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Copa America
Growing up in Germany, you could rely on the natural order of things coming to a standstill for two events: the FIFA World Cup, and to a lesser extent the European Cup two years later. For people who have been living in a cave or are ignorant of any sports lingo outside of American football or baseball, I am referring to the real football, or soccer, of course.
Here in Latin America, countries wait an entire year after the World Cup until it is time for the Copa America, the single largest event after the World Cup and Carnival here to gobble up millions of man work hours while producing more drunks than an Irish Pub handing out free beer for the evening.
Europe, of course, likes to consider itself the non plus ultra of all things football-related. Considering that the greatest football powerhouses are firmly entrenched in Europe – Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC and Inter, Bayern – you can make a case that Latin America has decades to go before it can hope to achieve the success of their cousins across the pond. Although progress has been made, it is hard to imagine Europe without South America's finest players, the Messis and the Kakas of this world.
As any football fan around the globe can confirm, the national teams are an entirely different matter.
Brazil is the undisputed king of World Cups with five titles, with Argentina and Uruguay adding two each. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa saw every participating national team from South America advancing past the group stage, while European powerhouses like Italy or France went belly up early, thus making way for the new guard from South America.
Remarkably, the titans of South American football, really Brazil and Argentina, have split 21 Copa America titles between them, with at least as many runners-up finishes.
And just when you think there would be a change within the balance of power in football, you are correct: only that doesn't just apply to Europe.
The last four teams surviving in the Copa America are Uruguay, Peru, Venezuela, and Paraguay.
Now read that again.
Right. Where are Brazil and Argentina? Plane crash? Boycott? Did they lose their way to the stadium? That almost sounds like Thanksgiving without the turkey or the Vatican without a pope.
It's actually much simpler than that: Argentina (the host, no less) was knocked out by its little neighbor from Uruguay while Brazil was knocked out by Paraguay, each of them in the quarterfinals.
Good news for the upstarts in South American football (except Bolivia, of course), bad news for television ratings.
Predictably enough, Bolivia was reduced once again to bottom feeder following one goal, one point, and two red cards in three games.
The motto for Bolivia remains unchanged: esperamos hasta el ano proximo. Wait until next year.
Or next decade.
Here in Latin America, countries wait an entire year after the World Cup until it is time for the Copa America, the single largest event after the World Cup and Carnival here to gobble up millions of man work hours while producing more drunks than an Irish Pub handing out free beer for the evening.
Europe, of course, likes to consider itself the non plus ultra of all things football-related. Considering that the greatest football powerhouses are firmly entrenched in Europe – Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC and Inter, Bayern – you can make a case that Latin America has decades to go before it can hope to achieve the success of their cousins across the pond. Although progress has been made, it is hard to imagine Europe without South America's finest players, the Messis and the Kakas of this world.
As any football fan around the globe can confirm, the national teams are an entirely different matter.
Brazil is the undisputed king of World Cups with five titles, with Argentina and Uruguay adding two each. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa saw every participating national team from South America advancing past the group stage, while European powerhouses like Italy or France went belly up early, thus making way for the new guard from South America.
Remarkably, the titans of South American football, really Brazil and Argentina, have split 21 Copa America titles between them, with at least as many runners-up finishes.
And just when you think there would be a change within the balance of power in football, you are correct: only that doesn't just apply to Europe.
The last four teams surviving in the Copa America are Uruguay, Peru, Venezuela, and Paraguay.
Now read that again.
Right. Where are Brazil and Argentina? Plane crash? Boycott? Did they lose their way to the stadium? That almost sounds like Thanksgiving without the turkey or the Vatican without a pope.
It's actually much simpler than that: Argentina (the host, no less) was knocked out by its little neighbor from Uruguay while Brazil was knocked out by Paraguay, each of them in the quarterfinals.
Good news for the upstarts in South American football (except Bolivia, of course), bad news for television ratings.
Predictably enough, Bolivia was reduced once again to bottom feeder following one goal, one point, and two red cards in three games.
The motto for Bolivia remains unchanged: esperamos hasta el ano proximo. Wait until next year.
Or next decade.
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