It Is
Life really getting in the way this week, sorry for the delay. I really don't know how all the multiple posts a day bloggers do it...
Brasil 2-2 Uruguay, 5-4 PSO
Highlights
As I stated earlier, I had a funny feeling one of these matches was going to go to PKs, and this one was it. Brasil went ahead twice only for Uruguay to equalize in what was a very good match. Brasil always looked in control, but Uruguay always bring a little something against their old rivals and neighbors, and always seem to carry the self belief that comes with handing Brasil their most painful defeat in it's existence, on it's own home soil, in the most attended football match in the history of man.
So after 90 minutes it was straight to PKs, and what an exciting shootout it was. Forlan's 1st for Uruguay was awful and easily saved, and Brasil were up for the first half of the shoot out, but then they had a dude hit the post and Uruguay tied it up. After 5 kicks it was still even; in the 6th round Brasil hit the post again, so miraculously Uruguay now had 1 kick to defeat Brasil and move on to the final. Dude's shot easily beat the keeper and looked for all the world that it was going into the corner, but then it hit the post as well. In the 7th round Brasil scored and then Uruguay's shot was saved and the super exciting shootout came to an anticlimactic conclusion as yet another referee refused to enforce the rules and allowed a goalkeeper to come a good 3 yards off his line before the kick was taken, and he saved the penalty. Yes, some of the blame lies with the kicker, as this penalty was very poor, but still, such blatant cheating should not be allowed. Sevilla'a Palop did the same thing with the final kick of the UEFA Cup shootout earlier this year, and it is just annoying that when a goalie cheats so badly and comes so far out that the referee does not simply order a re-kick. Makes no sense to me, and had always bothered me since Brainna Scurry did it on all 5 penalties in the 1999 Women's World Cup final vs. China, which is forever forgotten because OMG Brandi Chastain took her shirt off. The remarkable thing about that penalty shootout, where the USA made all 5 kicks and China made it's first 4, is that China made 4 out of 5 with Scurry almost out to the 6 yard box every time; I remember being more impressed with that feat than with the US team making all 5 with the China keeper obeying the rules. Anyways I hope for the day that a referee will grow a pair and call for a re-kick when the rules are so clearly breached.
So on to the final for Brasil. That's the good news. The bad news is that Gilberto Silva, captain and "invisible wall" who expertly shields & provides cover for the back 4, will miss the final due to card accumulation when he picked up an incredibly ticky-tack yellow card in the final minutes of the match. Normally reserved Gilberto went a bit mental to the referee, so you know that he immediately knew what it meant and was gutted that he would be missing the final.
Argentina 3-0 Mexico
Highlights
These two teams had played the best footy for the entire tournament, and it looked like if anyone was going to perhaps beat Argentina that Mexico might be able to do it. You also knew that Mexico would be super motivated to have another shot at Argentina after their epic World Cup Round of 16 match last summer, which was one of the best of the entire tournament and ended in heartbreak for Mexico when Maxi Rodriguez scored the goal of the World Cup to give Argentina a famous 2-1 win and send Mexico home.
The match was very tight for an hour, with Mexico hitting the woodwork twice and Argentina scoring a goal just before halftime when Heinze took advantage of some poor defending and latched onto a Riquelme free kick.
About the hour mark things were settled pretty quickly. First, two quick passes put Messi semi through but not really, as a defender was closing him down quickly and he was at a terrible angle. So he simply decided to score the goal of the tournament thusfar, which is saying something in this goal fest of a competition. He received the ball, and in a split second, and without breaking stride, chipped the keeper, which was the only way he could have scored from where he was and where the keeper was. By the time Messi kicked the ball, the defender had recovered and was between him and the goal, and the goalkeeper was well positioned giving him no angle to score. The slow, high, loopy chip was absolutely perfect and just looked even better because of the futile way that the goalie tried in vain to get to it. A really special goal for Lionel, especially that he did it on a full run without breaking stride and as a split second decision. But then again, it's Messi, and he's is doing special, special shit every time out these days.
Que ridiculo golaso del Messi
2 minutes later and Carlito Tevez made a meal out of some contact with Rafa Marquez and sold a 32 piece set of a penalty to the referee better than Uncle Rico ever could have. Riquelme slotted it for 3-0 and that was game, set and match.
So Brasil-Argentina, El Super Clasico Del Sudamerica, in the final, which is what most of the world has been foaming at the mouth over for 2 weeks now. As you might guess, these two have quite a history as neighbors and powers of world football, and their rivalry is, umm, intense.
Argentina would be solid favorites even if Gilberto was playing for Brasil. Without him, it will be even tougher for Brasil to snuff out Argentina's massive arsenal of attacks. I can't really see Brasil winning to be honest, but considering the magnitude of this rivalry, anything is possible, and remember, if it's tied then we go straight to penalty kicks where literally anything can happen.
Prediction Argentina 3-1 Brasil.
The match is on Univision at 2 p.m. PST today. Enjoy.
Brasil 2-2 Uruguay, 5-4 PSO
Highlights
As I stated earlier, I had a funny feeling one of these matches was going to go to PKs, and this one was it. Brasil went ahead twice only for Uruguay to equalize in what was a very good match. Brasil always looked in control, but Uruguay always bring a little something against their old rivals and neighbors, and always seem to carry the self belief that comes with handing Brasil their most painful defeat in it's existence, on it's own home soil, in the most attended football match in the history of man.
