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| phot by Adam Straney |
- by Adam Huntington, writing from Dundee, Scotland
Between the two in this year's final, Uruguay are the much more decorated team. A win on Sunday would see them become the tournament's most successful team and achieve a record breaking 15th Copa America title, more than Argentina (14) and Brazil (8). Uruguay's appearance in the final is not too surprising; their performances are simply a continuation of form from their impressive World Cup last year. Somewhat reserved in the group stage; undefeated but managing only one win against a very depleted Mexico side. When drawn with Argentina in the Quarter Finals in the most anticipated tie of the round, it was widely believed that the Uruguayans would have their tournament hopes dashed. They easily could have been, had it not been for the inspired performance of 'keeper Fernando Muslera, who's unbelievable saves thwarted Argentina time and time again. The match eventually went to penalties, where Muslera denied Tevez and secured his teams appearance in the semi-final.
The win over Argentina gave the Uruguayan players more confidence in their play, they dominated Peru from the kick off and deservedly took the lead through Suarez at the start of the second half. When Suarez secured his brace just a few minutes later, the game was effectively over; Peru's attacking threat throughout the game was lacklustre, never truly testing Coates or Lugano in the centre of defence. When Vargas, one of Peru's most creative players, was sent off for a regrettable elbow, Uruguay were pretty much certified finalists. They simply had to wait to find out who they would play.
Paraguay's route to the final has been remarkable for one reason; they are yet to win a single game in the tournament. Coming into the Copa America without key strikers Pizarro and Farfan, many wondered where their goals would come from, others looked toward Dortmund striker Lucas Barrios. Their first group game against Ecuador ended goal-less, which a lot of people second guessed. They played well against Brazil in their second game, taking the lead until a very late Fred equaliser. The same happened against Venezuela; Paraguay leading by two goals this time before the tournament's overachievers grabbed two late goals. Still, without winning a game, Paraguay went through to the Quarter Finals as best third placed team out of the three groups. Their opponents, Brazil, had looked toothless throughout the group stages, nothing like we all anticipated and expected. Fortunately for Paraguay, Brazil carried this form on. They rode their luck against the Brazilians, Fred seen a shot of his cleared off the line, but luck seemed to shine down on them. With the game down to penalties, the penalty spot in the La Plata stadium crumbled away, leaving the Brazilians red-faced as they didn't manage to convert a single spot kick. Paraguay netted two, and sailed through to a Semi Final with Venezuela.
That game was a contemptuous affair, and was - again - settled by penalties. The Venezuelan defence was well organised, which frustrated Paraguay, who were lucky not to go behind in an entertaining first half. The second half however was poor; neither side created many chances and the game was destined to go the distance. Extra time saw both teams hit the bar, but neither could conjure up a goal. Penalties ended Venezuela's dream of making the final, but allowed Paraguay and Uruguay to lock heads for the first time in 7 years, and the first time ever in the final of the Copa America.
Whilst it's easy to assume the game will be won and lost in Paraguay's defence - and if they can keep Uruguay's attack at bay - I'd like to look at another aspect. Whilst it's undoubtedly true that Uruguay has the better attacking players, we've yet to see how well their defence can handle sustained pressure. Argentina tried in vain to score, but were thwarted by Muslera, Peru didn't seem to ask any questions at all, bar one shot, which Muslera fumbled. I'd like to see the Paraguay's front men and midfield work above themselves to pin back the wandering Pereira's, who have been devastating in Uruguay's last couple of games. By cutting out their opponents width, Paraguay can expect to defend a very direct approach; fast passing into the feet of Forlan who will inevitably come deep to receive the ball, or a long ball over the top for Suarez to chase. This all works in theory, but in practice it'll prove much more difficult to implement. Maxi and Alvaro Pereira have been, for me, Uruguay's best two players, working up and down each flank and always providing an outlet for their teammates. I'll be very surprised if one of these two don't feature heavily in the outcome of the final.
Luiz Suarez has emerged from the Copa America as a real talent, his pace, touch and intelligent movement have been a real highlight of the tournament. With Forlan's star slightly fading away, the promising Cavani injured and Abel Hernandez not yet established enough to start, Suarez has stepped up precisely when his country have needed him to. However, he is still very temperamental when tackled strongly, so don't expect Paraguay to show him much respect tomorrow evening. If the Paraguayan defence can suffocate Suarez effectively, they'll make the task of winning the final much easier. Something which would make that task much harder and almost impossible, would be an early Uruguay goal. Their players have the ability to keep the ball from Paraguay for long periods of time, and with that possession comes the ability to score again. Expect a very defensive opening half an hour or so from Paraguay, in which Uruguay will too start cautiously, but probe a little deeper.
