Copa America Part II….Handing out grades

 

Argentina   D

Copa America was simply a disaster and a total failure on the part of the hosts as this tournament was set up for a Brazil vs. Argentina final.  CONMEBOL wants to make the public believe that this is not true, and that it was dumb luck that Argentina was drawn into a group with region minnow Bolivia and Costa Rica’s U-21 team.  Little did they know that Bolivia and Colombia would hold mighty Argentina to consecutive draws and they would need a win against a Costa Rica youth squad which was simply happy to participate.  Argentina looks a slow and plotting bunch with little to no creativity from the midfield.  The few sparks of good soccer came when Messi was able to wave his wand, but this was few and far between.  Ever Banegas, Esteban Cambiasso, and Fernando Gago were lackluster.  Lavezzi was out of sorts and played with no purpose or direction.  Tevez may have played his last international game for Argentina and Kun Aguero did not connect well with Messi.  Big changes are needed before qualifying begins and it should start with the man in charge.  Batista may survive as coach until the beginning of qualifying, but only a strong showing with attractive soccer will save his job.

Bolivia                 C      

The grade may seem a bit high, but consider the expectation level coming into the tournament.  Bolivia was not expected to survive the group stage, and they didn’t disappoint.  They started off strong, even holding a shock 1-0 lead over Argentina late into the second half of the game.  However, consecutive losses to Colombia and Costa Rica erased any momentum from their opening game.  Brazilian born Evinaldo and Brazilian-Bolivian Martins Moreno were lively up front and provided opponents with a fair share of headaches.  They will have a long road ahead in qualifying, their only chance being to capture maximum points in the altitude of La Paz.

Brazil                   D

Se my earlier post (Thoughts on Copa America Part one) on why everything went wrong for the Scratch Do Oro.  In short they did not gel as a unit, and too often relied on individual runs by Robinho and Neymar.  Although many will agree that they were unlucky to lose to Paraguay in the quarter-finals, they embarrassed themselves in the penalty shootout by missing all four of their shots.  As World Cup 2014 hosts, Brazil has three years to get its act together or face the possibility of crashing out early in their competition.

Colombia   C

No one can doubt the technical ability of the Colombian squad.  Radamel Falcao Garcia is lethal up front along with strike partner Dayro Moreno.  The midfield was led by classy playmaker Fredy Guarin, who was shielded at all times by combative Abel Aguilar.  AC Milan defender Mario Alberto Yepes was in top form, especially in his sides 0-0 draw with host Argentina.  The defensive line had to be alert with a subpar and nerve-racking goalie Neco Martinez.  Many will point to Falcao’s missed  penalty shot against Peru as the turning point in their quarter-final loss to Peru, but Neco Martinez’s blunders in extra time led directly to Peru’s goals and Colombia’s demise in the tournament.   Also, coach Hernan Dario Gomez will have to explain why Racing (Argentina) playmaker Teofilo Gutierrez was left on the bench for most of the competition.

Costa Rica and Mexico  (Incomplete)

It is not fair to give a grade to either squad.  Both showed up with a youth team, and were there more for the experience and had little expectations.  Both teams were outmanned and outclassed on many occasions.  Costa Rica was able to pull off a win against a weak Bolivia squad with an inspired performance by Joel Campbell.  His performance has opened the eyes of many clubs in Europe.  The issue of youth squads and “B” teams being sent by CONCACAF nations to Copa America needs to be resolved for the next edition.  It is a mockery that the biggest event in South America allows these teams to participate. 

Chile           B

Under new coach Claudio Borghi, “La Roja” has continued its exciting and attacking soccer which was on display in last year’s World Cup.  Alexis Sanchez and Jorge “El Mago” Valdivia were superb in the midfield.  Unfortunately Matias Fernandez was injured early in the tournament and was a non-factor.  Only an inspired performance by Venezuela saw them booted from the competition.  Expect to see Chile near the top of qualifying throughout the next couple of years.

Ecuador     C-

Ecuador has been on a steady decline since their participation in World Cup 2006 in Germany.  They crashed out only gaining one point in three games, a 2-2 draw with Paraguay.  They were outclassed in a 4-2 loss to Brazil and a 1-0 loss to Venezuela.  Felipe Caicedo was the lone bright spot, and scored Ecuador’s only 2 goals in their 4-2 loss to Brazil.

Paraguay   B-

This may seem harsh for one of the finalists, but the fact is that they left Argentina without recording a single win.  They tied all three of their group games, albeit in dramatic fashion in a couple of contests, where they blew late leads to Brazil and Venezuela.  They then scored a grand total of ZERO goals the knockout stages to advance to the finals, where they scores, yep you guessed it, NO GOALS.  Their quarter-final and semi-final games were among the most boring in the competition.  Their 5 goals were scored by 5 different players, including three of their forwards: Santa Cruz, Haedo Valdez, and Lucas Barrios.  Goalie Justo Villar was undoubtedly their best player, standing on his head in their quarter-final win against Brazil.

Peru           A

The shock of the tournament without a doubt.  Coach Markarian did more with less and took his squad to an unexpected 3^rd place finish.  Hamburg striker Paolo Guerrero was awarded the golden boot of Copa America with 5 goals in 5 games.  Fiorentina attacking midfielder Juan Vargas was unstoppable flying down the left flank and diminutive winger William Chiroque was a tournament revelation.  This was a rebirth of sorts for a soccer nation starved for wins in the last decade. 

           

Uruguay     A

Well deserved champions, who showed strength in all their lines.  Goalie Fernando Muslera was stellar and the best in the competition.  Captain Diego Lugano was a rock in the back along with Sebastian Coates.  Although Diego Forlan did not find the score sheet until the finals, he was the motor in the midfield and helped create chances for team leading scorer Luis Suarez.  Diego Perez and Arevalo Rios did the dirty work in the midfield to help open holes for Alvaro Pereria.  Even sweeter was the fact they eliminated arch rival Argentina in their own backyard, and lifted the trophy in Buenos Aires.

Venezuela   B+

The other surprise of the tournament was led by captain and playmaker Juan Arango.  Forwards Rondon and Miku were a handful to control and caused many chances for the “vino tinto.”  They produced the most exciting finished by far in the competition with there heroic 3-3 tie against Paraguay, a game they were losing 3-1 with five minutes to play.  They also knocked off Chile on a late tally by Gabriel Cichero.  Center-back Vizcarrondo was in top form, and was only exposed in the third place game by golden boot winner Paolo Guerrero.