So after 90 minutes it was straight to PKs, and what an exciting shootout it was. Forlan's 1st for Uruguay was awful and easily saved, and Brasil were up for the first half of the shoot out, but then they had a dude hit the post and Uruguay tied it up. After 5 kicks it was still even; in the 6th round Brasil hit the post again, so miraculously Uruguay now had 1 kick to defeat Brasil and move on to the final. Dude's shot easily beat the keeper and looked for all the world that it was going into the corner, but then it hit the post as well. In the 7th round Brasil scored and then Uruguay's shot was saved and the super exciting shootout came to an anticlimactic conclusion as yet another referee refused to enforce the rules and allowed a goalkeeper to come a good 3 yards off his line before the kick was taken, and he saved the penalty. Yes, some of the blame lies with the kicker, as this penalty was very poor, but still, such blatant cheating should not be allowed. Sevilla'a Palop did the same thing with the final kick of the UEFA Cup shootout earlier this year, and it is just annoying that when a goalie cheats so badly and comes so far out that the referee does not simply order a re-kick. Makes no sense to me, and had always bothered me since Brainna Scurry did it on all 5 penalties in the 1999 Women's World Cup final vs. China, which is forever forgotten because OMG Brandi Chastain took her shirt off. The remarkable thing about that penalty shootout, where the USA made all 5 kicks and China made it's first 4, is that China made 4 out of 5 with Scurry almost out to the 6 yard box every time; I remember being more impressed with that feat than with the US team making all 5 with the China keeper obeying the rules. Anyways I hope for the day that a referee will grow a pair and call for a re-kick when the rules are so clearly breached.
So on to the final for Brasil. That's the good news. The bad news is that Gilberto Silva, captain and "invisible wall" who expertly shields & provides cover for the back 4, will miss the final due to card accumulation when he picked up an incredibly ticky-tack yellow card in the final minutes of the match. Normally reserved Gilberto went a bit mental to the referee, so you know that he immediately knew what it meant and was gutted that he would be missing the final.
Argentina 3-0 Mexico
Highlights
These two teams had played the best footy for the entire tournament, and it looked like if anyone was going to perhaps beat Argentina that Mexico might be able to do it. You also knew that Mexico would be super motivated to have another shot at Argentina after their epic World Cup Round of 16 match last summer, which was one of the best of the entire tournament and ended in heartbreak for Mexico when Maxi Rodriguez scored the goal of the World Cup to give Argentina a famous 2-1 win and send Mexico home.
The match was very tight for an hour, with Mexico hitting the woodwork twice and Argentina scoring a goal just before halftime when Heinze took advantage of some poor defending and latched onto a Riquelme free kick.
About the hour mark things were settled pretty quickly. First, two quick passes put Messi semi through but not really, as a defender was closing him down quickly and he was at a terrible angle. So he simply decided to score the goal of the tournament thusfar, which is saying something in this goal fest of a competition. He received the ball, and in a split second, and without breaking stride, chipped the keeper, which was the only way he could have scored from where he was and where the keeper was. By the time Messi kicked the ball, the defender had recovered and was between him and the goal, and the goalkeeper was well positioned giving him no angle to score. The slow, high, loopy chip was absolutely perfect and just looked even better because of the futile way that the goalie tried in vain to get to it. A really special goal for Lionel, especially that he did it on a full run without breaking stride and as a split second decision. But then again, it's Messi, and he's is doing special, special shit every time out these days.
Que ridiculo golaso del Messi
2 minutes later and Carlito Tevez made a meal out of some contact with Rafa Marquez and sold a 32 piece set of a penalty to the referee better than Uncle Rico ever could have. Riquelme slotted it for 3-0 and that was game, set and match.
So Brasil-Argentina, El Super Clasico Del Sudamerica, in the final, which is what most of the world has been foaming at the mouth over for 2 weeks now. As you might guess, these two have quite a history as neighbors and powers of world football, and their rivalry is, umm, intense.
Argentina would be solid favorites even if Gilberto was playing for Brasil. Without him, it will be even tougher for Brasil to snuff out Argentina's massive arsenal of attacks. I can't really see Brasil winning to be honest, but considering the magnitude of this rivalry, anything is possible, and remember, if it's tied then we go straight to penalty kicks where literally anything can happen.
Prediction Argentina 3-1 Brasil.
The match is on Univision at 2 p.m. PST today. Enjoy.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
I've Heard Of A Woman Throwing Herself At A Man, But Damn...
Lionel Messi. Every woman in Argentina {and many beyond} wants to fuck him. Every man in Argentina {and many beyond} wants to be him. He just turned 20 2 weeks ago and is already one of the very best players in the world, and is the first of the "next Maradonas" to live up to that comparison with his incredible skills, goals, status & success as a phenom; even Diego himself thinks so. It also helps that he is also left footed, short, and fast as fuck. Oh, and before his teenage years had even ended he had already damn near replicated Maradona's most famous goal, as well as his most infamous goal, just adding to the growing legend. Most agree that he is destined to be the next to be universally hailed as "best player in the world".
So yeah, he's all the rage. I'm sure thousands and perhaps millions of young girls have huge crushes on him, and many likely have a poster of Lionel on their wall, his picture on their cellphone, have joined his fanclub, and scream at him like he's the Beatles on Ed Sullivan back in '64. If there is an Argentine version of Tiger Beat magazine, then they have them all plastered all over their room just like you did with Kirk Cameron back in the day.
Well this Chica Loca! took it one step further the other night after Argentina beat Peru 4-0 in the Copa America quarterfinals: she threw herself at him.
'What do you mean, Kanu- she found the hotel, snuck in, and tried to approach him at the bar?"
No. She literally threw herself off a fucking ledge at the stadium as he was walking off the field and risked life and limb just to get close to him.
And she got drilled in the ass, but not from Lionel {at least not in this video}.
As we all know from Groupies 101: Don't do this, cause you
won't be able to starfuck Messi with your newly broken pelvis
She did get a hug and a kiss, but damn... ouch. Oh well, she can tell her chiropractor about it every week for the rest of her life.