The showdown tomorrow promises to be many things; historic, close, and climactic, but above all enthralling. The battle between Uruguay and Paraguay has the potential to captivate it's audience and provide a fitting end to a wonderfully abnormal Copa America.
- by Adam Huntington, writing from Dundee, Scotland
The game started at a furious pace; the Peruvian Yotun was booked within a minute for a rash challenge, plenty of rushed clearances and hurried final balls. Suarez went down under a couple of tackles and made it very clear for everyone watching exactly what he though of the officials for not awarding him his freekick. There's no doubting the Uruguayan's talent, but his attitude can be so frustrating to watch. The first ten minutes were a little scrappy; Peru looked as if they would try and pounce on set-pieces, despite their deliveries being poor, and Uruguay asserting themselves as the team with a lot more options in attack. Indeed Uruguay's first attack came from an unlikely source in Walter Gargano, threading Maxi Pereira through the Peruvian defence but his cut back wasn't picked up on by Suarez. It should have signified to Peru just how dangerous their opponents were, in particular Maxi Pereira and Luiz Suarez, who both looked very sharp in the opening exchanges.
With Suarez still complaining at every tackle he received, it seemed fair to assume that when he was harshly booked, an early bath could follow. However quite the opposite happened; refreshingly, he stopped his play acting, got his head down and showed his quality. He linked well with right back Maxi Pereira, who was equally impressive last night, popping up all over the pitch and picking out some key passes early on. Gonzalez, the Uruguayan winger, tended to drop off a lot, which created these huge spaces for M. Pereira to run into. This movement and pace caused Peru countless problems, who looked much more content with a slow tempo to the game, building to their attack after a number of careful passes.
The rest of the first half, as expected, belonged to Uruguay. A very poor penalty shout from Lugano from a Uruguay corner was waved away correctly and Peru continued to defend. Forlan showed glimpses of his World Cup form with some neat touches and passes but there was nothing definitive. He also whipped in a lovely corner which left the Peruvian keeper Fernandez flapping in the La Plata air, fortunately for him, nothing came of his mistake. Soon after this, Uruguay had the ball in the back of the net, but thanks to an offside Alvaro Pereira goal. Forlan was again involved, curling an excellent ball in from a free kick on the left, Lugano then rose highest to flick it on to A. Pereira who then bundled it in. A lovely move unluckily coming to nothing, but it simply illustrated another way in which Uruguay could score. As the first half came to a close, Peru had simply not used Vargas enough and were visibly short on creativity up front, something which needed rectifying in the second half if they were to get anything from the game.
Maxi and Alvaro Pereira carried their class through into the second half, as Uruguay started as if there hadn't been a break. The all important breakthrough came just seven minutes after the restart, and it was Suarez who secured it. Picking the ball up from deep on the right, Forlan turned inside and launched a speculative 35 yard shot towards Fernandez, which he palmed out into the path of Suarez, who tucked the finish away. Replays show that Forlan's shot was going wide, and it was widely thought that Fernandez should have known this, however that does not take anything away from Suarez. His sublime anticipation, run and determination created the goal from practically nothing. At only 1-0 down Peru's task already seemed monumental, and things very quickly got worse.
No later than five minutes after the opening goal Uruguay, and Suarez, had another. Alvaro Pereira won the ball back, breaking down a Peru attack, played a nice one-two with Forlan just shy of the half way line, then launched a beautiful through ball into Suarez's feet. Still about 25 yards out, Suarez would have had a lot to do if Fernandez hadn't rushed out and lunged in at his feet. The Uruguayan simply rounded the flailing 'keeper and calmly pushed the ball into the empty net. Suarez was now the first player to score a brace in a Copa America semi-final since the great Romario in 1997. Even when two goals to the good, Uruguay's pressure was unrelenting; spreading the ball more confidently than their opponents and further frustrating them. This frustration boiled, erupted and, in the 69th minute Peru's self destruction was complete.
Vargas received a straight red card for inexplicably throwing his elbow into Sebastian Coates' face, right in front of the referee. A very stupid action from the captain instantaneously turned Peru's task from a difficult won into a practically impossible one. Cleverly, Tabarez seen that tempers were flaring, and quickly took off the yellow-carded Suarez and Gargano, replacing them with Abel Hernandez and Sebastian Eguren respectively. Hernandez looked very comfortable when he came on, exhibiting some lovely first touches and blistering bursts of pace. He seemed in much the same vein as Forlan, giving Uruguayans much to look forward to if Tabarez can competently fit the attacking trio of Suarez, Cavani and Hernandez together. With the game coming to an end, Peru mounted a number of attacks including a long range effort that Muslera managed to spill, but catch before the ball trickled over the line.
