On Sunday afternoon, the first match in Buenos Aires of the 2011 Copa América is played. It's the tournament final, and the lineup for it illustrates perfectly how iconoclastic this edition of the tournament has proven. Uruguay and Paraguay are the unexpected sides battling it out in the Estadio Monumental for the title of champions... Continue Reading →
The semi-finals of the 2011 Copa América are now over, and Uruguay and Paraguay will be the sides competing for the title in the Estadio Monumental on Sunday. In this article for ESPNSoccernet, I take a look back over the semis, and salute the contribution to the tournament given to the two losing semi-finalists, Peru... Continue Reading →
Copa América 2011: Uruguay beat Peru to advance to the final (video)
On Tuesday night, Uruguay and Peru met in the first semi-final of the 2011 Copa América, and Uruguay ran out 2-0 winners thanks to a second half brace from Luis Suárez after some spirited Peruvian resistance in the first half. Juan Vargas was sent off for Peru late on for an elbow on Diego Lugano,... Continue Reading →
Copa América 2011: Brazil’s exit and Venezuela’s best-ever campaign (video)
I never got round to posting the highlight videos from Sunday's quarter-final action, which saw Copa América holders Brazil go out to Paraguay on penalties in La Plata, and Venezuela dump Chile out 2-1 in a thrilling battle between the only two countries in the quarters to have never won the title before. Those videos... Continue Reading →
Copa América 2011: Uruguay dump hosts Argentina out, Peru get past Colombia (video)
The 2011 Copa América knockout stage started heating up on Saturday with Peru's 2-0 extra time win over Colombia through two superbly taken goals, and got white hot a little later in the day with a brilliant match between great rivals Argentina and Uruguay, which finished in a 1-1 draw, and which Uruguay - sixty-one... Continue Reading →
The quarter-finals of the 2011 Copa América begin on Saturday afternoon, and in my latest piece for ESPNSoccernet I take a look at the final round of matches in the group stage, during which a previously slow-burning (if interesting) competition really sprang into life. Sergio Markarián's outburst, the awful state of the La Plata pitch,... Continue Reading →
Copa América 2011: one-third of the group stage goals come in last two matches (video)
Having had twenty-five goals in the first sixteen matches of the group stage of the Copa América Argentina 2011, we were treated on Wednesday to a much more impressive twelve in two games as Group B closed. Venezuela went into stoppage time trailing 1-3 to Paraguay (having led 1-0), and scored twice in the dying... Continue Reading →
Copa América 2011: Chile win Group C, Uruguay set up a derby v Argentina in quarters (video)
The Copa América 2011 continued on Tuesday night with Group C's concluding matches, which first saw Chile secure top spot in the group with a stoppage time winner against Peru to take the game 1-0, and then saw Uruguay beat Mexico by the same scoreline in La Plata, to confirm second place and set up... Continue Reading →
Argentina beat Costa Rica 3-0 last night, becoming the first side to score more than two goals in a game in this tournament, and qualifying for the quarter-finals by finishing second in Group A. After the game, Lionel Messi announced that, 'a new Copa has begun.' In this piece for In Bed With Maradona, I... Continue Reading →
Copa América 2011: Messi claims, ‘another Copa has started’ as Argentina go through (video)
Colombia beat Bolivia 2-0 on Sunday to finish top of Group A in the Copa América Argentina 2011, and were joined in the quarter-finals on Tuesday night by the hosts, who finally played well and won a match in this tournament, breezing past Costa Rica 3-0. Early nerves were clear but once Sergio Agüero put... Continue Reading →
Hasta El Gol Siempre 