So yeah, he's all the rage. I'm sure thousands and perhaps millions of young girls have huge crushes on him, and many likely have a poster of Lionel on their wall, his picture on their cellphone, have joined his fanclub, and scream at him like he's the Beatles on Ed Sullivan back in '64. If there is an Argentine version of Tiger Beat magazine, then they have them all plastered all over their room just like you did with Kirk Cameron back in the day.
Well this Chica Loca! took it one step further the other night after Argentina beat Peru 4-0 in the Copa America quarterfinals: she threw herself at him.
'What do you mean, Kanu- she found the hotel, snuck in, and tried to approach him at the bar?"
No. She literally threw herself off a fucking ledge at the stadium as he was walking off the field and risked life and limb just to get close to him.
And she got drilled in the ass, but not from Lionel {at least not in this video}.
As we all know from Groupies 101: Don't do this, cause you
won't be able to starfuck Messi with your newly broken pelvis
She did get a hug and a kiss, but damn... ouch. Oh well, she can tell her chiropractor about it every week for the rest of her life.
Copa America Quarterfinals: 22 Goals In 4 Matches, But Amazingly Little Excitement
If you told me that the 4 quarterfinal matches would result in 22 goals but not too much excitement my head would explode from an utter lack of comprehension. But in the end that's what happened.
Uruguay 4-1 Venezuela
Highlights
This match was actually alot closer than the final score indicated, with is being 2-1 for a long time before Uruguay got 2 late goals.
Brasil 6-1 Chile
Highlights
Brasil basically sleptwalked through the group stage with somewhat lackluster play and benefitted from a few dodgy penalty decisions that went their way. Well obviously the alarm clock went off, and loudly, as soon as this match started, because they dominated: 3 goals in 25 minutes ended the match as a competitive contest, and they went on to add 3 more for good measure.
Their 2nd goal was a bit if a kick in the nuts for us Arsenal supporters, who were all left to mutter, "fucking Baptista... where was that last year?" as La Bestia scored a goal that was better than any of the 10 he scored for the Gunners last season.
Mexcio 6-0 Paraguay
Highlights
I actually liked Paraguay's chances for an upset here, thinking that fatigue from all the matches in the Gold Cup might catch up with Mexico, and also that in Roque Santa Cruz Paraguay have a striker who can pick the team up, put them on their back, and carry them to victory {think Totti at Roma; RSC is a similar leader/scorer/talisman for Paraguay}. And after the 2 blowouts on Saturday I was thinking this could be a really good match. Well my idea lasted all of 90 seconds, when Paraguay's keeper took down a breakaway striker in the box and got the dreaded quadruple whammy: 1) penalty kick awarded 2) keeper sent off with a straight red card by rule 3) having to use a sub to bring in the backup keeper, and sacrifice an outfield player in the process 4) having to play the rest of the match, 89 minutes in this case, playing 10 v 11 and only having 2 subs to relieve sure-to-be tired legs in the 2nd half. The result? An absolute slaughter.
Argentina 4-0 Peru
Highlights
No one outside of Peru really expected this match to be really close, as Argentina have far and away been the class of the tournament thusfar and since shocking Uruguay in the opening group match, Peru have not.
Peru played verrrryy conservatively and cautiously, and made it into halftime 0-0. Without a shot in the first half, it was obvious that they were hoping to hold off Argentina for a 0-0 draw and go straight to penalties and take their chances in the shootout. Argentina quickly made it 1-0 to start the 2nd half, and then it was always more likely that they would get a 2nd now that Peru had to come out and play a little, and go forward to try to score. Even having to do that, Peru were downright awful, and Argentina put on a clinic in the 2nd half, completely dominating possession and toying with Peru at times with strings of 10-20 "ole!" passes, and going on to score 3 more for a 4-0 thrashing that was not even indicative of the difference between the two teams on the day. Peru finished the match without a single shot. Now I watch a shitload of soccer matches, but I cannot ever remember seeing that happen at any level. Argentina march on.
A word about their 2nd goal: for all the goals in this round, many good and several great, the best goal of all wasn't even a goal, it was Riquelme's assist to Messi for his goal. Breaking free outside the box, looking ready to wind up a big right footed shot, he had the vision to see Messi streaking in from the side and played him in with an absolutely brilliant pass instead, which young Lionel finished off by nutmegging the keeper. Not many players have the vision to see and then execute that pass, and many of them who do don't have the unselfishness to then do it rather than finish attempting the thunderbolt shot that they were just starting to attempt themselves. For me this setup/pass by Riquelme was better than any of the 22 goals. Just amazing.
The Argentine radio announcer is as enthusiastic as you would expect.
BTW, is this the same dude, 21 years later, who had probably the greatest call ever, of what is widely considered the greatest goal ever? Sure sounds like him...
So yeah, amazingly, 22 goals in 4 matches yet still a little disappointing for anyone hoping to see a compelling contest.
Your semifinals are:
Brasil-Uruguay
Today 5.50 p.m. PST Telefutura
Argentina- Mexico
Tomorrow 5.50 p.m. PST Univision
At this point everyone want to see "El Clasico del Sudamerica" in the final, with the two big dogs locking horns in what is sure to be a classic. But Uruguay has a lot of history against their neighbor & old rival Brasil, even if much of it is in the distant past, and Mexico will be super motivated at the chance to avenge their heartbreaking extra time loss to Argentina in last summer's World Cup Round of 16.
On the face of it I find it hard to see either favorite lose, but with the no extra time/straight to penalties rule of this tournament, I have a funny feeling that one of these matchups is going to penalties where we may very well see an upset to ruin the match that everyone wants to see.
Uruguay 4-1 Venezuela
Highlights
This match was actually alot closer than the final score indicated, with is being 2-1 for a long time before Uruguay got 2 late goals.
Brasil 6-1 Chile
Highlights
Brasil basically sleptwalked through the group stage with somewhat lackluster play and benefitted from a few dodgy penalty decisions that went their way. Well obviously the alarm clock went off, and loudly, as soon as this match started, because they dominated: 3 goals in 25 minutes ended the match as a competitive contest, and they went on to add 3 more for good measure.
Their 2nd goal was a bit if a kick in the nuts for us Arsenal supporters, who were all left to mutter, "fucking Baptista... where was that last year?" as La Bestia scored a goal that was better than any of the 10 he scored for the Gunners last season.
Mexcio 6-0 Paraguay
Highlights
I actually liked Paraguay's chances for an upset here, thinking that fatigue from all the matches in the Gold Cup might catch up with Mexico, and also that in Roque Santa Cruz Paraguay have a striker who can pick the team up, put them on their back, and carry them to victory {think Totti at Roma; RSC is a similar leader/scorer/talisman for Paraguay}. And after the 2 blowouts on Saturday I was thinking this could be a really good match. Well my idea lasted all of 90 seconds, when Paraguay's keeper took down a breakaway striker in the box and got the dreaded quadruple whammy: 1) penalty kick awarded 2) keeper sent off with a straight red card by rule 3) having to use a sub to bring in the backup keeper, and sacrifice an outfield player in the process 4) having to play the rest of the match, 89 minutes in this case, playing 10 v 11 and only having 2 subs to relieve sure-to-be tired legs in the 2nd half. The result? An absolute slaughter.
Argentina 4-0 Peru
Highlights
No one outside of Peru really expected this match to be really close, as Argentina have far and away been the class of the tournament thusfar and since shocking Uruguay in the opening group match, Peru have not.
Peru played verrrryy conservatively and cautiously, and made it into halftime 0-0. Without a shot in the first half, it was obvious that they were hoping to hold off Argentina for a 0-0 draw and go straight to penalties and take their chances in the shootout. Argentina quickly made it 1-0 to start the 2nd half, and then it was always more likely that they would get a 2nd now that Peru had to come out and play a little, and go forward to try to score. Even having to do that, Peru were downright awful, and Argentina put on a clinic in the 2nd half, completely dominating possession and toying with Peru at times with strings of 10-20 "ole!" passes, and going on to score 3 more for a 4-0 thrashing that was not even indicative of the difference between the two teams on the day. Peru finished the match without a single shot. Now I watch a shitload of soccer matches, but I cannot ever remember seeing that happen at any level. Argentina march on.
A word about their 2nd goal: for all the goals in this round, many good and several great, the best goal of all wasn't even a goal, it was Riquelme's assist to Messi for his goal. Breaking free outside the box, looking ready to wind up a big right footed shot, he had the vision to see Messi streaking in from the side and played him in with an absolutely brilliant pass instead, which young Lionel finished off by nutmegging the keeper. Not many players have the vision to see and then execute that pass, and many of them who do don't have the unselfishness to then do it rather than finish attempting the thunderbolt shot that they were just starting to attempt themselves. For me this setup/pass by Riquelme was better than any of the 22 goals. Just amazing.
The Argentine radio announcer is as enthusiastic as you would expect.
BTW, is this the same dude, 21 years later, who had probably the greatest call ever, of what is widely considered the greatest goal ever? Sure sounds like him...
So yeah, amazingly, 22 goals in 4 matches yet still a little disappointing for anyone hoping to see a compelling contest.
Your semifinals are:
Brasil-Uruguay
Today 5.50 p.m. PST Telefutura
Argentina- Mexico
Tomorrow 5.50 p.m. PST Univision
At this point everyone want to see "El Clasico del Sudamerica" in the final, with the two big dogs locking horns in what is sure to be a classic. But Uruguay has a lot of history against their neighbor & old rival Brasil, even if much of it is in the distant past, and Mexico will be super motivated at the chance to avenge their heartbreaking extra time loss to Argentina in last summer's World Cup Round of 16.
On the face of it I find it hard to see either favorite lose, but with the no extra time/straight to penalties rule of this tournament, I have a funny feeling that one of these matchups is going to penalties where we may very well see an upset to ruin the match that everyone wants to see.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Copa America Update: Quarterfinals Set
Copa America has made for good watching this time around, with lots of goals, good attacking play and overall positive footy during the first two rounds of group stage games, which saw 43 goals in 12 matches or 3.6 goals per match, and not a single scoreless draw. An overall better display than last summer's World Cup, which is so massively important that teams play not to lose much moreso than playing to win, which results in more defensive and less free-flowing and exciting matches. As is the case with most tournaments, things have tightened up a bit in the final round of the group stage which determined who goes on to the knockout stage and who goes home: only 5 goals in the 4 matches played Tuesday and yesterday, with 2 scoreless draws. Not nearly as enjoyable a spectacle, but even so, overall we're still at 3 goals per match which is pretty good {48 goals in 16 matches}.
Sorry, I don't have time to go find all the highlights and post them, but if there is a match you are interested in just YouTube the two team names, sort by date added, and you'll be set.
Today is the final set of group matches in Group C, but neither the US or Colombia has any chance to qualify as one of the top 2 3rd place teams, so the only thing to be decided tonight will be who goes through as group winners and who goes through as runners-up between Argentina and Paraguay. The group winner gets Peru in the quarterfinal, the runner up gets Mexico.
Here are the standings before tonight's final Group C matches with the qualified teams in bold:
Saturday
Venezuela(1A)-Uruguay(3rd place #2)
Brasil(2B)-Chile(3rd place #1)
Sunday
Mexico(1B)-Group C #2
Group C #1-Peru(2A)
It is just me or is it silly that Venuzuela is playing the 3rd place team from their own group and Brasil is playing the 3rd place from their own group, meaning 2 replays of matches that have already occurred? In the future they should add the MLB Divisional Playoff Rule to avoid this; I would much rather see Venezuela play Chile and Brasil play Uruguay...
