Copa America 2015

[ArmchairDiehard]

I'm aware that we're still months away, but this is one of my favourite international tournaments.

I'll always remember staying up late when I was a kid and watching the games on TV before going to school tired and groggy the next morning.

Anyway, really looking forward to this years' tournament - got a feeling that Brazil will put right what happened last year in the World Cup.

 

[Destruction]

Used to enjoy this in the past, when does it start?

Have Sky bought the rights to it or not?

 

[Libertadores FC]

Group Predictions

Group A

Chile
Ecuador
Mexico
Bolivia

Group B

Argentina
Uruguay
Paraguay
Jamaica

Group C

Colombia
Brazil
Peru
Venezuela

Obviously I bolded the teams I think would go through. Despite our group being difficult, I still believe we can go through. I'm not too worried about Brazil as I am about Colombia, and Venezuela seems to be getting worse so I think we'll beat them.

 

[Redas32]

I´ll support Peru

 

[Libertadores FC]

I'll give my opinions on each and every time after I finish watching this Juve - Empoli game.

 

[mistermagic]

Time's up.

 

[Redas32]

http://www.ca2015.com/en/team/PER/Peru

First match against Brazil :-o

 

[Libertadores FC]

They made us play in Temuco twice. Draw is definitely rigged.

 

[ArmchairDiehard]

Have they still not announced the TV rights for the UK yet?

 

[Libertadores FC]

Chile: They may be at home, but I don't fancy them as favourites. In the qualifiers, they struggled at home against the bigger sides like Colombia, and Argentina and in the previous qualifiers they lost to Brazil at home. They played well against the bigger sides at the World Cup but I personally can't see them winning this. I also don't highly rate their squad. Sanchez is obviously a great player however who else stands out? I don't highly rate Bravo or Vargas. Vargas is a player who's better for country than club but club form does matter because of the morale. I can see Vargas can turn into a good player for club one day, but at the moment I don't think he's that. Also, Chile's defence is a disaster. Bolivia's strikers from what I've seen are good finishers and can capitalize on defensive errors well. Chile have the easiest group, and I think they'll walk it but if they ever have to play Argentina, Brazil or Colombia they'll lose.

Ecuador: Despite them going out first round, they weren't terrible at the World Cup. I think Ecuador put in a good performance against France but missed a very important thing and that was finishing. I expect Enner Valencia to shine again for Ecuador here. A few other players who could be important for them are Juan Carlos Paredes and Jefferson Montero. It would be nice to see Miller Bolanos be called up as he's been good for Emelec in the Sudamericana. Haven't seen Emelec in Libertadores yet though. I haven't seen Guerron but from what I hear he's been putting good performances for Tigres so he could be called up. They have some depth despite many thinking they don't have a good squad, they do have a good squad in my opinion. I think they will place second losing to Chile but beating Mexico and Bolivia.

Mexico: I honestly do not know a fair lot about them. They are sending a B team from what I'm hearing so I can't really comment on them. Them to place 3rd with 1 point drawing with Bolivia.

Bolivia: Don't know the most about them but if Saucedo and Martins are gonna be the 2 strikers, they will be able to score any chance they get as they are clinical strikers when I've seen them. With Chile's defence being terrible, I can see them giving Chile some trouble. Other than that, they'll probably draw Mexico and lose to Ecuador and end the group with 1 point. Don't know a fair lot about them. I'm not too sure if they can get Juanmi Callejon to play for them before this but if they do, they might be better than I expected as he's a class player for South American club level.

Argentina: The World Cup finalists didn't look at their full potential during the cup. They had poor finishing but great defence. Aguero and Higuain will be the obvious striker choice here however Aguero has never performed for Argentina and Higuain looked inconsistent at the last World Cup. Would be nice to see Dybala being given a chance but I doubt it though. If Messi can continue his current form at Barcelona, then Argentina will likely win this competition as he's unstoppable at the current moment. Mascherano should be playing in midfield as he showed at the World Cup that's where he performs best. I can also see Martino getting the best out of Di Maria. Argentina are one of my 2 favourites to win the Copa America this year. I doubt they'll walk their group though. They'll beat Jamaica with ease but Paraguay and Uruguay aren't easy opponents. Both hard working and they don't fear anyone.

Uruguay: They've proven to be a one man team at the World Cup and without Suarez who happens to be that man, they will have some trouble. Its time for them to rebuild though and here's a good chance to do that. They need to call up some new players like De Arrascaeta and Rolan (Rolan has already been called up though) who deserve a chance to play for their country. Lodeiro while he's always been around, he's been in good form and should also be called up as I believe he can finally start doing well for the national team. Uruguay to me in the last 2 years have been mostly about Suarez, Cavani and Godin to me. I don't rate Muslera and the whole team seems to under-perform without Suarez. They'll beat Argentina and Jamaica, then have a thrilling draw against Paraguay.

