This should be the tournament that soccer fans anticipate with great enthusiasm. The Copa America. The South American championship, now with a couple of guests from up north. Eight of the 15 World Cups have been won by South American teams. Stars from that continent keep increasing their presence and their importance to the European leagues. Even English and German leagues have started signing South Americans. The Copa America, dating back to 1916, is the worldÆs oldest surviving international tournament. Uruguay won five Copa Americas before winning the Olympic gold medal, which led to its hosting, and winning, the first World Cup in 1930. In 1959, Pele led the tournament in scoring, at age 18, but Argentina won the title. At that point, the tournament was staged every two years, but the exodus of stars to Europe made it difficult to organize on a regular basis. There have been gaps as long as seven years. The Libertadores Cup ù the continentÆs club championship launched in the early Æ60s ù was becoming more popular. The preference of the three traditional powers Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay to play lucrative exhibitions games in Europe nearly led to the Copa AmericaÆs demise. Bolivia hosted it in 1963. Brazil and Argentina didnÆt send full-strength teams, and the Bolivians won it. The tournament returns to Bolivia, kicking off June 11, after a rejuvenation of the tournament that began in 1989.
Host countries set through 2011
After a five-year gap following the 1983 tournament, the South American soccer confederation (CONMEBOL), in hopes of bringing stability and balance to the competition, decided on holding the tournament every two years at a new site through a 20-year cycle that would take it to each of its 10 member nations. Ecuador hosted in 1993 and Uruguay in 1995. After Bolivia come Paraguay (1999), Colombia (2001), Peru (2003), Venezuela (2005), Argentina (2007), Brazil (2009) and Chile (2011). But on the eve of its 38th edition, several teams have decided to leave their stars at home. You donÆt see the European Championship ù which, unlike the Copa America, requires a qualifying tournament ù coping with nations unwilling to bring first teams. But then UEFA doesnÆt schedule World Cup qualifying games three days before the tournament, and seven days after it. Eugenio Figuer edo, vice president of CONMEBOL, says that the Copa America schedule was finalized before CONMEBOL turned its qualification format into a two-year marathon, in which each country plays the other twice. Uruguay and Argentina, with 14 titles apiece, are the kings of the Copa America. But both are more concerned with qualifying for France Æ98 ù Uruguay is in dire straits and Argentina is certainly uncomfortable after winning only four of 10 games. TheyÆve announced second-rate rosters. Obviously, making the Copa America a biennial tournament is a problem. The quadrennial European Championship can avoid conflicts with the World Cup. The everybody-plays-everybody South American qualifying format has been a success from a fansÆ point of view. After 10 rounds, the battle for four spots is dramatic. But the format requires teams to play 16 games each, as opposed to 1994 qualifying, when teams played six or eight, depending on which group they were in. Bolivia is the poorest South American nation, with 70 percent of its 7.1 million people living in poverty. Its clubs are notorious for stiffing its players, yet it is investing at least $11 million on last-minute stadium renovations. For the tournament to be a success, it looks to its own team, and the one thing the Copa America will have that the qualifying tournament doesnÆt: Brazil. Coach Mario Zagallo, whose team automatically qualifies for France Æ98 as defending champion, is bringing a full team. The 1995 Copa America was his first major tournament since taking the helm from Carlos Alberto Parreira after the 1994 World Cup. And the Brazilians lost on penalty kicks to Uruguay, which kept a perfect record of winning each of the six times it hosted.
Costa Rica takes U.S. spot
The Copa America was the most important tournament in the coaching career of Steve Sampson, but itÆs no longer part his teamÆs calendar. In 1995, the United States participated in the championship for the second time ù the South Americans began a tradition of inviting two CONCACAF teams in 1993 ù and SampsonÆs team finished fourth. He was, at the time, the interim coach, and U.S. Soccer was courting foreign candidates. But following up the U.S. Cup Æ95 win with a Copa America performance that included wins over Chile, Argentina and Mexico (on penalty kicks) was enough to convince U.S. Soccer officials to give Sampson the job he has now. Yet the United States wonÆt be making a third appearance. Major League Soccer, already plagued by the absence of stars due to World Cup qualifying, could hardly afford to lose its U.S. national team players for most of June. And Sampson surely wouldnÆt take a second-string team. For one, heÆs pledged never to resort to a ôBö team after this yearÆs U.S. Cup embarrassment, which he blamed on a diluted roster. Moreover, when Bora Milutinovic took the U.S. to the 1993 Copa America without all its foreign-based stars except Tab Ramos, it finished last ù even failing to beat Venezuela (3-3). Costa Rica, instead, has joined Mexico (runner-up in 1993) in this yearÆs edition. Costa Rica is relishing the chance to prove itself in this prestigious tournament and sees the tournament as a benefit, not an impediment, to its qualifying chances. Colombian coach Hernan Dario Gomez has the opposite view and says heÆll rest Leonel Alvarez and Carlos Valderrama, who have played in the last five Copa Americas. That Gomez considers Major League Soccer a leisure activity is good news for the Tampa Bay Mutiny. It also means the Copa America will provide a glimpse of the future of Colombia, which has for so long depended on Valderrama, 35, to dictate the teamÆs every move.
by Soccer America
Senior Editor Mike Woitalla