I missed the Brasil match yesterday because I was exploring, so I missed out on the hilarity of the 'Wagner Loooooove" references by the Univision announcer every 2 minutes. Hoping to correct that on Saturday; it is the funniest shit from the announcer since the constant references to David Beckham as "Spiceman" and "Mister Spice" during the World Cup last summer.
Watch Argentina this if you get a chance; they are fielding damn near a dream team. Not sure how hard they will try tonight with not a whole lot on the line {although I would think they would prefer a QF date with Peru to a Mexico team that took them to the brink in the World Cup round of 16}, but on Sunday check them out if you can- they are playing beautiful stuff and have kept the diving, rolling, and playacting mainly in check to this point.
From what I have seen I will be shocked if Argentina don't win the competition at a canter, but with the straight-to-penalties thing I suppose anything can happen. Enjoy.
Sorry, I don't have time to go find all the highlights and post them, but if there is a match you are interested in just YouTube the two team names, sort by date added, and you'll be set.
Today is the final set of group matches in Group C, but neither the US or Colombia has any chance to qualify as one of the top 2 3rd place teams, so the only thing to be decided tonight will be who goes through as group winners and who goes through as runners-up between Argentina and Paraguay. The group winner gets Peru in the quarterfinal, the runner up gets Mexico.
Here are the standings before tonight's final Group C matches with the qualified teams in bold:
GROUP A GP W L D Pts GF GA G/DifThe quarterfinals will be Saturday and Sunday and things will get very interesting, not only because we'll be in the knockout stage, but remember that in Copa America there is no extra time, so if a match is tied after 90 minutes then it's straight to penalties.
------------------------------------------------
Venezuela 3 1 0 2 5 4 2 +2
Peru 3 1 1 1 4 5 4 +1
Uruguay 3 1 1 1 4 1 3 -2
Bolivia 3 0 1 2 2 4 5 -1
Peru 3-0 Uruguay
Venezuela 2-2 Bolivia
Uruguay 1-0 Bolivia
Venezuela 2-0 Peru
Peru 2-2 Bolivia
Venezuela 0-0 Uruguay
GROUP B GP W L D Pts GF GA G/Dif
------------------------------------------------
Mexico 3 2 0 1 7 4 1 +3
Brasil 3 2 1 0 6 4 2 +2
Chile 3 1 1 1 4 3 5 -2
Ecuador 3 0 3 0 0 3 6 -3
Mexico 2-0 Brasil
Chile 3-2 Ecuador
Brasil 3-0 Chile
Mexico 2-1 Ecuador
Mexico 0-0 Chile
Brasil 1-0 Ecuador
GROUP C GP W L D Pts GF GA G/Dif
------------------------------------------------
Paraguay 2 2 0 0 6 8 1 +7
Argentina 2 2 0 0 6 8 3 +5
United States 2 0 2 0 0 2 7 -5
Colombia 2 0 2 0 0 2 9 -7
Paraguay 5-0 Colombia
Argentina 4-1 United States
Paraguay 3-1 United States
Argentina 4-2 Colombia
Argentina - Paraguay
Colombia - United States
Saturday
Venezuela(1A)-Uruguay(3rd place #2)
Brasil(2B)-Chile(3rd place #1)
Sunday
Mexico(1B)-Group C #2
Group C #1-Peru(2A)
It is just me or is it silly that Venuzuela is playing the 3rd place team from their own group and Brasil is playing the 3rd place from their own group, meaning 2 replays of matches that have already occurred? In the future they should add the MLB Divisional Playoff Rule to avoid this; I would much rather see Venezuela play Chile and Brasil play Uruguay...
I missed the Brasil match yesterday because I was exploring, so I missed out on the hilarity of the 'Wagner Loooooove" references by the Univision announcer every 2 minutes. Hoping to correct that on Saturday; it is the funniest shit from the announcer since the constant references to David Beckham as "Spiceman" and "Mister Spice" during the World Cup last summer.
Watch Argentina this if you get a chance; they are fielding damn near a dream team. Not sure how hard they will try tonight with not a whole lot on the line {although I would think they would prefer a QF date with Peru to a Mexico team that took them to the brink in the World Cup round of 16}, but on Sunday check them out if you can- they are playing beautiful stuff and have kept the diving, rolling, and playacting mainly in check to this point.
From what I have seen I will be shocked if Argentina don't win the competition at a canter, but with the straight-to-penalties thing I suppose anything can happen. Enjoy.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Copa America Update: US Pwn3d By Argentina After 60 Minutes of NKOTB
I for one was expecting an ass-whipping from the get go, so it was pretty wild when the US went up 1-0 in the first 10 minutes. Argentina quickly equalized through Crespo, who I didn't realize was Crespo until after he scored thanks to his buzzcut- granted I was watching in a bar, but I was wondering who their new striker was- dude looks totally different without his locks. After that the US did a good job of Hangin' Tough for the first hour of the match before getting destroyed in the final 30 minutes and losing 4-1.
Argentina seemed to transform from OK to really good when Aimar came on for Cambiasso, so I'm not sure about the whole Veron-Cambiasso central midfield experiment from here on out, but we shall see. Part of it was that and surely part of it was fatigue, as apparently it was seriously hot and humid down there and the US were spending alot of energy trying to shut down Argentina.
By the by, here is a great article about the state of footy in Argentina.
In the early match Paraguay bitchslapped Colombia 5-0 with 2 late goals after Colombia basically gave up. Paraguayan striker Roque Santa Cruz scored the first three with a beautiful natural hat trick, which in footy means he scored a goal with ihs left foot, one with his right foot, and one with his head.
Today is a rest day; round two of group stage matches starts tomorrow, and the US play again on Monday evening.