It was all too little too late for Peru, who only really came to life when their captain was sent off. The game finished two-nil to Uruguay, their resolute performance easily answered the small number of questions asked of them by Peru. A poor of work rate had been a criticism of Peru, but striker Paolo Guerrero fended off critics after the game, claiming; "Peru gave everything in every single game of the Copa America". It's just unfortunate that their everything wasn't enough to match the strength of Uruguay, who now look very likely to win their record breaking 15th Copa America.
- by Cole O'Brien, writing from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
It seemed that Brazil would have an easy game after the opening minutes as not only did they keep a tremendous amount of possession, but the game turned controversial as soon as Barrrios received a knock to the chin with no card being produced to Lucio. Minutes later Ramieres took a strike wide of the post that only began a spell of bad finishes from the green and yellow.
It wasn't much longer until Brazil found a few quick breakaway's against a outmatched Paraguay defence, but once again shots went far a wide, and although Villar was having an exceptional performance, he was not that good. Of course come after the game the Brazilian players would come to blame that quality of the pitch on these poor shots, yet they seemed to have no problems with it when their shots were on target.
A little over twenty minutes in Brazil's fans were starting to become fed up as they seemed to be urging on their players to score after they failed to net one after another convincing looking counter attack. It was a very timid start to the game as only 8 days earlier both teams had given up two goals to each other in the group stage of the tournament.
At half time Brazil were the only team to have found any real chances on goal, although failing to finish. It was expected that Brazil would come back into the half full of energy after a rather drab first half, and would easily find a few goals as they were looking to avoid extra time and penalties.
Yet come the second half the performance by Brazil was horrible for the crowd to watch. Paraguay seemed to be playing at the same level as the Brazilians. Neymar was completely cut off from play with multiple defenders marking him at all times. Yet it seemed he had finally broken away in the nineteenth minute as he timed his run perfectly to receive a pass that would lead him straight into a defender's foot.
Throughout the second half both teams had countless chances though, with Brazil having a few powerful shots with many, to the dismay of the players, rebounded off of the woodwork. Paraguay even launched a few shots and although few and far between, they had a few nice free kicks near Brazil's eighteen. Yet it was getting to be worrisome as neither team had yet conceded a goal. It was quite clear Brazil should have already had the game in the bag, and yet the score was still stuck at 0-0.
Come the seventy-fifth minute Neymar had to be helped off the field as Fred came off the bench to begin forty-five minutes of stressful play. Although it was very fair to say that Neymar never should've played after the first half and that Fred never should've ended up on the bench after already proving himself against Paraguay earlier in the group stage.
The stats told the game. By the eightieth minute Brazil had out shot Paraguay 14-1 and had won five corners while Paraguay hadn't won any. It was for anyone to answer as to why the score was still tied come the ninetieth minute.
The opening minutes of extra time was full of frustrating moments for the Brazilian side. In the ninety-sixth minute we saw Robinho make a perfect dribble down the line beating two defenders through a complicated maneuver of step overs, but his cross went to the box to find not one striker to head the ball in.
Come the hundredth minute a fight for the ball assumed. All 22 players on the field ran over to the sideline in what turned into a all out fight with many players screaming and pushing each other. It didn't take long for the referee to come over and after talks with the players and a very stressful few minutes he proceeded to give straight reds to not one, but two players in Lucas Levia and Antolin Alcaraz.
You'd think with a Paraguayan defender and fifteen minutes left on the clock that the match should open up and Brazil should easily find one of the half dozen goals in which they should already have and although we saw many bookings and chances the back of the net seemed to be the forbidden resting place of the ball.
It finally came to penalties. It was the same fate that spelled disaster for the Argentine side and Brazil, determined to best their rivals, had an even more catastrophic line of penalties. With Elano, Santos, Silva, and Fred all missing their penalties, many of them heading over the bar it was a sight that no one had ever imagined. Paraguay proceeded to net two penalties and find their way into the semi-finals.
Brazil's poor performance was not helped by the fact that many of their stars drastically under performed. We hardly saw a good moment from Neymar, and while Robinho did have a few startling blasts from the left side, he, like the rest of his team, could not find the back of the net. Of course, credit should go to the Paraguay custodian Villar, who's great performance was one of the primary reasons Brazil were stuck at zero after 120 minutes.