Paraguay: Perfect chance for them to rebuild. They have improved at club level massively, with 2 Paraguayan teams in the Copa Libertadores finals 2 years in a row. They also have good young talent like Derlis Gonzales and Tony Sanabria. Can they live up to it though? A good start will be here and I can see them going through best third place. They'll lose to Argentina, beat Jamaica, and draw with Paraguay. Surely they'll want revenge after losing 3-0 in the last Copa America final. I doubt it will happen though. I'm not sure if Rogue Santa Cruz or Oscar Cardozo will be here this time around, but the main point for them is to rebuild as they were a disaster in the last qualifying campaign

Jamaica: Don't know about them at all.

Brazil: I don't rate Dunga as a manager and despite all the good results, I think they'll blow it when it really matters again. They'll definitely go through their group and to the semi-finals but I think they'll lose there. What I like about Dunga though compared to Scolari is he isn't stubborn and is actually trying out new players which is something Scolari didn't do. Neymar obviously needs to be called up, Felipe Anderson who is in unstoppable form for Lazio should be called up however he will have to be a sub because he is in the same position as Neymar and Neymar is the superior player. I don't know a whole lot about Brazilian football, but I do believe Dunga is making all the right decisions. We will need to see how Brazil do when it really matters. I predict they will lose to Colombia, but win the other 2 games comfortably.

Colombia: With Pekerman still at Colombia, these are my second favourites to win it. Colombia were outstanding at the World Cup and its been proven that James is actually their best player and not Falcao. James has been in great form for Real Madrid this season and he was great for Colombia prior to the World Cup. Cuadrado while not the best for Chelsea, has been key for Colombia and while I said earlier morale is important in regards to Eduardo Vargas, Chelsea is about to win the league which will definitely keep his morale high. With Yepes now not on the National Team (or so I believe) Balanta should be given a chance despite Riverplate being poor. Colombia doesn't have the most depth when it comes to defence. Colombia will win all their games in the group.

Peru: This is the perfect chance for us to rebuild. With 2 Copa America's already, I think the important thing will be to rebuild for the qualifiers as reaching the World Cup is more important to us than winning Copa America. Guerrero looks likely to be out for this tournament so we're left without a striker. Ruidiaz isn't good enough for the national team and Avila hasn't been playing in striker this season. We seriously need to rebuild here as its our only chance to prepare for Russia 2018. I think we can go through second best third place . I expect us to beat Venezuela, but lose to Brazil, and Colombia. I hope we give the young players a chance. We didn't do so in the first half at home against Paraguay, away to Paraguay and to Venezuela which we were losing in all 3 (I say "were" because we won 2-1 at home to Paraguay but was 1-0 down until we put our young players on)

Venezuela: I thought they were going to become terrible but when we played Venezuela, while we were poor, I thought "this is a good squad" and I believe they will put up a fight but lose all 3 games just like Australia did at the World Cup. I don't know a whole lot about Venezuela however, and that's all I can say on the matter.

 

[mistermagic]

Rolan has had a good season at Bordeaux. He's their top scorer for 11 games. Uruguay just looked very hard to break down at the World Cup with Suarez providing the magic upfront. Let's see how they do with Cavani up top (if he is displayed there).

Argentina were indeed very defensive at the World Cup but it worked. It would be nice to see more attacking intent this time around.

France played Brazil in a friendly 2 months ago and they were good. As you said, Dunga gave chances to unfancied players like Hoffenheim's Roberto Firmino. I still don't believe he's the man to take Brazil forward as he failed in 2010 at the quarter-final stage but I don't think Brazil will be humiliated under him. I kinda want them to do well after the German blitz.

Looking forward to watching Colombia again who I enjoyed watching at the World Cup. Didn't think about it until now but them playing with Falcao may not be so threatening than before his injury. Surely they're strong contenders after Brazil and Argentina.

Finally, I think you're setting high standards for your country, Liber. I very much doubt Peru will qualify for Russia or be anywhere near it.

 

[Libertadores FC]

Argentina looked like they could lose in the earlier stages. After Fede Fernandez came off, they looked solid despite the frontline was underperforming at the World Cup. It will be interesting to see how Tata Martino changes the team to play differently than Sabella did. Sabella showed bias towards his former Estudiantes players, doubt Martino will do the same but I think he'll succeed.

Agree about Dunga. He's making the right choices but as I said he'll blow it when it really matters.

 

[ArmchairDiehard]

Has anyone heard who (if any) will be showing it over here?