Current Standings
Argentina seemed to transform from OK to really good when Aimar came on for Cambiasso, so I'm not sure about the whole Veron-Cambiasso central midfield experiment from here on out, but we shall see. Part of it was that and surely part of it was fatigue, as apparently it was seriously hot and humid down there and the US were spending alot of energy trying to shut down Argentina.
By the by, here is a great article about the state of footy in Argentina.
In the early match Paraguay bitchslapped Colombia 5-0 with 2 late goals after Colombia basically gave up. Paraguayan striker Roque Santa Cruz scored the first three with a beautiful natural hat trick, which in footy means he scored a goal with ihs left foot, one with his right foot, and one with his head.
Today is a rest day; round two of group stage matches starts tomorrow, and the US play again on Monday evening.
Current Standings
GROUP A GP W L D Pts GF GA G/Dif
------------------------------------------------
Peru 1 1 0 0 3 3 0 +3
Bolivia 1 0 0 1 1 2 2 E
Venezuela 1 0 0 1 1 2 2 E
Uruguay 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 -3
GROUP B GP W L D Pts GF GA G/Dif
------------------------------------------------
Mexico 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 +2
Chile 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 +1
Ecuador 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 -1
Brazil 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 -2
GROUP C GP W L D Pts GF GA G/Dif
------------------------------------------------
Paraguay 1 1 0 0 3 5 0 +5
Argentina 1 1 0 0 3 4 1 +3
United States 1 0 1 0 0 1 4 -3
Colombia 1 0 1 0 0 0 5 -5
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Copa America Opening Round Thoughts
Wow. Basically all 4 matches have been surprises of various levels, and the footy has been pretty good thusfar. Entertaining, too, with 14 goals scored in the first 4 matches for an average of 3.5 goals per match.
Yesterday things licked off in Grupo A with Peru shocking favored Uruguay 3-0. Uruguay are many people's pick as most likely to challenge the top two of Argentina & Brasil, but mostly crappy for the last several years Peru up and shocked them.
Uruguay 0-3 Peru highlights.
The nightcap was entertaining before a ball was even kicked, as hosts Venezuela played Bolivia. Venezuela are hosting Copa America for the first time in the 91 year history of the competition, and Hugo Chavez spent about 1 billion US Dollars on 2 new stadiums, stadium renovations, and infrastructure upgrades, and sees this as a chance to showcase his country to his continent and the world. Always one to grab the spotlight, he successfully turned the pregame of this match into a freaking circus. After the teams came out and lined up, he came out on the field in a Venezuela warm up suit and shook hands with each and every player in the middle of the field. Why do this in the locker room beforehand when you can turn the match into a spectacle and make it all about you? I was already chuckling at the great showman, but he hadn't even gotten started yet. He then went over to the referees, shook each one of their hands, chatted and joked with them. I'm thinking, OK, can we please start the match now? The answer was no. He brought out none other than Diego Armando Maradona to midfield, and started having a little kickabout with him, and Bolivian President Evo Morales came out to join in the festivities. It was an awesome circus- never seen anything quite like it, not even in a World Cup. Once we were all well aware that this was all about Hugo, the field was finally cleared and the match was finally allowed to begin, and after the prematch sideshow the match was almost anticlimactic.
The match? Oh, right. Venezuela were expected to win over little Bolivia, who are strong at home playing at their massive elevation but pretty terrible when they come down from upon high, and they went up 1-0 as expected. But Bolivia equalized and it was 1-1 at half. As the 2nd half dragged on you got the feeling that Chavez was fidgeting in his seat and would be embarrassed by only a draw. Finally Venezuela scored to go up 2-1, and it looked like that is how it would end up. But Bolivia had other plans, and they equalized in the last 5 minutes and it finished 2-2: a very good result for Bolivia and surely a disappointment for Venezuela and especially Hugo.
Venezuela 2-2 Bolivia highlights.
Tonight Ecuador played Chile in the opening match. Ecuador made it to the knockout phase of last summer's World Cup {and gave Engerland all they wanted as well before losing 1-0} and Chile have been pretty crap in recent times, so when Ecuador took a 2-1 lead into the final 10 minutes all was going to form. But then Chile scored to make it 2-2, and then got a close to the final whistle winner on a stunning free kick to stun Ecuador 3-2. Good stuff.
Chile 3-2 Ecuador highlights.
The biggest surprise of all, however, came in the marquee nightcap matchup pitting Brasil against Mexico. Brasil are 2nd favorites, and even without Ronaldinho and Kaka they have Robinho, Diego, Alex, and Dani Alves, all successful European based players. Mexico are fresh off a Gold Cup run all the way to the final and have played 6 matches in the last 3 weeks. Unlike the US, they sent basically the same team to compete in the Copa, so not only is Brasil better than them on paper, but they come in far from fresh.
Well no one told Mexico that, and Brasil did them an addition favor by doing what they occasionally do in international tournaments: think "shit, we're Brasil, all we have to do is show up in order to win."
Oops. Brasil sleptwalked {sleepwalked?} through a first half, and although they were unfortunate to have a would-be opening goal ruled out wrongly for offsides, they were outplayed by El Tri. Mexico's first goal was great, with all the focus on Castillo's great moves and finish, but the pass to him was absolutely perfect and the goal could not have happened at all without it. 1-0 to Mexico after 25 minutes. 5 minutes later it was 2-0, thanks to Brasilian goalkeeper Doni completely losing his mind on a pretty good Morales free kick and deciding that it would be a better idea to freeze then stand and watch the ball go into the net when he most likely could have saved it had he just, ummm, dived and knocked it away. Bizarre, but no different than the poor play from Brasil, who repeatedly gave the ball away with poor passing and overall imprecise play.
The second half Brasil had much better scoring opportunities, but man of the match Mexican goalkeeper Ochoa was in the zone and made several great saves. Although Brasil did better, they still were extremely careless with the ball and gave it away another dozen or so times just with terrible passing when under no pressure, and Robinho and Wagner Love tried too may times to dribble through the entire Mexican defense and do it all themselves instead of passing the ball.
