I'm pressed for time when it comes to these reviews for the Copa América Centenarío. Some of it has to do with being lazy and generally all around distracted. The thing is I've been here before so I have no worries. That has been my mantra in recent times. "I've been here before!" To me it's lyric to a song I know all to well. It reassures that I've faced a specific problem(s) before and 9 times out of 10 I've gotten passed it. In Group C we have Jamaica, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela nations who have been...well here before. Jamaica and her players have been in big games before. The Gold Cup final just last year and earlier they were taking their lumps in Chile at the Copa America. Mexico is getting familiar with Jamaica and will come across them again in a crunch time scenario. Yet another "I've been here before," moment. Before beating the Jamaicans in the Gold Cup to lift crown, they too were invited to Chile for the Copa America and like their CONCACAF adversaries they were thumped in South America. For Uruguay this is nothing new. They are use to coming into tournaments as favorites, maybe it be a World Cup or an intercontinental clash like this one. As for Venezuela they have locked horns with Mexico and Uruguay plenty of times and know what they are getting themselves into. Group C Jamaica Mexico Uruguay Venezuela Jamaica
I ripped Jamaica apart in my last review of them. They were taking part in the Copa America in Chile and they were up against it when they were wedged into a group with Argentina and Uruguay and Paraguay for good measure. I said they didn't have a sniff of a chance and I even broke out the Merriam-Webster dictionary to shame them. I wasn't in love with the fact that relied so heavily on players of Jamaican descendent. I preferred the born and bred Jamaicans and I took umbrage with the likes of Wes Morgan, Giles Barnes and Adrian Mariappa. Jamaica although they played well in Chile, points allude them. I was scathing towards the side because I believe they are the best Caribbean team and the standard bearers for the region. What I forgot to remember is that the Copa America isn't meant for Winfried Schaefer's men, the Gold Cup is! Jamaica were a game away from lifting the CONCACAF competition but Mexico took them down. A pretty big deal seeing that Jamaica weren't even in the conversation for the title. Dumping the United States was unexpected and the way the "Reggae Boyz," played was unconventional as well. It wasn't hurried at all they were very methodical in their approach not a trait associated with Caribbean squads. At this year's Copa I can see it going one of two ways for them. They play spoiler and really annoy the Mexicans and Uruguayans or they can duke it out with Venezuela for relevance. It's a coin toss at this point. Key Man- Wes Morgan if I am correct is the first Jamaican/West Indian man to win a Premier League title. There is no doubt he is in the form of his life. The only problem is that Rudolph Austin isn't N'Kolo Kante and Andre Blake isn't Kasper Schmeichel. Mexico
Mexico are in great form! To date they have kept eight straight international clean sheets. A tidy stat for a team that is historically average defenders. They are the reigning CONCACAF Gold Cup champions disposing of Jamaica last year in the final. They didn't have the best Copa America in Chile but they did take a probing squad with the more notable names being saved for the Gold Cup a moved that payed off in the end. Javier Hernandez, the face of the Mexican side is coming off one of the best years of his footballing career as he banged in the goals for his Bundesliga squad Bayer Leverkusen. His strike partner Oribe Peralta is a real shark and gets his goals. While team captain Andres Guardado has found a new life in Holland with PSV Eindhoven. Guillermo Ochoa has returned to his best form hard to believe he is 30 now. New coach Juan Carlos Osorio has even called up Rafa Marquez to add fatherly presence to his rearguard. Literally the stars are aligning for Mexico (couldn't help myself to a bad cliché) and this might be a trophy that is really viable for them. This group isn't easy but the wave of support, the locations of their games being in south western states of the US and the fact they come in off of winning a major FIFA tournament you could only think they are in good shape to go deep in the tournaments. Key Man- The darling of Mexican football Javier "Chicharirto," Hernandez has been killing it over in Germany and I expect him to do the same over here. Really hoping coach Osorio does us a favor and pairs him with Oribe Peralta in a two pronged attack. That would be nice to see. Uruguay
