Copa America is basically just a South American cup. This is something we've been hoping would change for years as it doesn't make any sense and should cover both continents.
The one you saw was the Gold Cup which covers North and Central America.
Maybe one day Copa America will actually be that, but for now we take what we can get.
Mexico was invited to the cup as a guest. That's why they're playing. Same as Japan. I think the team is probably essentially the same. There might be some slight line-up changes.
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That was a surprising first half, by the way. Bolivia is showing a lot of heart out there and I actually have hope in my heart that this is not necessarily impossible.
You can see the desperation very clearly in the Argentinean team and it's never healthy to want it that badly. Messi visibly lost his cool.... That was not good. And when Cambiasso actually got involved in the fight, I thought - uh oh.
It's not inconceivable that they keep this level of defense and lead to a 0 - 0 score. That's fine by me. Argentina is going to have to rethink their entire strategy, assuming they had one to begin with because it doesn't look like they did. It looks like they just went: Fuck these little pygmies, we'll go out there and mop the floor with them and that's it.
The leading advantage of the Bolivian team (because, when the chips are down, it is not a great team) is their relative anonymity. No one knows who these fucking people are out there... And there isn't enough for players to "study."
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ETA - Wow. We really made Argentina work for that tie. And the last 10 minutes were real nailbiters. I didn't believe, going in, that I could actually be put on the edge of my seat like this.
Quinteros has proven to be one hell of a coach. This was amazing.
I want Bolivia to play with this sort of passion when we take Costa Rica next week.
Okay... To the bar. I'm buying.
Edited by Erix - 7/1/11 at 7:52pm