Oh, speaking of Wanger Love: I have seen him play 5 times this year {2 Arsenal-CSKA Moscow CL matches, Brasil-Argentina & Brasil-England friendlies, and tonight} and I must say I am not impressed; he just doesn't look good enough to me to lead a Brasilian striker line to me. But forget that, the coolest thing is they way that the Univision play by play guy says his name. Every single time he mentions Wanger Love, he says his full name: his first name he says normally, but his last name he says in the voice of Leon Phelps aka The Ladies Man. "blah blah bla blah blah Wagner Looooveee." It is epic, and he did it 100 times tonight if he did it once. Check it out if you can. Yet another reason why watching footy on Univision is better than anywhere else.
Mexico 2-0 Brasil highlights.
So Brasil broke the cardinal rule of international tournaments: do not lose your first match. The fact that 2 of the 3 3rd place teams advance here makes it not so bad for them, but they certainly start off in a hole and will need a result in their final two matches. At a minimum they will need to play a whole hell of a lot better than they did tonight.
Tomorrow's Group C opener sees Paraguay against Colombia, and then the interesting match comes in the nightcap, when heavy favorites Argentina play a seriously understrength USA squad. Especially after Brasil's weak opening, Argentina will be looking to come out and make a statement, and I just cannot see this US team hanging anywhere near them. It could get ugly, and I wouldn't at all be surprised to see a 4-0 or 5-0 win for Argentina, but as Mexico proved tonight, you never know.
Your current standings:
Yesterday things licked off in Grupo A with Peru shocking favored Uruguay 3-0. Uruguay are many people's pick as most likely to challenge the top two of Argentina & Brasil, but mostly crappy for the last several years Peru up and shocked them.
Uruguay 0-3 Peru highlights.
The nightcap was entertaining before a ball was even kicked, as hosts Venezuela played Bolivia. Venezuela are hosting Copa America for the first time in the 91 year history of the competition, and Hugo Chavez spent about 1 billion US Dollars on 2 new stadiums, stadium renovations, and infrastructure upgrades, and sees this as a chance to showcase his country to his continent and the world. Always one to grab the spotlight, he successfully turned the pregame of this match into a freaking circus. After the teams came out and lined up, he came out on the field in a Venezuela warm up suit and shook hands with each and every player in the middle of the field. Why do this in the locker room beforehand when you can turn the match into a spectacle and make it all about you? I was already chuckling at the great showman, but he hadn't even gotten started yet. He then went over to the referees, shook each one of their hands, chatted and joked with them. I'm thinking, OK, can we please start the match now? The answer was no. He brought out none other than Diego Armando Maradona to midfield, and started having a little kickabout with him, and Bolivian President Evo Morales came out to join in the festivities. It was an awesome circus- never seen anything quite like it, not even in a World Cup. Once we were all well aware that this was all about Hugo, the field was finally cleared and the match was finally allowed to begin, and after the prematch sideshow the match was almost anticlimactic.
The match? Oh, right. Venezuela were expected to win over little Bolivia, who are strong at home playing at their massive elevation but pretty terrible when they come down from upon high, and they went up 1-0 as expected. But Bolivia equalized and it was 1-1 at half. As the 2nd half dragged on you got the feeling that Chavez was fidgeting in his seat and would be embarrassed by only a draw. Finally Venezuela scored to go up 2-1, and it looked like that is how it would end up. But Bolivia had other plans, and they equalized in the last 5 minutes and it finished 2-2: a very good result for Bolivia and surely a disappointment for Venezuela and especially Hugo.
Venezuela 2-2 Bolivia highlights.
Tonight Ecuador played Chile in the opening match. Ecuador made it to the knockout phase of last summer's World Cup {and gave Engerland all they wanted as well before losing 1-0} and Chile have been pretty crap in recent times, so when Ecuador took a 2-1 lead into the final 10 minutes all was going to form. But then Chile scored to make it 2-2, and then got a close to the final whistle winner on a stunning free kick to stun Ecuador 3-2. Good stuff.
Chile 3-2 Ecuador highlights.
The biggest surprise of all, however, came in the marquee nightcap matchup pitting Brasil against Mexico. Brasil are 2nd favorites, and even without Ronaldinho and Kaka they have Robinho, Diego, Alex, and Dani Alves, all successful European based players. Mexico are fresh off a Gold Cup run all the way to the final and have played 6 matches in the last 3 weeks. Unlike the US, they sent basically the same team to compete in the Copa, so not only is Brasil better than them on paper, but they come in far from fresh.
Well no one told Mexico that, and Brasil did them an addition favor by doing what they occasionally do in international tournaments: think "shit, we're Brasil, all we have to do is show up in order to win."
Oops. Brasil sleptwalked {sleepwalked?} through a first half, and although they were unfortunate to have a would-be opening goal ruled out wrongly for offsides, they were outplayed by El Tri. Mexico's first goal was great, with all the focus on Castillo's great moves and finish, but the pass to him was absolutely perfect and the goal could not have happened at all without it. 1-0 to Mexico after 25 minutes. 5 minutes later it was 2-0, thanks to Brasilian goalkeeper Doni completely losing his mind on a pretty good Morales free kick and deciding that it would be a better idea to freeze then stand and watch the ball go into the net when he most likely could have saved it had he just, ummm, dived and knocked it away. Bizarre, but no different than the poor play from Brasil, who repeatedly gave the ball away with poor passing and overall imprecise play.
The second half Brasil had much better scoring opportunities, but man of the match Mexican goalkeeper Ochoa was in the zone and made several great saves. Although Brasil did better, they still were extremely careless with the ball and gave it away another dozen or so times just with terrible passing when under no pressure, and Robinho and Wagner Love tried too may times to dribble through the entire Mexican defense and do it all themselves instead of passing the ball.