Uruguay come to the Copa without probably the best pure striker in the world Luis Suarez. A fact that has dented their hopes of maybe stealing away the cup back to Montevideo. Suarez scored a seismic 40 goals in a season for his side FC Barcelona last term and I don't care what team you play for you remove a guy that from your ranks you are going to be smarting. Nonetheless "Le Celeste," has to carry on and the objective is to actually win Copa América Centenarío. As I said in my little speech before Uruguay has been here before. They're punchy bunch and and tend to hit harder when they are overwhelmed or underestimated. They've won the World Cup before and have a knot of Copa America titles, 15 and counting on their CV. If anything they could be more dangerous without Suarez the Uruguayans hope everyone will take huge sighs of relief because he is not around. Óscar Tabárez longstanding coach of Uruguay will be hoping for just that so he can play the chess games he likes to play. At the last Copa America Uruguay were bested in a tumultuous affair with eventually cup winners Chile. A game that they felt they were cheated out of. Couple that with the fact their without their star man in Suarez that means they have a lot they want to get off their chest. Tabárez will look to Edison Cavani to provide the offensive and stardust to a generally pragmatic Uruguay. How they are going to capture the cup is anyone's guess but I have a sneaky feeling they might be there in the end. Key Man- Edinson Cavan's chance to be Billy Big Boots is here. No Diego Forlan or Luis Suarez to rely on.It's team now...let's see how he gets on. Venezuela
Alphabetically the last team in the Copa and forgive me for saying probably the last team you think of when it comes to South American football. Venezuela have wonderfully forgettable games despite having in my opinion, one the better forwards in the Copa América Centenarío in Solomon Rondon. I honestly do believe if Venezuela had to qualify for this tournament they would make a hard go of it. I'm dramatic sometimes but the need to highlight when things are wrong is a strong habit of mine and with Venezuela there isn't much right apart from the big man up top the aforementioned Sr. Rondon. The Venezuelan FA recently appointed former goalkeeper Rafael Dudamel as their head coach and he will look to turn around what has to be a pretty plain Venezuelan side he inherited from Noel Sanvincente. It's crazy because if you saw what I wrote about Venezuela a few months ago it's the polar opposite, it was quite complimentary. This last Copa America campaign when they finished dead last in Group C and the start they have made in World Cup qualifying has just left me over them. I think if you switched federations and let Guyana be in CONMEBOL and allow Venezuela to join CONCACAF I don't think anyone would bat an eye at this current moment. It's that dire. They have one point in World Cup qualifying for Russia 2018. Uruguay has 13 points in the same amount of games. I put my budding reputation on the line that in this tournament they won't win a game. Key Man- You can't choose where you're born if that was the case we all would be cramped into Norway or Canada. Don't get me wrong Venezuela sounds like a swell place but not for football maybe baseball not so much football. Solomon Rondon is the shining light here without a doubt. I want to see him to well here in this little fling here in the States. Predictions- Mexico 1st, Uruguay 2nd, Jamaica 3rd, Venezuela 4th. Mexico is basically playing a home game every time they step onto the pitch and they are in magical form. Uruguay is a big boy team but without Luis Suarez and having Edinson Cavani deputize they just won't be the same let alone take a group. Mexico already has Jamaica's number and Uruguay does too so I don't expect the West Indians to get enough points to advance. As for Venezuela we appreciate the color...you can leave your name tag next to the oreos when you leave.
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.
