Jorge Barraza: What does that poster of the Copa América tell us? | Columnists | sports

Goal.com, an excellent international soccer portal published in 19 languages, made a service for the next Copa América a few days ago; He illustrated it with a poster of the main figures who will cheer him on: Neymar (Brazil), Suárez (Uruguay), Vidal (Chile), James Rodríguez (Colombia), Paolo Guerrero (Peru) and Messi (Argentina). In the middle of the six, the trophy. The illustration made us sound, beautiful, by the way. It is that the years go by and the cups, the stars remain the same. “Aguinaga and the Diablo Etcheverry and it was complete ”, a friend tells me with fine irony.

Maybe the six named make an excellent tournament, even one of them should be crowned champion. However, a yellow light continues to flash when we see it.

Neymar entered his 30th year, Suárez in 35, Vidal turns 34 this Saturday, James will reach 30 just after the end of the Cup, Paolo goes to 38 and Messi will extinguish 34 candles in the middle of the competition, on June 24. Paolo and Lionel debuted in the First Division at the end of 2004, almost seventeen years ago. What is that poster telling us…? Something simple: there are no new figures. Soccer on a global scale lacks new talents, we are talking about the greats, the cracks cracks. Mbappé and Haaland, the two luminaries that the world would like to see consolidated to mark a new era, are very good, yes, but they are still two runners full of power and desire, not phenomena with the ball, not fantasists, not creators. Days past we remembered Michael Laudrup, the Dane who resigned to play for his national team at Euro 1992 because coach Richard Moller-Nielsen’s style was too defensive for his taste. Not even in exchange for winning that title would I have been happy in that scheme. Laudrup returned the entrance with a single movement, his elegance to leave a confinement and clean up a confused play was something that the public was talking about when they returned from the stadium. A master class. And it was never a number one, not two or three. It wasn’t fifty years ago. That is what we are not seeing.

In this scenario of a shortage of geniuses, South America is more disturbing. It is a wasteland, nothing appears. Before, Brazil transferred Zico, Socrates, Junior, Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Kaká, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, Cafu to Europe… That was the level. Today Madrid takes Vinicius, Rodrygo and Reinier. It is what it is. We wonder who will appear on the Copa América 2024 poster.

The bombshell news yesterday in France is Benzema’s call up to the national team after five years. Karim is at a fantastic level, very fast, skilled, technical, deep, scorer, intelligent. No other compatriot of his shows such a degree of excellence (perhaps Kanté, although with other characteristics). Keep lighting up. But Benzema is also an athlete close to 34 years old, he is not a rising star. And we are talking about the country that produces the largest number of footballers today.

For a book on the Copa América that we just finished, we were reviewing the final of the 1997 Copa América. The locals, Bolivia, and Brazil, who won 3-1 and became champions, reached the final. A misleading result. Brazil enlisted all its winning cards: Taffarel, Cafu, Aldair, Roberto Carlos, Dunga, Zé Roberto and the “Ro-Ro” duo, as the attacking pair made up of Romário and Ronaldo was called. The style of coach Mario Zagallo was not very romantic, but it was very efficient: he won all six games to reach the crown. And he scored 22 goals, at 3.67 per game. Crazy. With so many phenomena… However, Bolivia composed a magnificent game, played high-flying football and dominated much of the game, played like a champion and deserved another luck, hitting three shots on the sticks. He succumbed to the historical Brazilian forcefulness. La Verde had a good footing: Platiní Sánchez (notable conductor), Marco Etcheverry, Chocolatín Castillo, Milton Melgar, Julio César Baldivieso. Many good ones. Today it seems utopian that Bolivia present five dominators of the ball. You don’t notice one.

This happens in most countries. It may be a momentary fall, football has had a great capacity for reinvention throughout history. The ’60s and’ 80s were dark decades, then the light reappeared. In Argentina, Boca’s differential player continues to be Carlos Tevez, on his way to 38 years old, and River’s compass is Enzo Pérez, on his way to 36. Both are the indispensable captains and guides.

The same is happening with the coaches. Apparently, it is a fact that Saturday will be Zinedine Zidane’s last game as Real Madrid coach. He has not proven to be a tactical eminence, but his discreet handling and the halo of what he was make him always palatable. They are waiting for him at Juventus. In turn, Real Madrid would hire Massimiliano Allegri, a former Juventus, a strategist criticized for his proclivity on defense. But it gives the profile and also there are not too many triple A trainers. There is Guardiola, out of the lot, incomparable with any other, and then Klopp, Conte, Hansi Flick, Simeone, Tuchel, Pochettino. Barcelona wants to get rid of Ronald Koeman and is probing Xavi Hernández, an inexperienced, because there are not many prestigious drivers for a club of such size that they guarantee character, capacity, efficiency, mastery of the wardrobe, dominant football.

The case of the coaches in Brazil is almost funny, they have always been the same for years. Abel Braga leaves Flamengo and goes to Cruzeiro, from Cruzeiro to Vasco, from Vasco to Inter, and so on. The same happens with Vanderley Luxemburg, Renato Gaúcho, Paulo Autuori, Levir Culpi, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Fernando Diniz, Cuca, Mano Menezes… The Fluminense door closes them and Corinthians opens it. That is why they have begun to import Portuguese and Argentines. See if something changes.

The land of football, in the world, seems exhausted, it is not being lavish. Worrying. (O)

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