BRENT LATHAM – Look, I get it, Paraguay has been to the quarterfinals of the World Cup and the final of the Copa America, and won, what, two games out of nine?

And they’ve played two scoreless ties in the knockout rounds of the Copa America, a total of four hours of soccer without scoring a goal.

Also interesting. But hey, few teams in the world wouldn’t like to be in their shoes in terms of accomplishments over the last year.

Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped the Paraguay hate, summed up nicely by this little, perfectly straight forward piece, from last year’s World Cup.

Paraguay, a land-locked South American oddity that is in essence no more than a capital city and great expanse of countryside, should instead be lauded as an overachiever. Did you know that of the twelve teams in the top division in Paraguay, only one plays outside the capital?

We’re basically talking about a twelve team league in Philadelphia here, with one team off in Pittsburgh.

So let’s give Paraguay some respect.They’ve accomplished quite a bit given what they have to work with. And they do it in an interesting way. Yes, defense is the hallmark of the national team, but what the U.S. wouldn’t give for the skill of a Roque Santa Cruz or Lucas Barrios up top?

Paraguay is also one of the few remaining countries in the world, in an age of mass movements of people, whose soccer lends itself to that age-old but fleeting trend of categorization by national stereotype. Few people emigrate to Paraguay, and the country still requires would-be citizens to relinquish all other passports and nationalities. That makes Lucas Barrios a rare exception to the universality of the Paraguayan-raised mentality of the squad.

The mentality is tough as nails, defending the Paraguayan shield at all costs, for the entire country. It’s an approach to be respected, and has yielded some great results over the years, few bigger than this Copa America final. But remember, Paraguay was a missed penalty kick away from eliminating Spain last summer, and getting to the semifinals of the World Cup.

It’s interesting to note as well that defense, ironically, isn’t the strength of this particular Paraguayan team, which drew three times while scoring six goals in the first round (and giving up six).

So hearing the narrative that Paraguay is sure to produce another scoreless draw on Sunday is a little irritating. That view is misinformed, a bit snobbish, and often coming from places whose national teams have experienced a level of success far subpar to tiny Paraguay’s.

So let’s show some respect.

by Brent