I am not going to make this about me. There will be no story to tell. It is all business. The World Cup is here and I’m very excited about it. It is a special tournament and deserves a lot of media and fan fare. The fact that it is four years makes it even more intriguing. Ask yourself where were you four years? What were you doing? What was your frame of mind? I can tell you where I was. I was in college. I was preparing my thesis for my final year of school and I was tad bit negative about stuff. This World Cup has returned to South America and I do think Brazil was a fine choice despite of the country's socio-economic problems. Despite the protests and all of the clamor about the climate and the murmurs about stadium completion. Brazil is still a proper football nation with the right attitude for the game and no one deserves this opportunity more. The problems that the country face is a major concern and it is not right to just sweeping them under the rug because they need to be discuss but I don’t think I am the one to tackle them. So I will deal with what I know or pretend to know and that is the football. So here is my semi educated attempt of a group preview. Group A Brazil Cameroon Croatia Mexico Brazil
Naturally let us start with the host. Unlike the last World Cup this year’s host can actually play the sport. I’m trying to be ask courteous to South Africa as I can but they aren’t and weren’t very good and in my opinion didn’t deserve the honor and if they didn’t host the tournament would not have being vying for trophy in 2010. In contrast Brazil are the model host. A past winner. A country with the pedigree in the game. A regular World Cup attendee and a land that belches out one football great after another. Brazil is aiming to capture her sixth World Cup crown a stat that is crazy if one was to think about it. The objective is clear for the “Seleção,” win the World Cup at home. The pressure to do so will be enormous but coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has the credentials to do it having won the tournament before but that was in 2002 in France. To lift the cup at end will be difficult, I just can get pass the pressure this group of young men from Brazil will face. The country may actually suffocate them but that being said it could go the other way, the energy from nation could embolden them. It will be interesting for Brazil and for their coach who has to get a side sharp that has not played a competitive match since the Confederations Cup in 2013. Granted Brazil did host and won the tournament but playing a handful of games in a tourney that boasted Tahiti does not compare to the grind of a World Cup qualifying campaign. We will see how they do. A lot of factors will be at play. As for the personnel I think host look strong throughout their squad. They have some solid goalkeepers and the defense is very strong, which is even weird to say when talking about a Brazilian national side but Thiago Silva and company have proven in recent times to be very rigid. In midfield, Oscar is the name that leaps out at you as well as young Bernard. Up front it’s all about Neymar. With all of that, will Brazil win the tournament? They could but they aren’t my favorite despite that I do think they will go deep. Key Man- If Brazil are to win their sixth World Cup crown Neymar will have to play a big role. The party tricks he breaks out will have to be flawless and his ability to score will be needed to sling Brazil into winning positions. Cameroon Volker Finke’s men virtually strolled through the process of World Cup qualification. Cameroon secured her seventh trip to the FIFA World Cup by firstly topping Group I in the Africa’s qualifying zone (CAF). A group that contained Libya, Democratic Republic of Congo and Togo. After the group stage Cameroon went onto hammer North African heavyweights Tunisia 4-1 in a two leg play off thus booking their passage to Brazil. Cameroon along with Côte d’ Ivoire are the only two African teams that should actually be feared in my opinion. The men from Yaoundé will for me ultimately battling out with Croatia for that second spot in Group A as I expect Brazil to dominate and Mexico to flag. Cameroon’s squad is littered with European based players. The likes of Samuel Eto’o, Alexander Song, Benoît Assou-Ekotto, Joël Matip and Jean Makoun have all been knocking about Europe for years and have some big game experience and will be called on to perform. If they can’t produce I see a third place finish because the Croats are too business like to slip up. What could work in the Africans favor is the climate...I know people are talking about how hot it will be in Brazil and every pundit has spoken at length about it. As they should. Cameroon does have an advantage playing in these conditions it's nothing new to them but it isn’t new for Brazil or Mexico either. The odd man out is Croatia but I even ask how much advantage is it in a case like this. It’s not like Croatia is a winter land, the Balkans can get steamy too. Cameroon as a country has a ton of World Cup experience and has a well travelled squad so you never how far they can go but I have to say I can only see a lone Mexico win in their future. Key Man- There has been a lot of talk about Samuel Eto’o’s age but to me he is still a stud. It’s funny how Jose Mourinho never once mentioned Didier Drogba’s age. A man who is a clear three years older than Eto’o. Cameroon will peg almost all their attacking endeavors on Eto’o. If they are looking to advance out of the group the Cameroon will have to find him early and often. Croatia
