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When the two finalists of this year’s Copa América tournament take to the pitch in the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro tonight, one player will be conspicuous by his absence.
Lionel Messi has won just about everything there is to win in world football – that is, on a club and on an individual level – but when he puts on the La Albiceleste senior jersey, success seems to elude him.
This time around, the 14-time Copa champions were beaten 2-0 in the semi-finals by the hosts Brazil, who set up a championship match against the surprise finalists Peru.
After the somewhat dreary performances in the quarterfinals, which saw just two goals scored over the four games and three goalless draws, the semifinals were quite the opposite, with both finalists finding their form.
Peru, who last appeared in the final in 1975, knocked out the defending back-to-back champions Chile 3-0. Brazil’s performance against Argentina was not as impressive, but goals by Roberto Firmino and Gabriel Jesus got the job done, prompting captain Dani Alves to say they had taken a major step towards their overall objective.
“We’re achieving all the goals that we’re setting ourselves. A lot of people doubt us, but we have a lot of faith in ourselves, in our plan and in our hard work. We’re reaping the fruits of the seeds we’re sowing every day,” he said.
The PSG player paid tribute to his former Barcelona team-mate Messi on his Instagram account: “...there will never be any more gratitude to those who helped you put your name in the history of football. The greatness of people is measured not only by what they represent in their countries or the feelings they arouse with their profession. Often, it’s about what’s behind it all.”
The hosts, whose last major win dates back to 2007, when they beat Argentina in the Copa América final, go into today’s final without influential Chelsea midfielder Willian, who picked up an injury against Argentina.
His absence notwithstanding, Brazil will, of course, go into the game as the overwhelming favourites. Not only did they beat Peru 5-0 in their final group game, they have also won the showpiece event of South American football every time they have hosted it.
Peru have their own run to defend. They have twice appeared in the final and won both times. Although they won in 1939 by topping the table, their last group game was a de facto final as it was a straight shoot-out between themselves and Uruguay. In 1975, they beat Colombia in the final.
“We’ve come through some tough moments in the Copa and we deserve to be in the final. We managed to overcome the adversity that was this defeat to Brazil that was hastily judged and provoked a wave of harsh criticism,” said Peru’s coach Ricardo Gareca.
Veteran skipper of the side, Paolo Guerrero, said that, while the win against Chile was good, they were not done yet: “We kept our concentration and we’re in the final. Now we have to work hard and think about Brazil. It will be a very difficult final.”
