Copa America 2015

With summer fast approaching here in the Northern Hemisphere that only means one thing.
Unfortunately the demise of the European football season. Titles are being wrapped up, the losers are being sucked into the abyss, literally, just ask Parma and frankly the only thing to look forward to is the transfer market. I get excited like everybody else for the summer window because really there is not much going on. So for months I have the pleasure of wondering if my favorite Tahitian player Marama Vahirua will retire, a thought that will have the powerhouse of Tahitian football AS Pirae sick to it’s core, while divisional rivals AS Sport Central salivating and pondering on it’s next assault like Mandark from Dexter’s Laboratory. Outside of my weekly Major League Soccer fix things look grim or so I thought! Last year around this time we all were gearing up for the World Cup in Brazil and to be honest it was a great show. It had every thing. Color, what else should we expect from place like Brazil. It had surprises. Who could forget Spain’s capitulation, Brazil’s humiliation and Costa Rica and coach Jorge Luis Pinto’s manipulation of the tournament to shock everyone. It was a terrific time in Brazil. Shoot...Luis Suarez even bit someone! That is must see TV my friends. All of that happened last summer...that is a hard high to come down from. Fast forward to this year around the same time and everything looks passive until I realized something. Something that completely slipped my mind and that was the Copa America. I’m a little embarrassed to admit it too. For a guy who prides himself of being a football snob forgetting something like that is unforgivable. So here we are. This is me bringing to you a group and team breakdown. Let me give some information in case you guys haven’t heard. the tournament will be held in Chile from June 11th to July 4th. It features all 10 CONMEBOL teams and this edition of the tourney will sport two guests sides in Jamaica and Mexico from the neighboring CONCACAF region, thus taking the field up to 12. With that 12 divided into three groups of four. That being said I think I’m ready to get started with the crux of the article which is this breakdown and preview. My fixation and fanatical following of the Tahitian superstar Vahirua will just have to take a back seat...well at least for a month.



Group A
Chile
Bolivia
Ecuador
Mexico


Chile

I’m pretty meticulous and not starting this little preview in alphabetical order is kind of killing me. But for the sake of trying something new and expanding my editorial range I carry on. I even just started a sentence with the word “but,” and that’s something I don’t believe in. Anyway, I just feel it right that since Chile are the host of this edition of Copa America that they go first. Bolivia will just have to wait her turn. So what can we expect from the Chileans? Well, if last summer’s World Cup is any measuring stick we are looking at a dynamic and gifted team that definitely has a puncher’s chance. Led by the same man that guided then to a Round of 16 spot in Brazil, Jorge Sampaoli. The Chileans look to figuratively and literally press their opposition. The host energetic game will only be buoyed by their home field advantage making them a tentative contender to Uruguay’s crown. Which will be difficult since Chile has never won the tournament and have been losing runner ups four times. Hearing that makes me really feel for them and this the seventh time hosting the tournament so you never know this maybe lucky No.7. At least Sampaoli will certainly hope so. The intense Argentine will rely heavily on the duo of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal who are having seismic seasons over in Europe. Especially Vidal, a player that Sampaoli didn’t have at the peak of his powers at the World Cup due to injury. He will be key to what the host do. I full expect Chile to boss their group with Mexico in tow. I’ve never bought what Ecuador is selling and well...Bolivia are keen but not ready. What I find really interesting is the timing and location of this tourney. Chile and Argentina are the only two nations on the continent that experience a winter and in this time of the year Chile will be going through her cooling months. This might not count for much because a lot of South Americans play in Europe but I just have the feeling these dip in temperatures will only help the Chileans and Argentines. That energetic and pressing game Chile loves to play doesn’t have to fear the sapping powers of the sun and this can make them very dangerous.

Key Man- Although I put Arturo Vidal and key in the same sentence earlier I really think Chile will get their heat from one Alexis Sanchez. Bad jokes aside I think he will have a big say in Chile’s performance.

Bolivia

Let’s be honest if Bolivia had to qualify for the Copa America it probably would not had made it. I love to research, so that when I come on here I don’t look like a fool but the lack of content that Bolivia drums up will have me looking like bozo. Of course they have a long history in the game but simply there is not much in the way success to convey. The biggest accolade I can give the Andean state is that she won what was the old Copa America, the South American Championship back in 1963 when they defeated Paraguay. In 1997 sneakily Bolivia made it all the way to the finals but loss to eventual winners Brazil. On those two occasions Bolivia played host. Sounds harmless enough, right? Maybe they played well and with the home crowd whipping the national side into a frenzy maybe the guys brought their best. All possibilities but I know Bolivia’s dirty little secret and I feel it had a lot to do with their Herculean performances. Bolivia is a nation literally in the clouds. The capital La Paz sits above sea level and many tourist when they visit this mystic city often complain of altitude sickness. So guess where Bolivia play their international fixtures? You guessed it La Paz. Now imagine you were an opposing team playing against an acclimatized Bolivian side for 90 mins. You can’t breathe, you want to throw up and dizziness is your only companion. Teams that have played here have been subjected to these conditions for years and frankly it’s not safe so much so that FIFA has been in Bolivia’s ear about it. It is an advantage. An advantage that they won’t have when they play in Chile this summer. Bolivia will be looking to have a tidy campaign at the tournament and will have to put out the ole stone wall if they are thinking out of their group. The man tasked with leading the men from La Paz is Mauricio Soria. I read somewhere he had plans on spying on his opponents. I don’t know if this is true or not but it should be worth looking into because Bolivia isn’t very good. So Soria’s tactics has to be precise. I think it will be more about his coaching skills and chess work than the actual talents of his troops. Soria does not have star power at his disposal. What he does have is work horses like captain Ronald Raldes. Who at even at 34 has the lungs to breathe life into Bolivia. We talked a lot about the respiratory system this paragraph...but in all seriousness if Bolivia are even to get a point her boys will have exhibit real character.

Key Man- Having a 34 year old center back as your fulcrum going into a major tournament is worrying but currently Ronald Raldes is the best Bolivia has got. Who knows he pay be able to channel is inner Javier Zanetti or Carles Puyol, men who played well into their 30s and made a huge impact for their sides.

Ecuador

Emotion is a powerful thing. For me personally I have yet to harness it properly. It can cripple me and embolden me. Even to write a simple post like this one I have to me beaming with confidence or down in the doldrums. Never in between. When the confidence is there I feel like a Demi god but when it is not, well you know the rest. Dwelling on the dark side...I know how it feels to be thrown away, not given a chance and forgotten. Where others don’t even consider your dreams and if they did they would count for nought in their eyes. So why am I saying all this? Truth of the matter is I see a lot of myself in Ecuador. Here you have a side in Ecuador placed among giants like Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay and time after time has to prove itself and scrap for it’s existence. Ecuador tries and uses what it has to the best of her ability but the cold and nasty reality is that she will come up short and what hurts even more is that this little country knows it will fail again and again but still it gets up and sticks to it’s task. It is given no applause. No credit. Just hurt. Well as long as I’m alive I will stand with Ecuador each time because I take it personally. Anyway, this is a football website and I should start talking about sport so let me dive into it. Unfortunately me plunging into Ecuador’s Copa history leads me down a path of despair, it’s a good thing I lavished them with praise early because what is to come is not pretty. Ecuador’s resume in the Copa America has a bushel of first wrong exits to go along with tons of fifth, sixth and seventh place finishings. Their best performances came in 1959 and 1993 when they finished fourth that is when they hosted the tourney. Which is great but the cup is being held in Chile not Ecuador so they will not have home comforts to rely on. As I said although I applaud Ecuador’s workman like attitude and the ilk of players it has in it's ranks I can’t see any of them dazzling the crowds in Chile or flattening the opposition. What makes their plight even harder is that captain and probably best player Antonio Valencia will not be there after undergoing surgery in the off season. Another notable absentee is striker Felipe Caicedo who too is sidelined through injury. Coach Gustavo Quinteros will have to find the right mix in order to even get Ecuador out of the group because I can see a tussle between themselves and Mexico for that second place spot.

Key Man- No Antonio Valencia means someone has to fill the void and though I hate to say it.That man has to be Enner Valencia. It’s not that I have a problem with him it’s the fact he can be a bit sporadic in front of goal. If he does find a scoring touch it will definitely aid in Ecuador’s chances of success.

Mexico

My dark horse! I’m not going to get all mushy and gushy like I did about Ecuador, with Mexico it will be short and sweet. Before I rattle off stats and other facts and truths let me start off by saying that I have sneaky feeling that the Mexicans could actually win this thing. I mean realistically only Brazil and Argentina are the true contenders with the likes of Colombia and Chile close but not quite there. While a Uruguay without Luis Suarez doesn’t quite have the bite. (That was a really bad joke... I’m sorry) You get what I’m saying though...no doubt. So then you are left with sides like Mexico. Who really can just fly under the radar and pick off it’s targets. The past few games for “El Tri,” have been exciting and there is now more than ever a feel good atmosphere to the Mexican national team. All down to the charismatic Miguel Herrera. The Mexican coach's antics, comical facial expressions and gesticulations on the sidelines make him one of the most watchable figures in the world game. Plus the dude is downright funny. For me he is up there with the NBA and the San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich when it comes down to coaching personalities. All jokes aside Herrera has brought his CONCACAF team south to not just enjoy in festivities but take some bragging rights back to Central America. For me, I have always seen Mexico a tricky ordeal for South American sides and they will be sticky this time around. Join by their CONCACAF counterpart Jamaica as invitees, so no qualification needed. Mexico’s Copa America history is actually a very illustrious one and is certainly better than the likes of Ecuador and Venezuela. Mexico have been worthy runner ups twice, three third place finishes are under their belts and have made the quarterfinals twice. The only time they have failed to reach deep into the belly of the contest was in the last Copa America in Argentina in 2011. What makes it even more impressive is that this is their 9th Copa. This Mexican side Herrera has chosen is very homogenous. I only count four European based players and one of them is the aging Rafael Marquez. There is no Javier "Chicharito," Hernandez, Giovani Dos Santos, Carlos Vela, Hector Moreno, Diego Reyes, Andres Guardado (big shock), Guillermo Ochoa, Miguel Layun or Hector Herrera. These all are really good players but Herrera has proven he knows what he is doing. So I trust him.

Key Man- Tough to nail down a stand out figure due to the side that Miguel Herrera has chosen. He has gone for an older squad probably because he has the Gold Cup coming up and is saving his young European tested stags for that. Call it my Eurocentrism or my obsession with youth but I have gone with Atletico Madrid’s Raúl Jiménez as Herrera’s go to guy. He played recently in a friendly against Peru so maybe coach is posturing to start him but he is a tall goal hound.

Predictions- Host Chile 1st, Mexico 2nd, Ecuador 3rd, Bolivia 4th. Chile are the class act here and their at home so good things are bound to happen. Mexico has a great track record in this tournament and I fully expect them to keep that up. The Ecuadorians will huff and puff like they usually do but they will not by pass the above mentioned. Bolivia...no thanks. A complete write off.