Under the umbrella of Yugoslavia, Croatia has seen a few World Cups and as apart of the old federation they have seen wonderful times. As a lone entity the Croats will be making their fourth trip to the World Cup but their qualification took the long route. Croatia was placed in Group A of European qualification along with Belgium, Serbia, Scotland, Wales and Macedonia. The Balkan state finished second behind group winners Belgium and was forced into a two legged play off with Iceland. A match up that the Croatians eventually topped by coming out 2-0 winners. My thoughts on Croatia are leaning to the optimistic side and why not? In their ranks Croatia have a recent UEFA Champions League and Copa Del Rey winner in Luka Modric. A multiple Bundesliga champion in Mario Mandzukic. They also have Ivan Rakitic´ a player who just wrapped up a Europa League title with Sevilla and Dejan Lovren who is coming of a fine season with Southampton. In short the Europeans are stacked. I think they will have what it takes to slot in behind Brazil for the second spot above Cameroon and Mexico. This is a nation who has always done well at FIFA tournaments I feel that this one will be kind to them as well. Key Man- Mario Mandzukic’s goals will be vital for the Croatians. I don’t think that this group in the World Cup boast the most defensive savvy teams and there will be goals to be had. It’s just matter how much more Mandzukic can score than the rest of the bunch. Mexico
I have seen a lot of Mexico these past four years and let me say they should prepare themselves for a short stay in Brazil because they just don’t look very good. The constant hiring and firing of coaches. Poor Gold Cup and Confederation Cup showings and the shaky World Cup qualifying campaign has Mexico looking fairly soft. This World Cup will be the 15th for “El Tri.” The man chosen to lead the Mexicans is Miguel Herrera and to his credit has steered the national side through a bad patch. The fact that Mexico needed the United States to pick up a victory against Panama in the CONCACAF Hexagonal to ensure a playoff birth against New Zealand shows what bad a shape they were in. All said in the end New Zealand were beaten so all the stress of qualifying must now be a bad memory for Mexico. I honestly don’t think Mexico’s players will have what it takes to topple Cameroon, Brazil or Croatia. Main players for Mexico are either in or out of form like Giovani Dos Santos or have not been playing enough like Javier Hernandez. A big blow to the side has the self omission of Carlos Vela. Which is a real shame because the striker has had a stellar year for Real Sociedad. If Mexico are to get out of this group which I doubt they will, coach Herrera has to heavily depend on home based players like Oribe Peralta, Miguel Layun, Rafael Marquez and Marco Fabian. Key Man- Giovani Dos Santos has to produce the silky skills and look to link up with other members of Mexico’s attacking force. Blessed with amazing vision and is a true playmaker. Mexico will need all of his wizardry to advance out of this group. Predictions- Brazil to win the group with the Croatia hanging on to second, with Cameroon slotting into third with Mexico propping up the table. I hope I’m right simply because I hate being wrong. Brazil’s World Cup pressure will come in later rounds, this group will cause no problem to them. Croatia’s big game players will have enough to teach Cameroon and Mexico a lesson. Cameroon will be very dependent on Samuel Eto’o’s goals. if he can not find the net the Africans will look lost. As for Mexico I just feel the lead up to the games wasn’t the best and the bad habits will spill over into this tournament for them. Brazil
Despite what anyone might think, in football there is nothing bigger than the World Cup! Regional competitions like the Euros, the Gold Cup and Copa America are all excellent views but the enormity of the World Cup engulfs any atmosphere they can produce. Club competitions admittedly offers a better quality of play especially when one looks at how the Europeans and the South Americans go about it but teams nowadays are bankrolled so heavily any comparison would be a tad bit unjust. The World Cup is about national pride. If you don't think it is a big deal just look at some players faces before kick off when their anthem is being played. Some get tearful while the focus etched on others could rival that of a Swiss clockmaker. To be cliche it really is the world's game. Sure there is a cricket World Cup but only traditional teams in that sport like South Africa and India are welcomed along with a few minor nations who have fledgling programs are allowed to enter. So we are definitely won't be seeing Nicaragua up against Sri Lanka anytime soon on a cricket pitch. In football everyone is welcomed to play unlike my beloved cricket. That being said teams still have to qualify and they are only so many spots up for grabs. That means a raft of countries will not take part and Brazil 2014. This post takes at one of the teams that won't be in sunny Rio de Janeiro come summer of 2014. There is really no easy segue here, well at least for me so, I will just call them by name. Canada! Their failings have not been just recent but it has been a long time since Canadian soccer fans