Oh, speaking of Wanger Love: I have seen him play 5 times this year {2 Arsenal-CSKA Moscow CL matches, Brasil-Argentina & Brasil-England friendlies, and tonight} and I must say I am not impressed; he just doesn't look good enough to me to lead a Brasilian striker line to me. But forget that, the coolest thing is they way that the Univision play by play guy says his name. Every single time he mentions Wanger Love, he says his full name: his first name he says normally, but his last name he says in the voice of Leon Phelps aka The Ladies Man. "blah blah bla blah blah Wagner Looooveee." It is epic, and he did it 100 times tonight if he did it once. Check it out if you can. Yet another reason why watching footy on Univision is better than anywhere else.
Mexico 2-0 Brasil highlights.
So Brasil broke the cardinal rule of international tournaments: do not lose your first match. The fact that 2 of the 3 3rd place teams advance here makes it not so bad for them, but they certainly start off in a hole and will need a result in their final two matches. At a minimum they will need to play a whole hell of a lot better than they did tonight.
Tomorrow's Group C opener sees Paraguay against Colombia, and then the interesting match comes in the nightcap, when heavy favorites Argentina play a seriously understrength USA squad. Especially after Brasil's weak opening, Argentina will be looking to come out and make a statement, and I just cannot see this US team hanging anywhere near them. It could get ugly, and I wouldn't at all be surprised to see a 4-0 or 5-0 win for Argentina, but as Mexico proved tonight, you never know.
Your current standings:
GROUP A GP W L D Pts GF GA G/Dif
------------------------------------------------
Peru 1 1 0 0 3 3 0 +3
Bolivia 1 0 0 1 1 2 2 E
Venezuela 1 0 0 1 1 2 2 E
Uruguay 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 -3
GROUP B GP W L D Pts GF GA G/Dif
------------------------------------------------
Mexico 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 +2
Chile 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 +1
Ecuador 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 -1
Brazil 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 -2
GROUP C GP W L D Pts GF GA G/Dif
------------------------------------------------
Argentina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Colombia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Paraguay 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
United States 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
...And Another Begins.
The 2007 Copa America began yesterday, and for the first time in a while it is worth following, as most every team is really trying to win it. In the past few competitions, several teams sent B teams to Copa America because it took place during World Cup qualifying. World Cup 2010 qualifying for South America starts at the end of this year, so the teams see it as a great opportunity to get ready and all are at full strength or close to it.
The two big boys of South American soccer are again favorites, with Argentina favored over Brasil because all of their stars are in their team while Kaka and Ronaldinho have asked to be left out so that they can get a few weeks of rest after playing 2 years nonstop; Ronaldo & Roberto Carlos are no longer preferred by coach Dunga, and Adriano has basically partied himself out of favor with Brasil in addition to Inter Milan.
To make a 12 team tournament, CONMEBOL invite 2 guest teams, and this time around the guests are the USA and Mexico. The US prioritized their own confederation's Gold Cup and are sending basically a B team and hoping for the best. Mexico are sending their first team and hoping to overcome playing all of those Gold Cup matches it he last 3 weeks and show that they can hang with the big boys of CONMEBOL.
Aside- personally, I would prefer that they don't have guest teams in a 12 team tournament and just had their 10 nations in a tournament. Instead of 3 groups of 4 playing to determine 8 quarterfinalists, I would have 2 groups of 5 with the top 2 in each group advancing to a knockout stage starting with the semifinals. As it happens I am not the president of CONMEBOL, so 3 groups of 4 playing to determine 8 quarterfinalists it is.
The most interesting aspect of Copa America is that once the knockout stage begins, if a match ends tied after regulation, there is no extra time. Instead they will go straight to penalties.
Anyhow, here are the three groups.
Group A
Uruguay
Venezuela
Peru
Bolivia
Group B
Brasil
Mexico
Ecuador
Chile
Group C
Argentina
Paraguay
Colombia
USA
The top 2 from each group advance to the quarterfinals, as well as the top 2 3rd place teams.
Every match will be shown live on Univision or Telefutura.
Should be some really good footy. Enjoy.
The two big boys of South American soccer are again favorites, with Argentina favored over Brasil because all of their stars are in their team while Kaka and Ronaldinho have asked to be left out so that they can get a few weeks of rest after playing 2 years nonstop; Ronaldo & Roberto Carlos are no longer preferred by coach Dunga, and Adriano has basically partied himself out of favor with Brasil in addition to Inter Milan.
To make a 12 team tournament, CONMEBOL invite 2 guest teams, and this time around the guests are the USA and Mexico. The US prioritized their own confederation's Gold Cup and are sending basically a B team and hoping for the best. Mexico are sending their first team and hoping to overcome playing all of those Gold Cup matches it he last 3 weeks and show that they can hang with the big boys of CONMEBOL.
Aside- personally, I would prefer that they don't have guest teams in a 12 team tournament and just had their 10 nations in a tournament. Instead of 3 groups of 4 playing to determine 8 quarterfinalists, I would have 2 groups of 5 with the top 2 in each group advancing to a knockout stage starting with the semifinals. As it happens I am not the president of CONMEBOL, so 3 groups of 4 playing to determine 8 quarterfinalists it is.
The most interesting aspect of Copa America is that once the knockout stage begins, if a match ends tied after regulation, there is no extra time. Instead they will go straight to penalties.
Anyhow, here are the three groups.
Group A
Uruguay
Venezuela
Peru
Bolivia
Group B
Brasil
Mexico
Ecuador
Chile
Group C
Argentina
Paraguay
Colombia
USA
The top 2 from each group advance to the quarterfinals, as well as the top 2 3rd place teams.
Every match will be shown live on Univision or Telefutura.
Should be some really good footy. Enjoy.
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