The sad part is that we’re going to have an anxious wait now to hear about injuries inside and outside the stadium. How seriously is Messi hurt? Will he get to continue his glorious run in MLS? And more worryingly, was anyone seriously injured in the chaotic scenes at the stadium gates?
Concacaf and Conmebol have some soul-searching to do. Passions run high in the Americas, and most people would consider that a good thing. But the farcical scenes of brutal fouls going uncalled, followed by mobs of angry players from both teams chasing the referee like a town chasing out Frankenstein’s monster, don’t sit well with a lot of fans.
But you can’t say it’s not dramatic. And you can’t say an unworthy team is lifting a trophy. Argentina don’t necessarily pick fights. But they know how to end them – with a goal and a defensive stand.
Hope you all enjoyed the Copa coverage and find something interesting to do tomorrow. See you for the Olympics in a couple of weeks.
Let’s put it this way – the last time Argentina were in a major international tournament and didn’t win it, no one had heard of COVID-19. They won this tournament in 2021, the World Cup in 2022, and now this tournament again.
They often do it without looking brilliant. But they have a mix of sublime skill and dogged determination.
Comparing them with Spain is a difficult question and maybe even a strange one. As much as the game has gone global, with most of the best players in the world mixing it up in the world’s top five leagues or their satellites, soccer in the Americas just looks and feels like a different sport than soccer in Europe. Argentina probably wouldn’t have won Euro 2024. But Spain probably wouldn’t have won Copa América 2024.
Winning in the Americas means slogging it out in the mud. Not literally, though field conditions have been questioned throughout. Messi wins by getting mes- … no, I can’t bring myself to make that pun. But you get the idea.
In basketball terms, Spain is the Boston Celtics. They won an intense but well-regulated sport. Argentina is the best basketball team on the playground, where the nets are made of chains and fouls are subject to the whims of the masses.
World Cup 2026 might be fun, right?