had anything to cheer about. Soccer has been making the rounds in Canada since the 1800s.The nation hass one of the oldest football associations not just CONCACAF but in the Americas. Founded in 1912 the Canadian Soccer Association takes control of both men and women's teams as well as overseeing all levels of the sport in the country. The earliest soccer bodies in the country were the Dominion Football Association which was formed in 1877 and the Western Football Association which came into being in 1880. According to the record books, the latter played an unofficial friendly with the American Football Association in 1885 in New Jersey with the Canadian outfit coming out on top 1-0. Canada's first officially sanctioned match game against Australia on June 7th, 1924 in Brisbane with the "Canucks," suffering a 3-2 loss. On the international scene Canada hasn't exactly set the world ablaze, well at least not in men's play. When it comes down to it, the nation has massively underachieved. Canada either chose not to enter, fail to qualify or withdraw from World Cup play. Case and point, the years between 1930 and 1954 the nation didn't take part in the World Cup. In 1958 Canada failed to make it, four years later the territory withdrew from qualifying in 1962 and in 1966 the federation did not even bother to enter. The years between 1970 to 1982 Canadian efforts to make it to the "big dance," fell flat as World Cup births eluded them for about a decade. The country's chance finally came when she qualified for the World Cup in Mexico in 1986. To this date this has been the nation's only World Cup appearance and while in Mexico the Canadians were dismissed without trouble. Placed in Group C along with Hungary, the Soviet Union and France, Canada finished dead last amassing zero points without scoring a goal. Canada has been waiting along time to redeem themselves on the game's grandest stage and still they continue to wait. From 1990 to 2014 all of Canada's attempts to reach a World Cup has been unsuccessful and now she has to play the waiting game for the next installment and to date that's looking like Russia 2018. Regionally "Les Rogues," like every other side in CONCACAF has been out muscled by continental giants the United States of America and Mexico but that's not to say Canada hasn't had its success in the federation. The nation to date has two Gold Cups the first of which coming in 1985 against Honduras. Their second CONCACAF title came at the expense of tournament invitee Colombia in 2000. A very impressive feat seeing that the 2000 Gold Cup had teams from other FIFA federations like the aforementioned Colombia. Besides the two continental awards Canada's runs in the tournament has been halted by the usual culprits; Mexico, USA, Costa Rica and Honduras. In my eyes Canada has been massively disappointing when it comes to men's soccer. Her women's team is stellar just google the name Christine Sinclair to see what I'm talking about. I understand that Canada relative to her size has a minute population, I get that but what really has me stumped is the nation has the infrastructure to really have a go at it's regional rivals the United States and Mexico. Canada is a winter sport haven. No doubt ice hockey will always be king there but soccer has the power to come a close second. The quality of player that the nation is producing on the men's side of the equation has to be better. No knock against Dwayne De Rosario, Atiba Hutchinson and Julian De Guzman who are all wonderful servants to Canada but they were never world beaters or will they ever be. It all falls onto the youngsters coming true like Russell Teibert, Doneil Henry and Kyle Bekker who look good but I don't expect Teibert to turn into Gareth Bale or Bekker to Xabi Alonso. What I am looking for is for them to morph into Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey like figures who the nation can hang her hat on. Canada has to turn solid players into useful game changers if they are ever to become relevant in CONCACAF again. Having the Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact in America's Major League Soccer will allow Canadian soccer to sneak it's players into a competitive league virtually unnoticed something that could only help their cause. I could sit here all day and rattle of a list of things that Canada should do but I won't because all I really want is a competitive and a strong Canadian soccer team going forward. Their fans deserve it, they are among the most dedicated in the region. Plus I don't want to believe that El Salvador and Uganda are better than Canada. I simply reject that world! Russell Teibert
