With no A-League still for four months and the European leagues in hibernation it's an opportune time to have a look at one of the most exciting continental competitions going around in the form of the Copa América. You even get the bonus of still getting to see Lionel Messi play in an international tournament.
With the tournament a little over a week away, I thought it would be worthwhile taking a look at each of the groups and the teams that make them up, starting off with Group A.
ARGENTINA
Both as the hosts of the tournament and the fact that they haven't won it since 1993 places a huge amount of pressure on Argentina to win the Copa América this time around and manager Sergio Batista will be lucky to keep his job if this is not achieved. Much has been made of the attacking options at Batista's disposal but its albiceleste's defensive frailties that will cause even more headaches. Batista will need to decide if he goes with the experience of Nicolás Burdisso and Gabriel Milito, even though Milito barely finds game time for Barcelona, or choose from the international inexperienced trio of Marcos Rojo, Nicolás Pareja and Ezequiel Garay. It will be in this part of the pitch where Argentina's chances of winning on home territory will largely be determined.
Player to watch:
Lionel Messi is often on the receiving end of a lot of criticism back in his homeland for not performing for the national team as he does for his club side Barcelona. With Sergio Batista looking to play him in a position that we see him play for Barcelona this Copa América provides him with a perfect opportunity to prove many of those critics wrong and cement himself as one of the greats of Argentinean football.
BOLIVIA
Bolivia is a team that tends to struggle outside of the rarefied air of La Paz and I can't see this changing this time around in Argentina. With a squad made up mostly of home-based players la verde will be hoping that can perform better than they did at the 2007 tournament, where they finished bottom of their group without a win. The vast majority of the team plies their trade within Bolivian borders with only keeper Carlos Arias, captain Ronald Raldes, and strikers Edivaldo Rojas and Marcelo Martin Martins Moreno playing elsewhere. It's this lack of experience outside of Bolivia that will again see them struggle come July. Bolivia are currently under the stewardship of Gustavo Quinteros, an Argentine by birth but who played for the Bolivian national team twenty-six times between 1993-99.
Player to watch:
Marcelo Martins Moreno, is one of only three players in the squad who currently plies his trade outside of South América , playing for Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk since 2009, although he has been on loan spells to Wigan Athletic and Werder Bremen. The Bolivian striker, who has scored eight goals in 22 appearances for the national side, will need to be firing come July if his team has any chance of making it out of this group.
COLOMBIA
Colombia are the only team outside of Brazil to have actually won the tournament since 1995 when they prevailed in 2001 on home soil. Having failed to qualify for the last two World Cups the Colombians will be looking for an impressive tournament in the lead up to the lengthy qualification process for the 2014 World Cup. With a good blend of players who ply their trade in Europe and Latin América with much expected of goal scoring machine Radamel Falcao and Wigan regular, Hugo Rodallega. Another to watch is Falcao's Porto teammate Fredy Guarin who has had his best season in Europe so far.
Player to Watch
Having scored 38 goals in forty-two appearances for FC Porto last season there can be hardly a more in-form striker than Radamel Falcao. Colombian fans will be hoping that the former River Plate striker can improve on his meagre tally of seven goals for the national team with his performances in this tournament going a long way to determining how far his team progresses in this tournament.
COSTA RICA
Costa Rica were a late entry in this edition of the Copa América after Japan pulled out due to complications after the March earthquake and resulting tsunami. Due to the Gold Cup being played just before the Copa América and their U20 playing in the U20 World Cup, los ticos will be fielding a U23 side plus five overage players. The team will be under the control of Ricardo Lavolpe and he will be hoping to put a poor Gold Cup performance behind them. It was a performance that saw Costa Rica go out in the quarter finals to arch rival Honduras on penalties resulting in heavy criticism from the local press for both the manager and the team.
Player to Watch
In a group with both Argentina and Colombia one of the busiest players is surely to be goalkeeper, Esteban Alvarado. The 22-year old who plies his trade in Holland with AZ Alkmar, has played two games for the full squad but is considered the future of the national team. Hewill hoping that he can recapture the form that saw him named the goalkeeper of the tournament at the 2009 U20 World Cup.
