Copa America 2011

1

All games in this are live on ESPN. Argentina is only 3 hours ahead so kick-off times aren’t too bad.

Brazil named their squad last night, midfield doesn’t look great:

GK Júlio César September 3, 1979 (1979-09-03) (age 31) 57 0 Internazionale
GK Victor January 21, 1983 (1983-01-21) (age 28) 5 0 Grêmio

DF Daniel Alves May 6, 1983 (1983-05-06) (age 28) 48 5 Barcelona
DF Lúcio May 8, 1978 (1978-05-08) (age 33) 101 4 Internazionale
DF Thiago Silva September 22, 1984 (1984-09-22) (age 26) 15 0 Milan
DF André Santos March 8, 1983 (1983-03-08) (age 28) 17 0 Fenerbahçe
DF Maicon July 26, 1981 (1981-07-26) (age 29) 64 6 Internazionale
DF David Luiz April 22, 1987 (1987-04-22) (age 24) 6 0 Chelsea
DF Adriano October 26, 1984 (1984-10-26) (age 26) 11 0 Barcelona
DF Luisão February 13, 1981 (1981-02-13) (age 30) 43 3 Benfica

MF Lucas Leiva January 9, 1987 (1987-01-09) (age 24) 12 0 Liverpool
MF Ramires March 24, 1987 (1987-03-24) (age 24) 23 2 Chelsea
MF Elano June 14, 1981 (1981-06-14) (age 29) 48 9 Santos
MF Sandro March 15, 1989 (1989-03-15) (age 22) 6 0 Tottenham Hotspur
MF Elias May 16, 1985 (1985-05-16) (age 26) 7 0 Atlético Madrid
MF Jádson October 22, 1983 (1983-10-22) (age 27) 4 0 Shakhtar Donetsk
MF Ganso October 12, 1989 (1989-10-12) (age 21) 2 0 Santos
MF Lucas August 13, 1992 (1992-08-13) (age 18) 4 0 São Paulo

FW Robinho January 25, 1984 (1984-01-25) (age 27) 86 25 Milan
FW Fred October 3, 1983 (1983-10-03) (age 27) 11 5 Fluminense
FW Neymar February 5, 1992 (1992-02-05) (age 19) 5 3 Santos
FW Alexandre Pato September 2, 1989 (1989-09-02) (age 21) 13 4 Milan

2

Anderson not included is a bit of a suprise. Had a decent enough last few months. Glad Brazil didnt take the De Silvas. They seem to be made of glass as they rarely get through 90 minutes of any match.

Mexico playing in the Gold Cup and the Copa Amercia means that Chicharito will have no summer break.

3

They’re pretty weak up front too now that I think about it. What happened to Luis Fabiano?

Almost the converse of the stereotype of a Brazilian squad. Júlio César is a fine goalkeeper and their defence is theoretically as good as anyone else’s.

4

Few very surprising omissions there.

I’ve never rated Fred, looked like a complete diddy when he was with Lyon. I watched the friendly against Scotland a couple of months ago and they gave a debut to Leandro Damiao(sp?), who looked very impressive - I believe Spurs are chasing him now as well. Very surprised not to see him in the squad.

Shocked also to see that Hulk has failed to make the squad as the attack is vastly lacking a physical presence. Marcelo and Michel Bastos have also been left out - which I find surprising too as I’d deem them to be a higher standard than either the two left backs named.

Brazil managers always seem to have a blind spot to certain players so it’s nothing new that some quality players have been left out for some very questionable ones. Players like Kleberson, Julio Baptista, Vampeta etc. have forged long careers despite being very ordinary.

Still the stronest squad in the competition and I’d expect them to win it.

5

Forgot about Hulk. There’s no justification for leaving him out on merits grounds.

Chile have a decent team now and the likes of Vidal (Rocko’s Bundesliga one to watch 2011/12) and the rest of that successful underage team are now a year on from the World Cup.

6

Hulk has been left out? That’s incredible.

7

:smiley:

the brazilian coach said he was still a bit green to play in the copa

im sure someone will have a Banner saying dont make him angry, you wouldnt like when hes angry

8

Argentina lost two away friendlies last week. 4-1 in Nigeria and 2-1 in Poland. Things haven’t been going brilliantly lately. Carlos Tevez was named in the provisional squad of 26 despite having been frozen out since the start of the year. A bit of a u-turn by Sergio Batista there.

9

I don’t think there’s a thread for this yet. It’s commencing next Friday night with hosts Argentina v Bolivia in La Plata.

Groups are as follows:

A
Argentina, Bolivia, Columbia, Costa Rica

B
Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela, Ecuador

C
Chile, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay

The two best third teams make the quarter finals along with the top two in each group:

Winner A v Best 3rd place team
Second A v Second C
Winner B v Second best 3rd place team
Winner C v Second B

26 group games in total followed by the knock-out stages so it’s something to watch while we count down the days to The Dublin Super Cup.

Most of the teams are playing their final friendly games this weekend and Argentina announced their 23-man squad earlier:

Goalkeepers
Sergio Romero, Juan Pablo Carrizo, Mariano Andujar.

Defenders
Gabriel Milito, Ezequiel Garay, Nicolás Burdisso, Nicolás Pareja, Javier Zanetti, Pablo Zabaleta, Marcos Rojo.

Midfielders
Javier Mascherano, Lucas Biglia, Ever Banega, Esteban Cambiasso, Javier Pastore, Fernando Gago.

Forwards
Lionel Messi, Angel Di María, Gonzalo Higuaín, Sergio Agüero, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Carlos Tevez, Diego Milito.

10

http://www.thefreekick.com/board/topic/14699-copa-america-2011/

11

I’ve done a little bit of thread merging.

12

Those searching for a late night football fix might be inclined to stay up and watch the Gold Cup Final on Eurosport 2 at 2 am. It’s USA v Mexico.

13

I’m watching this. Not sure how long I’ll give it but the start has been very fast and entertaining. Mexico pinned the US right back and had all the early pressure but US scored from their first real foray forward after 8 minutes - Michael Bradley with a nice glancing header from a corner. Poorly marked though. Dos Santos had a great effort & Hernandez should have done better with two opportunities. Juarez bombing on from right back for Mexico.

14

Mexico have utterly dominated and now find themselves 2-0 down after 20 minutes. :blink:

A terrific goal by Landon Donovan after a brilliant team move involving Adu and then Dempsey at the end.

Hernandez hit the post with a deadly flick at 1-0 and Mexico are having oceans of chances. Mad scoreline. :o

Adu’s 22 now apparently. Been tidy when he’s been on the ball, which has been rare enough.

15

2-1. Pablo Barrera has pulled one back. Half an hour gone. Looking forward to watching Mexico in the Copa America now. They are all out attack!

16

2-2. Guardado with the equaliser. Tim Howard is absolute muck. Mental game this. :clap:

17

Ah lovely. Beautiful strike by Barrera with the outside of his right foot to make it 3-2 after 50 minutes. This has been fantastic. :clap:

18

Dempsey hits the bar from the edge of the box. Finally the US are having a spell of possession.

19

Unbelievable goal by Giovani Dos Santos. Simply sensational. 4-2!

20

An unexpected wonderful game. Magnificent display by Mexico and they win 4-2 to retain their title as champions of North America, Central America and the Caribbean. 93,000 attendance in Pasadena and a huge Mexican contingent there. Well worth checking out the Dos Santos goal online. :clap: