Uruguay wins record 15th Copa America

Diego Forlan scores twice to lead Uruguay to record 15th Copa America title.

Uruguay created history today in Copa America football when they claimed the 2011 title for a record 15th time -- eclipsing this year's tournament host's Argentina 14 with a 3-0 win in the final today.

Uruguay faced Paraguay, a team that astonishingly had reached the final without winning a game in regulation time throughout the tournament.

And the difference in class showed through, Uruguay taking a 2-0 lead into the break following goals to Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan.

Paraguay pushed hard in the second half but Uruguay just had too much class.

                                                                 (IN ARABIC)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Diego Forlan scored twice and Uruguay won the Copa America, South America's top international tournament, for a record 15th time after beating Paraguay 3-0 Sunday.

Luis Suarez also scored for Uruguay, which followed up a semifinal appearance at the 2010 World Cup by winning South America's championship for the first time since 1995.

(Uruguay celebrates with the trophy after winning 3-0 in the Copa America final Sunday.)

At roughly 3.5 million people -- about the population of Connecticut -- Uruguay has the smallest population of teams in the tournament.                                              

Argentina and Brazil were upset in the quarterfinals of the Copa. Uruguay ousted Argentina on penalties and Paraguay eliminated Brazil, also in a shootout.

Argentina has won the title 14 times, Brazil eight. Brazil had won four of the past five titles.

Uruguay was the clear favorite going into the final, wrapping up a tournament filled with surprises.

Not only had Brazil and Argentina been sent home early, but Venezuela reached the third-place match on Saturday before losing 4-1 to Peru. Those two countries have been the weakest in the region in recent years, but they suddenly look formidable going into regional World Cup qualifying later this year.

Uruguay's squad featured 20 of the 23 players it took to the World Cup a year ago, showing teamwork and unselfish play with none of the vast star power of Argentina or Brazil.

Suarez gave Uruguay the lead in a match it dominated in the opening minutes. Receiving a pass in the area, the Liverpool forward beat defender Dario Veron to score from a deflected left-footed shot that went in off the far post behind goalkeeper Justo Villar.

Uruguay could have even have led in the second minute, when Villar stopped Diego Lugano's point-blank header.

Forlan, who was voted the best player at last year's World Cup, made it 2-0 by lashing a left-footed shot from 12 yards that left Villar flat-footed. He was set up after teammate Egidio Arevalo Rios had stolen the ball from a Paraguay player near midfield.

The Atletico Madrid striker had not scored in his 12 previous matches for the national team.

Sebastian Eguren almost made it 3-0 in the 74th, foiled when Villar stuck out his left arm with the ball headed for the net.

Forlan scored the final goal in the 90th, taking a pass from Suarez and scoring into the far corner.

Paraguay, which seldom threatened, played without injured forward Roque Santa Cruz and winger Aureliano Torres. Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino and top assistant Jorge Pautasso were suspended from the match after being sent off for repeatedly arguing with the referee in Wednesday's win over Venezuela.

Martino, from Argentina, is seen as a leading contender to take over Argentina's national team. The Argentine federation was to meet Monday and decide on the future of coach Sergio Batista, who is reported to be on the way out.

Paraguay won Copa America titles in 1979 and 1953 and reached the second round at the 2010 World Cup.

More information here.

Copa America 2011 is coming!

As most of you probably know we're less than a month away from the most important football event of this winter/summer, Copa America, and it will be played here in Argentina.

The tournament starts on July 1st and will end on July 24th and will feature 12 national teams : the usual 10 of CONMEBOL + 2 invited guests from CONCACAF, Mexico and Costa Rica.

More information about argentinian football here. 

More information about Copa America Argentina 2011 here. 

Poland beats Argentina by 2-1.

Poland beats Argentina 2-1 in friendly tie

WARSAW POLAND defeated a weakened Argentina team 2-1 in an international friendly on Sunday with Adrian Mierzejewski scoring in the first half and Pawel Brozek adding another in the second. 

Defender Pablo Zabaleta was the only Argentina player in the starting lineup who has also made the 26-man preliminary roster for next month’s Copa America‚ the South American championship. 

All of the team’s biggest stars were missing, including Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez of Manchester City and Javier Zanetti of Inter Milan. 

Mierzejewski scored in the 26th, but Argentina’s Marco Ruben equalized in the 47th to set the stage for Brozek’s winner in the 67th. 

Nigeria defeated a similar Argentina team 4-1 on Wednesday in Abuja,asa match that is being investigated by FIFA for alleged matchfixing. 

No players are implicated. 

Julio Grondona, the president of the Argentine Football Association, criticized coach Sergio Batista for the Nigeria match, saying the “humiliating loss” and embarassed the nation and the team shirt. 

This match was better for Argentina, which opens the Copa America on July 1 against Bolivia. 

Batista said he was also looking further ahead.“We had a chance to draw, we played better than against Nigeria, Batisa said. 

“I see improvement. 

... Some of the players deserve to play in the next matches. 

Everything is about the project for 2014 (World Cup).” Poland broke through in the 26th. 

Argentina lost possession in midfield and Mierzejewski took a loose ball, broke into the area, and scored with a left-footed shot from 12 meters (yards) that beat goalkeeper Adrian Gabbarini. 

Poland had a half-dozen scoring chances in the first half, although Argentina played slightly better in this match than against Nigeria. 

Argentina equalized when Ruben ran onto a loose ball in the area and scored from 15 meters. 

The goal gave Argentina momentum, and it followed up with more possession while Poland tried to score on the counterattack. 

Mierzejewski almost scored his second, breaking down the left side in the 63rd and firing a low, hard shot that Gabbarini sprawled to stop. 

Poland got the winner in the 67th when Brozek took a perfectly timed pass, slipped through the defense and netted with a short chip from 10 meters. 

The stadium was twothirds full for the match. 

Polish news website TVN24 called the Argentina team “a shadow of the great Argentina” and said all that remained “was the name.”

Copa America will be broadcast to 196 countries.

• AFP PHOTO/Antonio SCORZA
  

• The 43rd Copa America will be broadcasted for the first time entirely in HD (High-Definition) and a record 196 countries will receive the signal of the competition matches. In 2004, the tournament was broadcast to over 140 countries. In the last edition, in Venezuela in 2007, more than 180 countries will watch the games of the Copa America.
  
  
  Held since 1916, the Copa America is the oldest national teams’ football competition in the world. In 2011, the tournament will be held in Argentina and will be attended by 12 teams. Of these, six were in the knock-out stage of the World Cup 2010: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Mexico.
  
  
  Copa America 2011 will have major stars of world football such as Robinho, Neymar and Julio Cesar (Brazil), Messi, Di Maria and Javier Mascherano (Argentina), Claudio Pizarro (Peru), Roque Santa Cruz and Cardozo (Paraguay) Cavani, Forlan and Suarez (Uruguay) and Alexis Sanchez (Chile).

More information here.