Ok it's a dirty job but someone has to talk about the Copa América (America Cup) 2011, which is happening in Argentina. If you're not familiar, the
Copa América is a South American competition with national teams (plus some invitees).
So this edition has been... poor. I mean terrible, awful. We're already in the late stages of the competition, and I can remember one or two decent games. Goals have been rare, the ball has been treated like shit, players thought they could win by their names alone.
So now we'll have the semifinals, with Peru vs. Uruguay and Paraguay vs. Venezuela. Brief words about the quarter finals:
La Celeste Olímpica, fourth in the last World Cup, won against Argentina in an epic battle decided on the penalty kicks. Muslera, the Uruguayan goalkeeper, was a true hero that managed to do
several nearly impossible saves throughout the match, something you don't see that often. If I'd had to recommend a game for you guys to watch, that would be it. Or you can go with the one below, for the lolz.
Brazil vs. Paraguay on another quarter final had a similar story - only more boring and with no goals. Playing some miserable football, the Brazilian team tried to put pressure on the Paraguayan defense for the whole match but failed to score every time, with some laughable attempts. The white/red side had a somewhat good defensive game, and not much more. The worst was about the come, though: on the penalty kicks, the yellow side managed to not score any goals, with only one shoot going in the right direction! Paraguay made two goals, and went through to the semis.
I guess we (Brazil) will have to realize sooner or later that we're not that good anymore (for some time now). The good players are getting old/retiring, and with one or two exceptions, our new generation is ok at best.
Venezuela won against Chile, in an awful match. Peru won against Colombia, in a goddawful match!
My bets are on Uruguay now.
Edit: Oh, I nearly forgot! Messi made a couple of good games with his national team!