Brazil's Copa America campaign's primary goal was to win it's third straight Copa America after winning the previous two. Coach Mano Menezes called up a mixed squad of proven veterans and youngsters boosting with potential. This wasn't the first bad performance of the group stage though, as Brazil stumbled through the group stage with hardly convincing wins over teams that shouldn't have even bothered them.
- by Allison Norris, writing from Taylorsville, Utah
With names like DiMaria, Higuain, Tevez and Messi, it seems a bit bizarre that Argentina didn’t glide through the group stage. The competition against Uruguay put the Albicelestes to the test. Argentina came out strong in the opening minutes, taking a chance toward goal right away with a pass from Sergio Aguero to Gonzalo Higuain. Diego Perez of Uruguay set the tone for the night when he wound up with a yellow card in the fifth minute for a tackle on Javier Mascherano.
Just when the crowd thought Argentina would have control of the opening minutes, a foul from Gabriel Milito gave Diego Forlán a chance for one of his deadly free-kicks, made famous in the 2010 World Cup. A bad clearance from the Argentine keeper sent the ball straight to Perez whose strike on the ball gave the Uruguayan his first international goal. Argentina’s Zabaleta would have the second yellow of the evening in the eighth minute.
Lionel Messi, who always has received heavy amounts of criticism for his performances while wearing the uniform of Argentina, spent the first half patrolling midfield in order to make those precise passes for which he and his club team, FC Barcelona, are so well known. He often tried to find Aguero waiting up top and their connection came close to putting it away a couple times. In the eighteenth minute, Messi received the ball out on the right flank and slid past his defender in order to send a mighty left-footed pass over the Uruguay defense. It was likely he could not see Higuain waiting at the far post, but the ball went straight to the striker’s head and into the back of the net. The match was now level and would stay that way for the rest of the ninety minutes.
There were many good chances for both sides. In the thirtieth minute, Messi again sent a free-kick up top to Higuain who sent in another header—almost identical to his previous goal—though it was ruled offside. Four minutes later at the other end, Forlán’s free-kick went to the head of Andres Scotti but it bounced off the post. Jose Martin Caceres sent in the rebound but was similarly called offside.
Just before half, Uruguay was becoming very physical in their defense. They picked up two more cautions. Perez gave one tackle too many and was shown a second yellow in the thirty-eighth minute, though it can’t have come as a surprise. Argentina tried to use their advantage and continued their strong attacks but to no avail before the half.
Uruguay was at a pretty low point coming back onto the field. Aguero was booked early in the half and Argentina seemed to be slowing down. Messi continued to drive the midfield and send the ball forward, but the Uruguay defense did their job. Argentina’s substitutions, including Javier Pastore for Angel DiMaria and Carlos Tevez for Aguero, seemed to say they would not relent in their attacking mindset. The game changed again in the eighty-sixth minute when Javier Mascherano, Argentina’s skipper, received his second yellow of the night, making it ten against ten.
Extra time provided many chances, but none of them fulfilled. Messi kept up his pace, picking up on those small plays in the way only he knows how, but his efforts always fell short. Toward the end of extra time, the little maestro got the ball in the box and it seemed he was three feet away from the line. The entire nation of Argentina probably gave a sigh of relief, but it was premature as the ball was deflected and Messi denied. Any other day, the game would have been won in that instant. Messi very dramatically fell face-down to the earth, obviously feeling the pain of what could have been a game-saving moment.
Still 1-1 at the end of extra time, penalties would decide the winner of the Copa America quarter-final match. Messi was given the captain’s band and took the first penalty for the team as though to get it out of the way. Argentina struck first and the anxiety began. Forlán put his away in the top of the net. Then came Burdisso and Suarez. All four had gone in so far. Tevez stepped up to the spot and Muslera, the Uruguay keeper, got a hand on the low-flying ball. The next three went in and it was 4-4 as Caceres took to the spot. Argentina’s chance of advancement was gone in an instant, as Uruguay celebrated one of their greatest victories in recent years.
Looking back, perhaps Argentina should be grateful for making it out of the group stage. Their performance against Costa Rica was promising and while the result against their rivals, the Uruguayans, was not desirable, it was a well-fought fight. Argentina was a strong side but lacked those final touches that put away goals. Forlán and his side were equal to the task of keeping Messi contained, first of all, and creating chances of their own. Finishing in fourth place last year in the World Cup is nothing to be laughed at after all. Perhaps it is not a great astonishment that Uruguay has advanced ahead of the competition’s hosts, though both teams proved equal in skill.
