Catching up on Copa
Once again, I have to thank my friend for reminding me that I completely forgot about the Copa America. I was following the tournament and catching the occasional highlights package, but no mention on the blog. I think that I have been too caught up in the ‘Carlos Tevez to Man United’ transfer saga and the football cells in my brain have not found the time to think about the Copa America.
The transfer is still unresolved but enough of it now. The Copa is second only to the World Cup in terms of assembling talent and far better in terms of the football on display. Now that I think about it, there was so much to talk about.
Firstly and most importantly, how good are Brazil? Any team which can wallop Argentina 3-0 without bothering to call upon the likes of Kaka, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Adriano, Roberto Carlos, Cicinho, Emerson, Lucio and Juninho has to be frighteningly good. Imagine Brazil sending two squads to the tournament. The two sides could end up meeting in the finals. On top of that, there is a whole bunch of Brazilians who turn out for other nations like Deco for Portugal. Can’t we just get some pretty Indian girls to marry Brazilian footballers? Let’s all pray for Bipasha to marry Cristiano Ronaldo. Twenty years from today, we could have a side in the world cup composed entirely of players with dual citizenships.
What is Juan Roman Riquelme doing playing in Argentina? This guy suffers from being too much of a nice guy. Needs to stay with his sick mother. Surely, one of the big clubs could bring both mother and son to Europe. And pack in some uncles, aunties, cousins and other family as well. That would make them feel at home in Europe. Undoubtedly, there is no one in the world better at orchestrating an attack than Riquelme. He’s also a prolific goal scorer and still young.
Argentina’s inability to win any major tournament reminds me of Brazil’s predicament in the 80’s. Back then, they had a dazzling array of attacking players- Socrates, Zico, Junior, Careca, Falcao and a great coach in Tele Santana but no titles. Argentina on the other hand was winning with a one-man team. Seems, the Argentines used up all their luck in the three Junior World cup wins.
If you an Argentine, there is no fun being a defender. Looks like all the kids in the country want to be like Messi and Tevez. What else can you say when the national team has to depend on two 34 year olds (Ayala and Zanetti) to shore up the defense. Brazil has no such issues. Full –back Daniel Alves, one of the hottest transfer targets in Europe was a mere substitute in what was a second string side.
What would happen if the Copa coincided with the major European leagues? That is the case with the African Nations Cup, and most clubs have to do without their African stars but the football goes on. However, there would be no football in Europe if the South Americans were to be absent.
Two guys who made a good impression in the Copa were huge flops in the premiership. Diego Forlan at Man United and Julio Baptista at Arsenal. Does it have to do with the gloomy British weather or the tough tackling English defenses? Maybe both.
Lastly, I was reminded once again, why I love Football. Long live the South Americans
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The transfer is still unresolved but enough of it now. The Copa is second only to the World Cup in terms of assembling talent and far better in terms of the football on display. Now that I think about it, there was so much to talk about.
Firstly and most importantly, how good are Brazil? Any team which can wallop Argentina 3-0 without bothering to call upon the likes of Kaka, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Adriano, Roberto Carlos, Cicinho, Emerson, Lucio and Juninho has to be frighteningly good. Imagine Brazil sending two squads to the tournament. The two sides could end up meeting in the finals. On top of that, there is a whole bunch of Brazilians who turn out for other nations like Deco for Portugal. Can’t we just get some pretty Indian girls to marry Brazilian footballers? Let’s all pray for Bipasha to marry Cristiano Ronaldo. Twenty years from today, we could have a side in the world cup composed entirely of players with dual citizenships.
What is Juan Roman Riquelme doing playing in Argentina? This guy suffers from being too much of a nice guy. Needs to stay with his sick mother. Surely, one of the big clubs could bring both mother and son to Europe. And pack in some uncles, aunties, cousins and other family as well. That would make them feel at home in Europe. Undoubtedly, there is no one in the world better at orchestrating an attack than Riquelme. He’s also a prolific goal scorer and still young.
Argentina’s inability to win any major tournament reminds me of Brazil’s predicament in the 80’s. Back then, they had a dazzling array of attacking players- Socrates, Zico, Junior, Careca, Falcao and a great coach in Tele Santana but no titles. Argentina on the other hand was winning with a one-man team. Seems, the Argentines used up all their luck in the three Junior World cup wins.
If you an Argentine, there is no fun being a defender. Looks like all the kids in the country want to be like Messi and Tevez. What else can you say when the national team has to depend on two 34 year olds (Ayala and Zanetti) to shore up the defense. Brazil has no such issues. Full –back Daniel Alves, one of the hottest transfer targets in Europe was a mere substitute in what was a second string side.
What would happen if the Copa coincided with the major European leagues? That is the case with the African Nations Cup, and most clubs have to do without their African stars but the football goes on. However, there would be no football in Europe if the South Americans were to be absent.
Two guys who made a good impression in the Copa were huge flops in the premiership. Diego Forlan at Man United and Julio Baptista at Arsenal. Does it have to do with the gloomy British weather or the tough tackling English defenses? Maybe both.
Lastly, I was reminded once again, why I love Football. Long live the South Americans
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