- Players and coaches criticized the state of the fields in the American stadiums, as well as the high wind chill that caused one of the tournament’s referees to faint | Photo: EFE
The 48th edition of the Copa America in the United States ends as one of the most notable versions in its history, which dates back to July 2, 2016.
The group stage and the knockout matches left their mark and anti-mark, the rebirth of the Colombian James Rodríguez, as well as the most outstanding performance of the Venezuelan team in a group stage in which they collected 9 points out of 9 possible.
Argentina has completed 30 Copa América finals and, on the other hand, the poor level of Jamaica, Bolivia and Paraguay was exposed, as well as the poor condition of the pitches.
Highlights
The Copa America with the highest attendance in history
More than one and a half million spectators watched the 32 matches of the tournament. A figure that might fill capital cities such as Montevideo or Quito, triple the number of inhabitants of Asunción and equal the population of the Spanish city of Valencia.
An all-time record since July 1, the twelfth day of competition, when the number of spectators reached one million with the two matches played in the closing stages of Group C.
Marks for the most appearances
Lionel Messi will play in his fifth Copa América final (2007, 2015, 2016, 2021 and 2024) and has played 38 games in his seventh appearance, an unparalleled record.
Chilean Claudio Bravo set another record: at 41 years of age, the goalkeeper surpassed his Argentine colleague, naturalized Bolivian Carlos Trucco, as the oldest player to play in the tournament.
And for those who are just starting out…
Since Ecuador’s debut with Venezuela, Kendry Páez has become the youngest player to compete in the Copa América in the 21st century, and with his goal on June 26, he reached the record as the youngest scorer of the tournament in the 21st century by scoring the first penalty at just 17 years and 53 days old.
Páez surpassed Paraguayan striker Julio Enciso, who made his debut in the 2021 Copa América played in Brazil at 17 years and 143 days.
Endrick, who will join Real Madrid in July, became the second youngest Brazilian to play in the Copa América.
He surpassed Pelé, and at 17 years and 339 days he was behind Agostinho, who debuted in the 1919 tournament at 17 years and 251 days.
The rebirth of James Rodriguez
Of the 12 goals scored by Colombia until the semi-finals, the number 10 gave six assists and scored one goal.
He also reached the mark of his compatriot Carlos Valderrama, who gave at least one assist in three editions of the Copa América.
Until then, Messi had made five assists in the 2021 Copa América, which Argentina won once morest Brazil.
Female refereeing team for the first time in history
On July 1, Brazilians Edina Alves and Neuza Back, and Colombian Mary Blanco became the first female referees to officiate a Copa América match.
It happened in the match between Bolivia and Panama, in Orlando.
The critics
The state of the courts and the heat
Players and coaches have criticised the state of the pitches in American stadiums, which in some cases received natural grass three days before the scheduled match.
Bielsa lashed out harshly at Conmebol and accused it of telling lies regarding the state of the playing and training fields.
But it wasn’t just the courts that caused problems.
Before the end of the first half of the match between Peru and Canada, with a temperature of 40 degrees, the second assistant referee, Guatemalan Humberto Panjoj, fainted.
Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau rushed to assist him and following being treated by the medical team at the stadium, Panjoj was taken on a stretcher to a medical centre.
Unprecedented punishments for coaches
During the first phase of the tournament, coaches Marcelo Bielsa, Lionel Scaloni, Ricardo Gareca and Fernando Batista were suspended for one match for “late entry onto the pitch”.
The decision sparked strong criticism from the coaches themselves, who argued that they had to travel long distances between the field and the locker room.
Bielsa furious with security services and Conmebol following Charlotte brawl
Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa has lashed out at the security services at Charlotte Stadium for failing to implement the protocols for protecting the families of the players and said that the organisation should “apologise” for what happened instead of looking for someone to blame among the Uruguayan players.
Bielsa lost his cool when commenting on the brawl that followed the second semi-final of the Copa America on Wednesday, lost by Uruguay once morest Colombia, when several Uruguayan players, including Darwin Núñez, José María Giménez and Ronald Araújo, jumped into the stands and fought with some Colombian fans.
“They don’t realise that those young men (the Uruguayan players) would have been condemned by us if they hadn’t done that. How can you not defend your baby, your sister, your wife? What punishment are they talking regarding? What we have to say is how long will it take them to apologize,” he said.
Conmebol announced that it has decided to open an investigation “to determine the sequence of events and the responsibilities of those involved” in the brawl between Uruguayan players and Colombian fans that occurred in the stands of Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte (North Carolina) following the Copa America semi-final.
Bolivia, Paraguay and Jamaica, from bad to worse
The national teams of Bolivia, Paraguay and Jamaica extended their bad footballing form.
Bolivia suffered nine consecutive defeats in its opening matches and completed four editions without adding a single point, which is equivalent to 15 defeats. It conceded ten goals, scored just one and suffered the first thrashing of the Copa América, by Uruguay by 5-0.
Paraguay finished their Group D campaign at the bottom and without a single point. Days later their coach, Argentine Daniel Garnero, was dismissed.
Jamaica, with two losses, zero points and only one goal, was the first team to be eliminated from the Copa América.
With information from EFE
Related news
#Copa #America #highlights #criticisms #48th #edition #tournament
2024-07-15 10:10:43