After this match, the criticisms of Lionel Messi appear unfounded. His role on Argentina is obviously different than that of Barcelona. It is usually the little moments that change the game, and those moments are where he excels. He still sees the game in the same way, still runs the same way and passes the ball in the same way only with different purposes. He makes a difference for Argentina even when he isn’t pointing to the sky in celebration of a goal. Unfortunately his style of play is too well know and therefore a target for the opposing side.
Uruguay will go on to play Peru in the semi-final, obviously as the favorites in that match-up. However, Peru’s advancement to the semi-final after beating their own rivals Colombia, 2-0, shows that all things are possible in this competition.
The game giveth and the game taketh away. Argentina was on the downside of this statement and though it is heartbreaking for a team who was expected to accomplish great things, the match was certainly an exhibition of all the skills present in South American teams. The game is always unpredictable and unforgiving, but if they didn’t like to face the consequences, they wouldn’t play.
Argentina cruised to a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica last night, led by Lionel Messi who assisted two of the three goals. Argentina, the host country and favorites to lift the Copa America, struggled in their first two games against Bolivia and Colombia. Both games ended in a draw, 1-1 and 0-0, respectively. Messi was the target of criticism following the Bolivia and Colombia game, but tonight everyone seemed to forget about the disappointing start to the tournament.
Argentina coach Sergio Batista changed up his line-up last night, benching Man City Captain Carlos Tevez and Ezequiel Lavezzi. In their place he started Gonzalo Higuaín and Sergio Agüero. Midfielder Angel Di Maria was also added to the starting line-up. The scoring opened up when Sergio Agüero tapped in a rebound in the 45th min. Lionel Messi had his way with Costa Rica's "B" team, easily setting up scoring chances. Gonzalo Higuaín, unfortunately, was unable to convert Messi's pin-point passing into goals. On two occasions he sailed the shot over the crossbar. Luckily for Argentina, Agüero and Di Maria were able to convert Messi's through balls into goals.
"Lionel knows how to overcome these situations, he has personality to overcome them and today he showed it on the field," Sergio Batista said. "He played a tremendous match."
Argentina joins Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru in the quarterfinals.
Arguably the most entertaining match of the Copa America. Here are the Highlights.
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| photo by Saadick Dhansay |
- by Hiten Mandalia, writing from West London
He has won everything with Barcelona, scoring over 50 goals for the club in the 2010/2011 season, he's helped them win all six trophies that were on offer to win for Barcelona. Along with that, he has shown the world his amazing dribbling skills, how the ball sticks to his feet, his quality individual goals which has made the whole world admire his talent. Messi is one of the players that comes along once every generation, and we're fortunate to witness arguably one of the greatest players of al time.
However, for that to happen, he has to prove his point on the international stage with Argentina at major tournaments. All is well scoring in the Champions League Final, in big heated 'El Classico's' with Real Madrid and local derbies, but it's at the World Cup where all great players are judged. The likes of Pele, Maradonna, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Ronaldo and Zidane were all judged on how they performed with their respective countries at major international countries.
Messi has proven that he has the ability to make an impact in any game, but the international stage is a new whole game compared to cub level. I remember a pundit comparing international football to chess as the pace of a game can change in an instant. Messi had a poor world cup in South Africa in 2010 but he had a far better season with Barcelona.
If Messi wants to be considered one of the greats, there's no doubt that he can be one, but he has to transcend his club form onto a much bigger scale. If he scores at World Cups and wins it with Argentina, then he will be considered a great, as him impact to the team will be invaluable. For that to happen, Messi needs support from his Argentinian team mates. It's possible, but the question is, how long can he wait until he wins a World Cup before people start questioning 'Has still got it in him?', 'Is he getting too old?', 'Has he started losing it'?
We may not have to wait until Brazil 2014 to see if Messi can produce. A dazzling performance in the Copa America can help Argentina win the tournament, which could lead to a World Cup victory in the nation of their great rival, Brazil.
Argentina vs Bolivia.
Edivaldo Rojas Hermoza (47')
Sergio Agüero (75')
The 2011 Copa América begins tomorrow with Argentina vs Bolivia.
This is the 2007 Final between Brazil and Argentina.
Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo
Attendance: 40,000
Brazil 3 – 0 Argentina
Baptista 4'
Ayala 40' (o.g.)
Alves 69'
