Group D

The Copa America starts on Friday June 3rd. Lets take a look the 4 groups and what team we can expect to advance. We will start with Group D



Argentina- Obviously the La Albicelesti are the favorites to win the group and one of the favorites to win the tournament. Much has been made of the question as to whether or not they are bringing their A team. I do not put much stock into this concern. The goal of a team like Argentina is of course to Win the World Cup, as such, a mid cycle tournament like this can in some respects be seen as a building block for the up coming  2018 WC in Russia. New players need to be developed and that is what we will see from Argentina, a mix of new players and veterans. The best player on the planet, Lionel Messi, is at the tournament. He was slightly injured in a warm-up game this week. It appears to be just a bruise, but one might expect that he will only play sparingly in the early rounds as his participation is probably not required for the team to advance  to the next round. I would be more concerned by his somewhat weak play the last half of the La Liga season. He was not his goal scoring self, and the pressure is mounting for Argentina to win a title of any sort while the proclaimed best player on the planet" is at his prime. We will see if the pressure works for or against them.

Chile- Chile are sometimes a forgotten team of South American football, of course up against the reputations of Brazil, Argentina and Columbia, it is not surprising. Still, they are a savvy side with many European based players and a strong team identity. Chili took advantage of some disarray among other teams and won its first South American Championship last year. The success they had came under the leadership of Coach Jorge Sampaoli. Sampaoli resigned in December. The new coach, Juan Antonnio Pizzi, is still trying to find an identity to the team. Team play and team spirit are not as necessary for powerhouse sides, but a team like Chili wins and looses together. Will the players come together under the new coach, or revert to also rans of world football?

Panama- The central American side are no stranger to U.S. soccer fans as they are in CONCACAF, and as such a frequent opponent in World Cup and other qualifying matches. They know how to get the most out of the talent they have in tournaments such as this. One can expect them to pack in the defense, rely on solid goalkeeping and hope for a counter attack goal from fast forwards Tajada and Perez. Making it out of the group stage would be considered a victory , but not an impossibility. It is likely that a win and a tie might be good enough, and this veteran squad has the experience to take advantage of a situation should one present itself.

Bolivia- The Bolivians are in a bit of a turmoil at the moment. They have talent and were actually gaining ground on their South American neighbors until the last year when the wheels seem to have come off the side. They have been struck by the injury bug and are barely able to field a complete roster. As evidenced by their lackluster showing against the U.S. in Saturday nights friendly. In fact, my excitement by how well the U.S. played is tempered by the realization that they did so against a Bolivian team that is not playing well at all. There is little reason too expect that this will change anytime soon, and 3 loses might be the result of the tournament for a recently hopeful soccer nation.


