Football Dispatch

Summer Football
09 July 2007
Big scorelines were the theme of the weekend's quarterfinal matches in the 2007 Copa America. Underachievers Uruguay and Brazil earned berths in the final-four by virtue of 4-1 and 6-1 wins over Venezuela and Chile, respectively. Uruguay, two-time World Cup champions, and five-time winner Brazil will now be tied together for the first semi-final to be contested on Tuesday, 10 July in Maracaibo.

Diego Forlan scored a brace for the Uruguaians -- 14-times the champion of the Copa America -- en-route to a 4-1 stuffing of hosts Venezuela. After stuttering through the group fixtures with a win, a loss, and a draw, Oscar Tabarez' side finally came together -- striking twice in a 2-minute spell just prior to the interval. Maximiliano Pereira played Forlan into space with a superb through-ball for the opener in the 39th-minute; and Juan Fernando Arango doubled the spread in the 41st. Pablo Garcia ended all hope of a comeback just after the hour-mark; although Christian Rodriguez pulled one back with just 3-minutes of normal time to play. Forlan completed his double in the 90th-minute. Despite the loss, the host Venezuelans were reflective regarding the disappointing result. Midfielder Ricardo Paez stated, "We represented the country with dignity but I'm disappointed because we could have done more."

Brazil, like Uruguay, were looking to raise their game a notch as the knock-out fixtures got underway. And having already defeated Chile by a 3-goal margin in the group-stage, the road looked paved to the semi-finals. Juan opened the scoring with a header on 16-minutes -- the beginning of a torrential period of offense from the Brazilians. Julio Baptista doubled the score-line in the 24th-minute and Robinho, his squad's only goal-scorer through the previous three matches, added a third goal just shy of the half-hour. Far from finished, the Real Madrid marksman added his 6th-goal of the competition just 6-minutes after the re-start. Porto's Vagner Love rounded-out the scoring for Brazil in the 85th-minute. Humberto Suazo scored Chile's only goal of the match.

Mexico and Argentina also advanced to the semifinals in style. The two international heavyweights will now tangle on Wednesday, 11 July at Puerto Ordaz. Paraguay, having impressed in big wins over Columbia and the United States, looked more the side that was victimized by Argentina in the final match of the group-phase. In truth, Gerardo Martino's Guaranies got off to a very poor start in Maturin. After just 3-minutes of play, defender Aldo Antonio Bobadilla was shown a straight red-card for his tackle on Mexico's Nery Castillo inside the box. Castillo converted the resulting penalty; and Mexico were well on their way to a convincing victory. They scored five more goals with the man-advantage -- Castillo hitting the mark again in the 39th-minute and Cuahtemoc Blanco successfully converting his side's second penalty of the night. The Paraguay attack, so dependent on the front-two of Salvador Cabanas and Roque Santa Cruz, were non-existent -- further emphasizing the commonly-held view that Paraguay never deliver two, consistently strong performances in succession. Gerardo Torrado, Fernando Arce, and Omar Bravo rounded-out the scoring for Mexico at Estadio Monumental.

Incredibly, Argentina have not won the Copa America since 1993. Ominously, they defeated Mexico in the final of that competition in Ecuador -- claiming their second-straight South American title. Even more astonishing is the fact that the Albicelestes have failed to advance beyond the quarterfinals more than once. Peru, as it turned out, proved little more than a bump in the road for Alfio Basile's pre-tournament favorites. Still, for all their creativity and play-making, Argentina were kept from the scoresheet until the 2nd-half. Lionel Messi had the best opportunity of the opening period -- hitting the bar in the 18th-minute. After the re-start, however, Boca Juniors maestro Juan Roman Riquelme took things into his own hands. Not only did the former Barcelona and Villarreal star score twice, in the 47th and 86th-minutes, he also made Messi's goal just after the hour-mark. Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano scored Argentina's third goal in the 75th-minute.