The Tournament Begins

So here are some thoughts as the tournament gets started.

1. Brazil had another player back out of the tournament. Luiz Gustavo, who plays for Wolfsberg in Germany has left the team for personal reasons. This makes 6 players who have left for one reason or another. This is not perhaps great news for Brazil fans, but I think it makes the team dangerous and exciting. Most countries could never absorb the loss of that many players, but Brazil has world class players that no one has ever heard of. We could see something very special from this group of young unknowns with nothing to lose.

2. Colombian defensive starter was arrested this week on assault charges. After an all night drinking binge Pablo Armero got into a fight with the mother of his children at a Miami hotel and he ended up in jail. It remains to be seen if he will be on the roster for Colombia when the tournament gets underway today. He has been a starter for every tournament of the last 6 years, but is not on the team at the moment.

3. Christian Pulisic does not need to be a star for the U.S. this summer. Yes he has great potential. Yes he could be the future, but he does not need to be. He is only 17. He will probably get some playing time. He might even start a game, but fans need to realize, soccer is fickle. He could be on the pitch for 60-90-even 120 minutes and do nothing amazing. This does not mean he is not going to be great. It just means he had an O.K. tournament, not a great one. Lionel Messi is the best player in the world, and yet if you look at his play for Argentina over the last 2 World Cups and you will see O.K. performances, nothing special. Sometimes these tournaments play out this way. If we see great and amazing things from Pulisic, I will be the first to cheer, but lets not hold him to some horrible standard for which is is likely to fall. Christian will be here for years.

4. Mexico is considered by many a favorite to win the Copa. It could happen. They will be playing in front of what are in all sense home crowds. The fans of the Mexican team are rabid and ready for some international success. They have been on great form, not allowing a goal in the last 6 games. They have a star in Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, who seems poised to be the goal scorer every champion needs. The stars seem to have aligned. That is a scary place for the team to be. They have everything to lose. I think they stumble under the weight, but we will see.