Posts Categorized as ‘South of the Border’

South of the Border

Why All the Hate for Paraguay?

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. (more…)

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South of the Border, United States

Former Red Bull Garcia to Sign in Guatemala

BRENT LATHAM – Former NY Red Bull midfielder Irving Garcia is in Guatemala training with first division side Antigua GFC, and planning to sign a one-year contract once his Guatemalan paperwork comes through.

Garcia is American-born to a Mexican father and Guatemalan mother, so he qualifies as a national player in those three countries. The UC Irvine product has been in Guatemala for a couple weeks, training under Antigua coach, American Ziggy Korytoski.

“I played at UC Irvine, so I played against the coach,” Garcia said.  “He gave me a call and he offered me a good opportunity to play. I was just practicing on my own, so it was a chance to come down and play.” (more…)

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South of the Border

Copa America: And Then There Were Four

Isaac Heath- When Venezuela scored late in the game Sunday afternoon to seal a 2-1 victory over Chile, arguably the most surprising final four in Copa America history was set. Outside of Uruguay, nobody mentioned any of the semifinalists as a possible winner for the tournament. In fact, Many figured Peru and Venezuela would struggle to see the knockout phase.

Yet with all the twists and turns in this Copa America, this final four is just par for the course. A few minutes after the United States Women suffered a gut wrenching loss at the hands of Japan in the World Cup final, Brazil lost 2-0 in penalty kicks to Paraguay and did not manage to even hit the frame in 3 of 4 tries. The hosts failed against Uruguay in a shoot out the night before to leave us with our first non Brazil – Argentina final since the 2001 tournament.

The Argentinians and Brazilians will no doubt lament their poor first round showing when they reflect on these past few weeks because the poor starts led to earlier than expected dates with Uruguay and Paraguay. Venezuela and Peru are scary teams to face right now as both Colombia and Chile found out because neither team has anything to lose at this point.

With the stage set for an unexpected yet intriguing final week of matches (unless you are Argentinian or Brazilian), lets take a look at the match- ups.

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South of the Border

USA10Cast Episode Three: Isaac Heath Breaks Down the Copa America Quarterfinals

South American soccer expert Isaac Heath joins Jon Arnold on the USA10Cast to take a look at the Copa America, which is set to enter the knockout stages. They discuss how the powers have struggled early, and talk about what other surprises might be in store. Plus, Isaac breaks down the quarterfinal matches and which players are set to make big transfers.

USA10Cast Episode Three: Isaac Heath breaks down the Copa America knockout stages by USA10Cast

Also make sure to check out Isaac’s written preview below.

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South of the Border, United States

Copa America: Knockout Phase

Isaac Heath – After a relatively strange first round games that included both Brazil and Argentina finishing second in their groups, the knockout phase appears to be set up largely as predicted.

Both Mexico and Costa Rica’s U-23 teams were sent home as expected (wonder if they will get the US 07 treatment from CONMEBOL), while lowly Bolivia was eliminated along with a struggling Ecuador side. That leaves us with the 8 teams most expected for the knockout phase of the Copa America (although you could substitute Peru for Ecuador).

The final round of group games spiced things up a bit as both the Venezuela – Paraguay game and the Brazil – Ecuador game totalled 6 goals a piece, and Argentina finally produced some offensive flare against Costa Rica with 3 goals of their own. Yes, there is finally some excitement and intrigue heading into the quarterfinals of the Copa America.

Yet despite the expected appearance of several teams in the final 8, things are still not quite as predicted. With Argentina facing off with one of the other favorites, Uruguay, and Brazil having a rematch against a tough Paraguayan squad, things are still up in the air heading into the final 7 matches of the tournament.

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South of the Border, United States

Report: Arsenal Eyes Costa Rican Joel Campbell

TRAVIS CLARK – While the transfer market has been relatively quiet on the American front, another rising CONCACAF star looks poised to make a major move abroad.

Reports from Costa Rica suggest that 19-year-old forward Joel Campbell is nearing a move to Arsenal, with the star of the Ticos’ Copa America campaign attracting interest from the North London club. The report states that Arsenal executive Richard Law has already arrived in hopes of wrapping up a deal soon.

