First scheduled in Argentina and Colombia, the Copa America will finally take place in Brazil in a country still very affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. The Seleçao players even thought of a boycott. Do you think this could affect the teams in their preparation?
“I am not sure that it affects the game. Indeed it is not the ideal, but they are war machines. The players go on competitions and at all times they have not been asked for their opinion. there to play and generate money. It is rare that they have a political conscience and in that I find it good that they took a position of the kind. After it is one more competition, then there is will have another and another. They are not on autopilot but almost. “
What is your earliest memory of Copa America?
“It’s hard to say because at the time it was more about images, photos, articles… Things like that. But it’s true that when I was young it was a competition that you don’t didn’t talk much. There was no media feedback. The South American teams were discovered during the World Cup. “
What attracts you to this football?
“It’s always pretty tough matches. The players when they put on the national team jersey it means so much. It’s an issue that goes beyond football. We also see it in the Cup qualifiers. These are matches where we are a little more in old-fashioned football where the players are a little less protected, the playing conditions are not always ideal. Peru the lawn is not necessarily on a pool table. What I like about these competitions is that there is a form of freshness, you feel less the money or the sanitized side of football. ‘is less academic, but in the spirit one is closer to something real. “
What are the differences in the game with a European competition or with what we can see at the World Cup?
“A South American team will not play the same in Copa America and the World Cup. There is such grinta on both sides, such rivalry… In the World Cup they cannot express it in the same way because there would be four reds and the match would end. There they know that they can leave their skin on the pitch and that the referee will show more flexibility and accept some things that existed in football in the past and which today would be more punished. “
There is still a South American touch in some players
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It has often been said that American football is different in pace, or in tactics. Are these trends that you still see?
“At the level of the national teams that tends to fade more than at the level of the clubs. It is true that football has globalized, that the cracks leave more and earlier in Europe and that their game is is also Europeanized. Even if this one is gradually being lost there is always a South American touch in some players. There was a time when Brazil had the art of creating a game in the middle of the field with a rhythm. almost musical. They had the technical qualities to do it, to keep control of the ball. There was also a desire to set a false rhythm before accelerating in the last 40 meters or on a stroke of genius. lost. There is a rhythm all the same which is European where things go from one side to the other. “
At the 2014 World Cup the South American nations had invited themselves quite far into the competition. Brazil and Argentina of course, but also Colombia, Chile and Uruguay. On the other hand in 2018 we saw a decline of these nations with a World Cup largely dominated by European football. How do you analyze it?
“The national teams are impacted by the fact that they have lost their own identity. There is not a really strong championship like it used to be. The Brazilians in 1982 except Falcao are still there. Zico, Socrates, Leandro and Junior are still in Flamengo at that time. They play together and against each other. After to come back to 2014, I think there was also the fact that the World Cup was organized there. There were a lot of their supporters. It is possible that this is part of the explanations. “
In 2019 Brazil won the competition without Neymar who was injured. This time he is in the group. Are you making it your favorite?
“A priori yes. Usually organizing the competition is a big advantage, especially in these countries. One of the charms in South America is also everything that happens around, and there we can consider that this will be a big lack with the stadiums which will be empty. After in these competitions it is always Brazil or Argentina who are supposed to come out, even if Argentina have not won it since 1993. It is an anomaly . Especially when we had the best player in the world over a decade and others alongside who were still not bad. But stupidly I would say that Brazil and Argentina are favorites. “
Argentina’s victory would bring a little smile back to Argentinian football which has been deeply affected by the disappearance of Maradona
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Do you see Argentina raising its head with a slightly renewed team?
“I have seen a number of World Cup qualifying matches and they are still disappointing. Again Tuesday against Colombia they were leading 2-0 and are up. Messi no longer makes the differences he could do before. He does them all the less the harder the game is, and it is more complicated to express himself when the South American nations meet each other. Nevertheless, this is the first Copa America without Maradona since 1960 (his year of birth, editor’s note). The fact that he is no longer there for the first time, whether on the lawn, in the stands or by his comments, I tell myself that it would be a great story that Argentina wins. It can give them an extra soul. There are things like that, supernatural forces that exist or great stories. “
Couldn’t his shadow have been heavy for the Albiceleste?
“No I don’t think so. He could be critical, but he was someone who loved the selection so much that he was always behind them and in the sharing. I tell myself that if Argentina wins, he would see that of up there. It would be something symbolic that would bring back a little smile to Argentinian football, which was very touched by its disappearance. “
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You mentioned Messi, this may be his last chance to win the Copa America.
“Chances are. I don’t see him doing any more. He only won one Olympic gold in 2008, and the Copa America is something. It’s an anomaly in his record and career.After he made the big Copa America, he was unlucky and it was sometimes played on penalties at the end (in 2015 and 2016 against Chile, editor’s note). “
This year Argentina are in the same group as Uruguay and Chile.
“Yes but on the other hand there are two groups of five and the first four are qualified for the quarter-finals, so I think they will qualify. But then for sure if you are poorly classified and that you fall against the first of the other group, if it is Brazil, you have to be careful. The advantage of the Copa America compared to the Euro is that the Euro has become a grand barnum. Before you had 8 teams so you had the must and all the matches were exciting. When it went up to 16 it started to take a long time, now at 24 it’s ridiculous. In Copa America there is such a rivalry that you’re getting to the heart of the matter. “
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