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Sexy Football

Vamos! Here's what you need to know about the Copa América

The tournament kicks off tomorrow night. Will it be the Selecao again, hosts Argentina or a dark horse?

IT’S BILLED AS one of the most fascinating and unpredictable tournaments in years and will go some way towards indicating how much work South American teams will have to do before the 2014 World Cup.

The Copa América begins this Saturday, and will last until 24 July. It is being hosted in Argentina and features every side in South America, as well as two other countries who have been invited to compete – in this case, Mexico and Costa Rica.

The sides are then divided into three groups of four teams, with the winners, runners up and two best-placed teams who finish third advancing to the knockout stages.

Rather worryingly though, it has been reported that plans for the tournament are currently under threat following the rioting caused by River Plate’s relegation, as their stadium has been closed indefinitely pending an investigation into alleged overcrowding.

Lovers of football worldwide will hope this amounts to little more than a false alarm, given the level of excitement surrounding the upcoming event.

History

This is the ninth time Argentina have hosted the event – they have been hosts more often than anyone else since the tournament began in 1916.

Strangely, given that they are undoubtedly considered the pre-eminent South American footballing nation, Brazil do not hold the record for tournament wins. Both Argentina and Uruguay have gained more titles, having won it 14 times. However, Brazil possess the third best record (nine wins) and they are catching up on their opponents, having won the last two tournaments, beating Argentina in the final on both occasions.

Only four other sides have won the tournament (on six occasions in total) – Paraguay (twice), Peru (twice), Columbia and Bolivia.

Players to watch out for

  • David Luiz (Brazil)

Luiz has looked less than comfortable at times while playing for Chelsea, however the Brazilian is bound to be more at home in a South American footballing environment.

It will be interesting to see if the man with the exotic hairdo, who is often as impressive when attacking as he is in defence, can finally show British and Irish fans why Chelsea splashed out millions for him.

  • Luis Suarez (Uruguay)

Suarez was outstanding in last year’s World Cup, looking clinical in attack even when confronted by some of the world’s best defenders and literally saving his team from elimination against Ghana, albeit by cheating blatantly when he hand-balled a certain goal on the line.

These performances, along with his incredible goalscoring record with Ajax, earned him a move to Liverpool – a role that he has thus far performed with similar aplomb.

If Suarez replicates this kind of form in the Copa América, you can expect Uruguay to be serious contenders for the title.

  • Javier Pastore (Argentina)

Pastore is one of numerous stars in an Argentina squad that, on paper, is undoubtedly better than any team in the tournament, with the likes of Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi set to spearhead the attack.

Pastore is the latest bright young hope to emerge – a player who is unlikely to stay with Palermo much longer, as he has been linked with numerous big-money moves.

Yet whether coach Sergio Batista can cajole Pastore and other players to be disciplined and well-organised – characteristics that were invariably absent when Diego Maradona was in charge – remains to be seen.

  • Antonio Valencia (Ecuador)

Valencia is undoubtedly the star player in a team in which most of the players ply their trade outside of Europe and whose star striker, Christian Benítez, was a flop at Birmingham City.

The winger has, however, endured a difficult season owing to a horrific leg break.

Nonetheless, the speed with which he recovered, in addition to the seamless manner in which he integrated back into United’s title-winning first team, shows he has the mental toughness to back up his undoubted flair.

  • Alexis Sanchez (Chile)

Another side to impress in the World Cup before coming unstuck against Brazil, Chile could be seen as the tournament’s dark horses. Alexis Sanchez will be regarded as his side’s main threat – a player who Man City and Chelsea fans will be interested to see perform on a big stage, given that they are perpetually linked with the attacking midfielder.

Questions have been asked about the influence that new coach Claudio Borghi will have on the side. The manager has a slightly more conservative approach than his predecessor’s (Marcelo Bielsa) more laissez-faire attacking style, but with players of the calibre of Sanchez in the side, Chile will always pose a threat irrespective of the tactics they adopt.

Predictions

As always, it is difficult to see past Brazil or Argentina for the title. Of the two, Argentina undeniably have the more talented squad, but it all depends on whether they can make the best use of the players at their disposal.

In addition, Argentina’s notoriously unreliable defence means Brazil seem the more likely of the two teams to triumph, given their unusually pragmatic, but solid approach – not to mention players such as Neymar who have the capacity to produce something out of nothing. But Argentina’s home advantage means they still have a very good chance of lifting the trophy.

If both teams should somehow falter, then Chile, Uruguay and Mexico all have a realistic chance of capitalising and winning what should prove an extremely fascinating tournament in an era in which South American football seems as healthy as ever.

Even perpetual whipping boys Venezuala have upped their game, as they have proved in the Word Cup qualifiers, and are no longer the walkover they once were.

Odds

  • Argentina 5/6
  • Brazil 2/1
  • Uruguay 9/1
  • Chile 12/1
  • Portugal 25/1
  • Colombia 33/1
  • Mexico 40/1
  • Ecuador 100/1
  • Venezuala 150/1
  • Bolivia 150/1
  • Peru 150/1
  • Costa Rica 275/1

Where can I see it?

ESPN will be showing all 26 games live, with the opening match between Argentina and Bolivia taking place at 1.45am on 2 July. Highlights of both this year’s matches and classic games will also be shown in conjunction with the channel’s live coverage.

Read more: Copa América participants Mexico warm up for the competition by winning the Gold Cup>

Check out more at the tournament’s official site>


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