Campbell is part of Costa Rica’s young and experimental side sent to play at Copa America in place of Japan this summer, and was also the leading scorer at the 2011 Under 20 CONCACAF Championship, with six goals. He’ll be a part of Costa Rica’s U-20 World Cup campaign that starts at the end of July.

Currently under contract with Deportiva Saprissa – a familiar foe to MLS observers – Campbell has also spent time on loan with domestic club Puntarenas. The move would be a massive step up for him, although it’s hard to see him earning a work permit, given that he only has five appearances with the full national team as of Friday. If they do sign him, he’ll likely end up on loan somewhere in Spain for a couple years.

Video highlights of Campbell are after the jump. (more…)

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South of the Border, United States

FC Dallas Goalie Sanchez Savors World Cup Triumph

TRAVIS CLARK – When Mexico triumphed Sunday at the 2011 Under 17 World Cup, it marked the first time a U.S.-born player tasted victory at a FIFA men’s competition.

The winner’s medal, of course, went to Richard Sanchez, a 17-year-old goalkeeping prospect born to Mexican parents in Mission Hills, Calif., and the sixth homegrown signing by FC Dallas earlier this year.

The teenager raved about the win in a conference call with reporters Thursday afternoon.

“It was an unforgettable experience that I will keep in my heart forever,” he said. “I really liked spending time with players from other teams, with my teammates, and all coaches, who I would like to thank for taking time away from family to be with us.”

After the success in Mexico, the focus for Sanchez now switches from country to club, as the 17-year-old gets back to training with the club that signed him over five months ago.

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South of the Border, United States

The Messi Argentina Needs

Isaac Heath - Argentinians around the world woke up relaxed this morning after likely getting their first good sleep in the last two weeks. All that was wrong with the national team and in particular, Messi, is in the past for now as the hosts moved on to the second phase with a convincing win. Just when everyone was certain they were taking crazy pills, Messi saved the day with a sublime performance.

Despite the 3-0 scoreline, there were tense moments. For the first 44 minutes Argentina toiled and squandered multiple opportunities in front of goal. But something was different even before Kun Aguero put the hosts ahead just before halftime. There was a bit more of a swagger and confidence that in the first two rounds seemed handcuffed by nerves.

And then there was of course Lionel Messi.

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10 Kit Essay, South of the Border

Copa America: It’s Getting Weird….

ISAAC HEATH - After a bizarre if not boring first round of games in the 2011 Copa America things seemed destined to return to normalcy. Argentina would shake off their first game jitters and bounce back with a commanding victory, right? Brazil would show the flair that has made them so dominant over the years and handle a tough Paraguayan side, and there is no way that Venezuela and Peru would find themselves on top of or tied for the lead in their groups, would they?

Well, turns out nothing went as planned. If round one was confusing, round two was downright odd. Don’t get me wrong, if you purely look at match-ups some of the individual results aren’t all that shocking. After all, Peru beat Mexico’s U-23 squad and Argentina and Brazil tied their toughest competitors in their respective groups.

What’s odd is that the two tournament favorites are both on the brink of not making the next round if they can’t pull off a victory in their final group games this week. Sure, Brazil should be able to handle Ecuador with ease and Argentina will likely have no problem securing a victory against Costa Rica’s U-23 team. Yet at this point almost nothing would surprise me. Argentina is choking in front of its countries eyes, and this is certainly not the Brazil of my youth that put fear in their opponents the minute Rivaldo, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, and Ronaldo set foot on the field.

As we take a look at what happened in the second round of games and think about what surprises, if any, await us in the final round of the group phas keep this in mind: Anything goes. (more…)

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South of the Border, United States

Maybe Winning Does Matter After All

BRENT LATHAM – You have to hand it to Mexico. That was some performance yesterday by their U-17 team. In beating Germany, they triumphed over a more skilled, more physical opponent.

The untold story will be how the heat in Torreon was the Mexicans’ best ally against a German team that can run rampant, but looked slow and exhausted yesterday under the desert sun.

But the real story is how this Mexican team fights and will do anything to defend their shirt with pride and honor. I hate to pile on, but its a lesson the U.S. really needs to learn.

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