Soccer For Dummies, 2nd Edition by Tom Dunmore & Scott Murray

Author:Tom Dunmore & Scott Murray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Published: 2013-01-29T16:00:00+00:00

Getty Images

Figure 11-2: Action from the Euro 2012 game between Germany and Italy.

Ruling the Roost in South America

Although it took the Europeans until the swinging sixties to start up their own international tournament, the South Americans had already been up and running for half a century. The South American Championship — known since 1975 as the Copa America — is the oldest international soccer tournament outside of the Olympic Games.

It was first held on an unofficial basis in 1910, then officially in 1916, when it really got going. The championship has been held ever since, though at irregular intervals. Sometimes, as in the 1920s, there was one held every year; other times, there have been breaks of up to eight years (1967 to 1975).

How it’s organized

The Copa America is organized by the ten member countries of the South American governing body CONMEBOL (Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol, or Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol): Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

All teams automatically qualify — and are usually joined by two invitees to make the numbers up to a more draw-friendly 12. In 2007, for example, Mexico and the United States were invited. In 2011, the guests were Mexico and Costa Rica. Once again, the Mexican team has been invited to take part in the 2015 tournament, along with Japan.

The teams will be split into three groups of four, with the top two in each group advancing to the quarter-final knockout stage. The best two third-placed teams will also go through.

The oldest — and the best?

The South American Championship has only recently been decided in the latter stages by elimination ties culminating in a final. Traditionally, the tournament was organized in a group, with the top team in the league winning the trophy.

Argentina won the very first tournament, which they organized in 1910 and featured only themselves, Uruguay, and Chile. The real thing started six years later when Brazil joined the party. Uruguay won that one as well as the following championship a year later in 1917.

The championship would be held every year between 1919 and 1927, with Uruguay and Argentina the dominant forces. But soon its staging would become extremely erratic, with several CONMEBOL members showing little interest in the trophy at all, either sending second-string teams or simply not bothering to enter whatsoever.

An erratic history

Whereas all CONMEBOL members enter the competition nowadays, that hasn’t always been the case. In fact, it was only in 1975 when every single one of CONMEBOL’s ten countries deigned to enter the same tournament.

The big three of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay entered more often than not. Between the mid-1930s and late 1950s, the championship was held — usually — every two years. But despite emerging as kingpins on the world stage, Brazil struggled to win its continental championship: Uruguay has become the most successful country in the competition, winning the Copa America for a record 15th time in 2011, as shown in Figure 11-3.

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