I'd hope that someone picks up all the live games.

 

[Dazza]

I know Sky have shown it in the past.Hopefully they will this one but haven't seen it confirmed anywhere.

 

[Libertadores FC]

Some of the preliminary squads have been announced. I have to say I'm very disappointed with Argentina's squad. I don't know how Martino will handle the defence because Sabella did really well in the latter stages of the World Cup, but in terms of quality the defenders aren't very good. Not impressed with the midfield either. If the forwards actually perform though unlike in the World Cup, they will be able to win it for sure.

Uruguay is making the right choices without Suarez. Hopefully De Arrascaeta gets into the full squad as does Rolan as I'm interested in seeing what they'll do here. It will be interesting to see how they'll handle not having Suarez.

Peru finally calls up most of their key players. Farfan after a long injury is finally back in the squad. Yordy Reyna and Carillo are also there which is good as is Zambrano. I think we can be competitive but as I said I don't know if we can make it through our group. We'll have to do it through best or second best third place as I very much doubt we'll beat Colombia and Brazil.

Chile's squad looks solid. They're really going for it. Not a surprise seeing as they'll want to lift it on home soil. I think they'll do well. I doubt they actually have enough quality to beat Argentina, Brazil or Colombia though.

Lastly, I'm also not impressed with Brazil. They have a bit more of a balanced squad than Argentina but it could be much better.

 

[Libertadores FC]

Also, saw an article on Fox Sports about them being surprised that Chicharito didn't get called up. Mexico were always going to send a B team so why the fuck are they surprised!?

 

[Libertadores FC]

I also don't know how to feel about Tevez being in the Argentina squad. He's a really disruptive player but I don't hear much of it at Juve so maybe he's improved?

 

[Libertadores FC]

Here are the squads.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Copa_América_squads

 

[ArmchairDiehard]

Apparently Premier Sports have got the rights to it in the UK.

Slightly disappointed as I don't have that channel but I've heard it's also going to be available on Xbox Live.

 

[Dazza]

Thats a bit shit if true.I am not going to pay for Premier Sports.Pay enough as it is for Sky Sports.

 

[Super_horns]

Thats a bit shit if true.I am not going to pay for Premier Sports.Pay enough as it is for Sky Sports.

Seems so which is a shame..

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1976445&page=2

 

[Super_horns]

Thats a bit shit if true.I am not going to pay for Premier Sports.Pay enough as it is for Sky Sports.

Seems so which is a shame..

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1976445&page=2

 

[mistermagic]

Also, saw an article on Fox Sports about them being surprised that Chicharito didn't get called up. Mexico were always going to send a B team so why the fuck are they surprised!?

Why would Mexico send a B squad to the Copa America? It's like their biggest tournament after the World Cup. It's not like it's the Olympics!

 

[mistermagic]

Also, saw an article on Fox Sports about them being surprised that Chicharito didn't get called up. Mexico were always going to send a B team so why the fuck are they surprised!?

Why would Mexico send a B squad to the Copa America? It's like their biggest tournament after the World Cup. It's not like it's the Olympics!

 

[mistermagic]

Also, saw an article on Fox Sports about them being surprised that Chicharito didn't get called up. Mexico were always going to send a B team so why the fuck are they surprised!?

Why would Mexico send a B squad to the Copa America? It's like their biggest tournament after the World Cup. It's not like it's the Olympics!

 

[mistermagic]

Also, saw an article on Fox Sports about them being surprised that Chicharito didn't get called up. Mexico were always going to send a B team so why the fuck are they surprised!?

Why would Mexico send a B squad to the Copa America? It's like their biggest tournament after the World Cup. It's not like it's the Olympics!

 

[Libertadores FC]

Fucking hell the forum's technical problems fucked up your post Mistermagic

They send their B team because they want the Gold Cup instead. That's why I believe so anyways. Mexico don't have the quality to win Copa America in my opinion.

 

[Super_horns]

Well they won the Olympics of course!

Is Miquel Layun playing?

 

[Libertadores FC]

Almost there. Really looking forward to it despite the fact that our chances of going out first round is extremely likely.

Really hoping we can get one over Brazil. It probably won't happen but we haven't beat them since I believe 1975. It would be nice to finally get one over them as well as important because it may get us out of the group.

Our best chances of progressing is to beat Venezuela. If we lose to them, we're not getting out of the group. Our best hopes to get past this group is to finish best or second best third placed. Either way we won't make it any farther than the quarters should that happen.

 

[thespus]

Argentina should really be winning this; what a squad that is. How would you pick the XI?

Romero
Zabaleta - Otamendi - Garay - Rojo
Mascherano - Biglia
Messi - Tevez - Di Maria
Aguero