Group D winner-      Argentina
Group D runner-up- Chili

                                                         Tomorrow- Group C

Americans unique view on sport

  So as I contemplate relevant perspectives that come up in covering international soccer issues, I am frequently faced with the different way the United States views sports. The current NBA playoffs are a prime example. The Golden State Warriors won an NBA record 73 games this season. They only lost 9 times all season, yet here they are 1 game from being eliminated from the playoffs. Pundits are claiming that their season record will be a waste if they do not bring home the championship. This ultimate value placed on some little tournament at the end of the season is a uniquely American obsession. In all the sports leagues of Europe and especially soccer, since they were the O.G. of sports leagues, it is the season that matters, not a crap shoot at the end. If the top 8 teams in the English premier league had entered into some sort of tournament after the season and Arsenal or Man City had prevailed, what a shame that would have been for Leicester. Instead, soccer places prime emphasis on the months long season and how a team performs over that period.
  So why does every American sport insist on having some contest after the season, a second season if you will? I think the genesis for this phenomenon can be traced to baseball. Baseball was the original sports league in the USA. There were two leagues and the teams played all summer, only against those in their league. Winning the pennant, the season, was the ultimate goal, just like the soccer leagues of Europe, but then the question of which league was better persisted. As such a post season contest was held. the World Series. The champions of the two leagues played each other in "best of" format until 1969 when the leagues each expanded and split. They then held a divisional series to determine the league winners and the ever growing playoff format was hatched.
  As other sports leagues came online, first hockey, then football and basketball, they each looked to emulate the successful format of baseball. The teams would play a season that would qualify the top teams for the chance at the end of the season tournament and the league championship. Of course as critics would point out, the lure of money has forced the growth of the playoffs, the season has become less and less meaningful. In the NBA, more than half the teams make the playoffs, and often with losing regular season records.
  The MLS has also fallen victim to this Americanization. While adopting many of the traditions of their mother leagues around the world, they still call  champion the team that wins the end of season playoffs. They do give the regular season winner a title. They call it the Supporters Shield, but it pales in significance to the MLS Cup.
  So what is the significance of these American differences? I purpose that they are a function of a couple uniquely American traits; the fondness for second chances and the obsession with fairness. The second chance principal is in full view in the playoff system, where mistakes undertaken during the season can be overcome at the end. Europe feels no such need to coddle its sports teams, or its citizens. The fairness doctrine, which was chronicled as far back as De Tocqueville in his observation in the 1800's, is even more ingrained. All the major American sports have a draft, where the worst teams get a chance to build by adding the best new players. The leagues all offer some sort of revenue sharing to make sure the small clubs have a chance to compete. most of the leagues have type of salary cap to limit the powerful from taking over. The only league without a salary cap, baseball, is also light on the other restraints as well. This makes sense, being that they are the oldest sport and were originally founded more organically and less top down, but even baseball has started to worry about parity and the draft, a previous MLB afterthought, is gaining in importance.
  European soccer leagues have none of these controls. Teams do not draft. They can spend whatever they want, and often do. There is little to no revenue sharing. The big get bigger and leagues have little top down balance. Europe is comfortable with a sort of class system. They realize the world is not fair, that the rich get rich and the poor will probably spend their whole lives wrapped in the nobility of poverty. Americans are aware that the world works this way, but we bristle at such unfairness when it comes to sport. In sport we hope to offer a fair chance to everyone; a level playing field.
  Such a mirror on life is one of the main reasons that I enjoy sports. It reflects us at our best and at our worst. It highlights our differences and it shows our common humanity. Success and failure played out on a stage for us to cheer. Soccer, with it roots in almost every country on the planet does this better than most, and as the vines of the sport continue to envelope and overtake the American fan we too become a section of the garden known as World Football.

What is the Copa America?

   This summer the Copa America comes to the United States. It is the 45th playing and 100th anniversary of this tournament that pits the nations of North, South, and Central America against one another. Due to the minimal history of the game in the U.S., we do not have a storied past in this tournament and we have never hosted.
  There are 16 teams set out in 4 groups playing in 10 cities around the country. The tournament runs from June 3-26. The USA plays on the first day, June 3rd, against Columbia in Santa Clara and the final will be held on the 26th in Met-life stadium in East Rutherford N.J.
  I will be going over the 4 groups and the match-ups that they present this week, along with my picks, but for now here is a list of the teams.


  The top 2 teams in each group advance to the quarter finals. You can see from the draw that the USA is by no means assured of advancing, although they need to believe they can, and the bookmakers have them just ahead of Costa Rica and Paraguay.
  Every game will be carried on TV on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2. Since the tournament is on our turf, we have the advantage of the games being played at near normal times. None of the 4am kick offs that international soccer sometimes submits us to.
  So clear out some time, and wash your lucky jersey and lets get ready to watch some soccer. Remember, what the lesson of 5000-1 Leicester, Champions of English Football has taught us, anything is possible.
  I.......I BELIEVE...I BELIEVE THAT....I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN WIN!!!

COPA America!

http://www.ca2016.com/matches

It promises to ba a great tournament this summer. Great excuse for sitting indoors in air conditioning and watching TV. Overview on the tournament and teams to follow!