Copa America

History

CONMEBOL Copa América is the primary men’s football competition in CONMEBOL, with national teams from all around the world competing. It is the world’s oldest and longest-running international football competition, as well as the third most popular. CONMEBOL was created on July 9, Argentina’s independence day, by the organizations of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay. The first title was won by Uruguay.

In 2016, the Copa América Centenario tournament was held in the United States to commemorate the tournament’s centennial. Chile won the trophy for the second time in history, defeating Argentina in two consecutive finals.

Format

The competition is divided into 3 groups for 12 national teams, each with four teams. The teams that finish first and second, as well as the four best teams in third place, will advance to the round of 16. The round 16 winners will advance to round 8 or quarterfinals. The knockout stage is a single-elimination competition in which teams compete in one-off matches, with penalty shootouts utilized if a match is still tied after 90 minutes in the quarter-finals and semi-finals and extra time in the final.

Teams

The number of teams has been 12 since the establishment. Foreign teams have also been invited to be part of the competition. Because CONMEBOL is a relatively small number of registered national football federations, countries from other continents are frequently invited to compete to fill the 12 teams required for the current tournament structure. Since 1993, two teams from other confederations have also been invited, mainly from CONCACAF(North America), whose members are geographically and culturally near.

Top Teams

Uruguay and Argentina have dominated most of the championship with 15 and 14 titles, respectively. Brazil is at a close tail to gain the top spot with 9 titles.

Peru and Paraguay are also considered as top competitors. Chile won the last two editions in 2015 and 2016.

Championship  Records

• Argentina and Uruguay have won the consecutive championship on 3 instances.

• Uruguay has made 44 Copa appearances which are the highest numbers.

•  Lionel Messi holds the record for the fastest hattrick in 19 mins as a substitute.

• Argentina scored the highest goals in a single match, 12 in 1942.

• Kily González has scored the fasted goal, 68 sec after the kickoff.

The Greats

• This is the greatest platform for Latin American players to show their domination against the other football-playing nations. Copa has given birth to many players and teams.
• Norberto Méndez and Zizinho are the joint top scorers. has scored the most goals in the championship (9)
• Ángel Romano has won the most Copa America(6).
• Sergio Livingstone has 34 appearances in the league, making it a record.
• Argentina has won the most medals; t14 for being champion, 14 for runners-up, and 5 for the 3rd place finish.

Copa Legends

• For the first time in eight years, and the first time under the new name of Copa America, defender Hector Chumpitaz, a true icon of the game, led Peru to a historic triumph, their first since 1939. His participation in the triumph was crucial.
• Boca Juniors’ Gabriel Batistuta, then 22 years old, was named to his first tournament roster for the Copa America in Chile in 1991. Claudio Caniggia’s teammate in the first game was Batistuta, according to coach Alfio Basile. He led Argentina to victory and was the tournament’s best scorer with six goals.
• Rivaldo practically controlled the show in the 1999 tournament, with Emerson providing a solid foundation and Ronaldo, or the goal, as the target of his ingenuity. He was an important component of the team’s success, finishing the tournament as joint top scorer with Ronaldo.
• Lionel Messi is one of the legends who is yet to win Copa America. Still, he will go down in history as one of the greatest goal players of all time. He also led the country to two consecutive trophy finals, the Copa in 2015&2016, but unfortunately couldn’t convert it into a win. Nevertheless, his impact is immense on Copa history.
• According to legend, Francescoli was so good that he encouraged Zinedine Zidane to forgo a lucrative career in France’s top flight to pursue a career in football. Francescoli stood shoulders above the other members of Uruguay’s 1980s and 1990s national teams. He led Uruguay to a victory over Brazil at home.

Top Rivalries

Brazil vs. Argentina

Argentina and Brazil are two of the most storied football teams in the world, not only in South America. They have won seven World Cups and 22 Copa Americas between them. The rivalry was fueled by big personalities and a debate over who was the best player between Maradona and Pele. Argentina leads the Copa America standings with 14 championships.

Chile vs. Peru

Like many other international and domestic rivalries, the Pacific Clasico has roots in something other than football. There is also considerable disagreement on issues that aren’t quite as serious as a military confrontation. On the football field, their rivalry is fierce, and with two Copas each, they tend to have the upper hand.

Copa 2016

It was held in Brazil between June 14 and July 7, 2019, at six different locations across the country. Chile began the tournament as the two-time defending champion. However, they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Peru, forcing them to play Argentina for third place, which they also lost. Brazil won their seventh World Cup title after defeating Peru 3–1 in the final. Argentina finished third after defeating Chile 2–1. 2021 is going to hold the next edition in the controlled situation after the events of a pandemic.