Just as the Euros were postponed last the year, the Copa America was no different – and it honestly worked out much better. Having already hosted a tournament in 2019, CONMEBOL decided it would be great to have another Copa America one year later (money grab anyone?) – so a two year hiatus from international football in South America is a welcome break. Squeezed right after World Cup qualifiers – which for those that don’t follow South American football too closely are some of the most brutal qualifiers in the world – the Copa America may seem like a reprieve for some nations that may not put too much credence on a tournament that is played whenever CONMEBOL feels like it.
However, it still is a chance for South American nations to flex their muscles and do damage on the big boys on the continent, Argentina and Brazil. The tournament almost didn’t happen this year as joint hosts Colombia and Argentina had their severe issues that made it impossible to host the Copa in either country, let alone jointly. Thus, Brazil gets to host again, and add on a home field advantage in a tournament in which it was already the clear favorite.
With only 10 nations duking it out, Atalanta still has good representation on the continent. At a maximum four Atalatini will be representing their nations – squad lists have not been released yet – with Duvan, Lucho, and Cuti all looking to be key cogs in the wheels for their respective countries.
Colombia: Duvan Zapata and Luis Muriel
Atalanta’s dynamic striker duo – which combined for 37 goals in Serie A this season – has not been nearly as prolific with the national team. As a Colombia fan, I’m hoping this desperately changes and fast. They will both be called on to lead the attack, and without James to provide playmaking – I envision both strikers to be called upon to do their fair share of work in the build-up and inside the box. Colombia still has Juan Cuadrado and Porto youngster Luis Diaz to make things interesting in the build-up. But with a brand new coach (in his second go around) with Rueda, Colombia is still searching for its true identity, and to me still feels like a club that is less than the sum of its parts – maybe a bit like Fiorentina? A Luis Muriel worldy or a delicious header from Duvan off a Cuadrado won free kick may be needed to spearhead the club in attack. Four out of five clubs advance to the knockouts from both groups, so Colombia should have no issue advancing (after fortunately drawing the group not containing Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay). Let’s hope the group stage can used for the team to gel a bit more with a new strategy, and then be rearing to go for the knockouts – I do expect a lot of ugly games (as always with CONMEBOL!)
Argentina: Cristian Romero and Jose Luis Palomino
Without squad lists being posted yet for the Copa, I’m going in with the shaky assumption that both centerbacks will be in the squad. Even shakier now as Cristian Romero hobbled off injured on Tuesday night against Colombia which looks like a thigh (doesn’t look too serious fortunately). If Romero is fine, expect him to feature. Having made his debut for Argentina last week in it’s draw against Chile and netting a brilliant header in his second match against Colombia, Romero already looks poised to become a staple of Argentina’s defense, and has already done Romero like things across the Atlantic. With lackluster options consisting of Foyth, Quarta, and an over the hill Otamendi, I could absolutely see Cuti and Lisandro leading Argentina’s backline for years to come (simultaneously for my enjoyment and to my dismay). I haven’t found anything of substance about the injury yet, but for his sake and Atalanta’s sake, if it’s a tweener of a knock please let him rest!
With Romero potentially missing the Copa, Palomino could sneak his way back into the squad for cover. Given Lisandro is the only left-footed centerback along with Palomino, “El Vaquero” could be a nice option off the bench if Scaloni is adimant about going with one right footed and one left footed centerback (which doens’t seem to be the case). While he didn’t play in the qualifiers, Palomino’s efforts at the end of the year certainly warranted a call-up for, let’s hope its enough to make the squad list for the Copa and a first international cap.
Euros in the afternoon, Copa at night – it will certainly be a tough month to get work done. Who said the offseason can’t be fun? A Colombia win in the Copa would be beautiful, but please let’s just have someone dethrone Brazil! Do Vidal and Bravo have one last push in them? Again it should be a fantastic tournament, and for anyone over in Europe, I urge you to catch at least a few matches late into the evening, I think it will be well worth your while. Especially if we’ve got Romero flying all over the place causing havoc to Suarez, Cavani, Neymar, and company!
