This was not a vintage Copa America, and while Argentina may have edged ahead of Uruguay into first place with 16 wins in the tournament, this was not a team that will be remembered decades from now. Some may recall Lionel Messi’s tears as he limped off, and fewer still might summon up Lautaro Martinez’s sublime strike to win the trophy, but on the whole, these three and a half weeks in the USA left precious few footprints in the sand.
Argentina beat Canada twice, saw off weak challenges from Chile and Peru, and struggled almightily against Ecuador. Colombia dominated possession in the final, and might have won had they shown a little more composure in the final third. Luis Diaz works like a Trojan, but this was a forward line that lacked a cutting edge. Many Colombian fans in the stands might have thought wistfully of the likes of Radamel Falcao, Faustino Asprilla and Adolfo ‘The Train’ Valencia as James Rodriguez’s guile and passing ability in midfield were not matched by the quality of the finishing.
Argentina have had their own problems with strikers over the past decade. Despite him scoring 31 goals in 75 appearances, millions of fans still bemoan Gonzalo Higuain’s finishing in the 2014 World Cup final, and wonder what might have been had Gabriel Batistuta or Hernan Crespo been on the end of those chances.
Martinez himself has often struggled in the Argentina shirt. This tournament, in that sense, was a watershed for him, as he showed he could be the heir to a goal-scoring tradition that dates back to Luis Artime and Leopoldo Luque. Julian Alvarez should be a more complete player by the next World Cup, and Alejandro Garnacho has only just turned 20. Compared to other South American sides, Argentina’s striking larder appears better stocked.
Though so much of the focus was on Messi and the retiring Angel Di Maria – who had a fine game and ran himself into the ground – the heartbeat of this team was in midfield where Rodrigo De Paul never flagged. Having learned the tricks of the trade at unfashionable Udinese in Serie A, De Paul has spent the last three seasons with Atletico Madrid. His manager there is Diego Simeone, one of the world’s most combative defensive midfielders in his day. De Paul runs like a Duracell bunny and never shirks a challenge. His energy and ability to break up play were crucial as the game opened up in extra time.
The sentimental one may hope for Messi to extend his career till the USA, along with Mexico and Canada, hosts the World Cup in two years’ time. But what this tournament showed was how difficult it is for him to recapture that physical intensity while playing in a vastly inferior league. La Liga, where he spent most of his career, is a step above international football in terms of its standards and the physical demands on players. Major League Soccer (MLS) is at least two rungs down from it. To expect a 39 year old Messi to turn up on the biggest stage with such poor preparation is a bit like asking for the moon.
Finally, the scenes at the end of the Uruguay-Colombia semi-final in Charlotte, and before kick-off in the final in Miami raised serious questions about the USA’s preparedness to host such a big event. How dozens of so-called fans were allowed to climb up into air-conditioning ducts and the like without anyone stopping them defied belief. The testimony from Alexis Mac Allister’s mother, about how even players’ families couldn’t enter the venue safely, was just plain scary. The demographic that will watch the World Cup in 2026 is going to be vastly different from that seen at NFL matches. Unless the security is ramped up to reflect that, tears will be shed.
For now, though, there are only tears of joy for Messi and Argentina. Easy on the eye on their way to the World Cup in Qatar, they barely passed muster here. But in a poor field where only Colombia could go home content, their average displays were good enough. That in itself should leave South American football with plenty of soul-searching.
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— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) July 15, 2024
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