Qualifying out of any FIFA region is tough despite what some people think. They are factors that one has to keep into consideration. If you look through the various federations some like Europe's UEFA, speaks for itself. The bulk of the world's football giants call Europe their home and some of the nations on the continent are very hard to get to. CONMEBOL may only have the ten nations to duke it out but two of them are Brazil and Argentina and it should be pointed out that in South America some of the greatest players to have ever played the game past and present come from this place. CAF the African governing body has just about the same amount of nations as Europe. Being honest some of the conditions in Africa aren't the greatest, they are either remote, or playing conditions such as the pitch are sub-par. Asia's AFC in my opinion has the most extreme terrain and weather change in FIFA. One minute a team can find it self playing near the foot of a Tajik mountain, the next game they can be battling it out in searing heat of the Middle East and on top of that they are some really good teams out there Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia are no mugs. At the surface, Oceania that encompasses nations from the Pacific like Fiji and Vanuatu doesn't look like much and in truth it really isn't in terms of talent but as New Zealand and Australia in the past would tell you, traversing those tiny islands that dot the Pacific is not easy at all, there will be fatigue, mentally and physically. CONCACAF, the region that embodies North and Central America, the Caribbean and a few territories on the South American mainland is a mix bag. On the one hand you have the Americans and Mexicans that sit alone at the summit and then you have some of the Caribbean islands that huddle together like a bunch of small fish at the bottom of a shrinking pond. It is easy to say that the United States and Mexico encounters are the marquee games in the region and maybe the only stand out game in the federation. On Tuesday, March 26th 2013, the United States and Mexico squared up at the famed Azteca in Mexico City where the two played out a 0-0 draw in a World Cup Qualifying game. People who like to give CONCACAF grief and down cry it would have ample reason to do so, seeing that its most celebrated teams gave 90 mins nothing and for those who appreciate the North American zone they themselves will have to admit it really wasn't a great match. On the night what I saw for the first time is a Mexico team who didn't have a clue, devoid of ideas, passion and commitment. I think most people familiar with the Mexican national team could see that. They had no midfield, no killer ball and the width they offered was omitted by the excellent Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler. If watch the full 90 that was easy to see. Mexico in what seems to me overnight has become a team that is rooted in it's on ways, so much so that the major players in CONCACAF, the likes of the United States, Honduras and Jamaica have become wise to them and has found ways to peg them back and the proof is the current three draws and the table in which they sit second bottom barley holding of Jamaica by a point. In contrast the United States under Jurgen Klinsman has adapted a "horses for courses," approach. Klinsman who has gotten a lot of flak from American pundits and fans for results and style of play has proven that versatility is an avenue worth exploring. Klinsman's predecessors clung on to virtually the same players time and time again and there is nothing wrong with that. The likes of Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Carlos Bocanegra have been magnificence servants to the United States and if not for Donovan's leave of absence and his reluctance to play for the national team and Howard's injury I am sure they would be the first names on the team sheet in recent games. The difference is that with Klinsman's America, he is willing to try new things. Bocanegra, Donovan and Howard are older players but so is Demarcus Beasley, so he isn't turning his back on veterans. Beasley has played at left back in these last two games, sure he picked up a yellow in the early stages of the Mexico game and made a few mistakes but in the main he looked good. The German's willingness to spot problems only lends to his versatility and picking the right player is key. In 2011 USA loss to Mexico 4-2 in the Gold Cup final under Bob Bradley. I remember it because of that wonderful solo goal from Giovanni Dos Santos where he chipped the ball over Howard's head along with the trailing US back line. Clarence Goodson and Carlos Bocanegra were at the heart of that defense. People on the US side belly-ached about how slow the defense was and I agreed. The defense also included Eric Lichaj and Steve Cherundolo. Bocanegra and Cherundolo are aging players that is fair but not Lichaj and Goodson. The four of them on the day could not deal with Mexico's mobility. There is no doubt Klinsman has seen that tape since his appointment and has planned to suit, he opted for a younger back line minus Beasley against Mexico and it paid off. The rise of Graham Zusi and Herculez Gomez isn't by chance either. By including more players into the national set up Klinsman is giving himself more options and is allowing himself routes out of tight jams. To me making a statement saying that he won't be stuck like his predecessors in crunch time situations. He will have more players he can trust. Not to say Bob Bradley and Bruce Arena didn't blood many players but Klinsman seems to use a wide-array of individuals. At the end of the Mexico USA clash some "El Tri," fans were shouting "Fuero Chepo," which translates to fire "Chepo," the nickname of the Mexican head coach Jose Manuel de la Torre. If there is anything the US can teach the Mexican coach is don't be afraid to try something new and granted he did Carlos Salcido a left back in midfield isn't revolutionary but it is a change. Maybe a more lucrative change can come from the in form Carlos Vela who has snubbed the national team and by the looks of it they could need another option at the moment. Giovanni Dos Santos Goal vs USA (Gold Cup 2011)
.png)
