The 2011 Copa America will start in six weeks in Argentina and the South American Confederation (CONMEBOL) must find a late replacement for the tournament after Japan's official withdrawal due to complications related to the J-League schedule after the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that struck the country on March 11.
It's a shame that the tragedy has changed so many aspects of Japanese life and still they can't get back to normal. But talking about football is an opportunity for the CONMEBOL to adjust in a better geographical way their main National Teams Tournament which is sometimes considered a second-class championship.
The tournament is called Copa America. It is true that it is organized by CONMEBOL and it is true that Mexico and other prior guests to the tournament as the United States, Costa Rica and Honduras do not belong to the CONMEBOL, but they are at least part of the Americas, but inviting Japan (who had already participated in one edition) or the proposal of inviting Spain are ideas straight out the greed of the South American football authorities who look for a bigger income without considering the quality of a tournament that even while trying to improve, do not attract the best players of each country.
We just have to see this year's edition. Mexico for various reasons such as the Gold Cup and the intervention of the CONCACAF will only send an under-23 team reinforced with five players who exceed this age, complicating the chances of 'el tricolor' to keep up with other countries despite having been one of the best teams in the competition since they were first invited in 1993.
We also have to see whether Brazil will send all their stars. It seems that Argentina is forced to do so playing at home and after 18 years without winning the tournament, but we can only hope that this edition of the oldest National Teams Tournament in the world is better than previous years and at least can truly be called Copa America with no more weird invitations to teams from outside the continent, a problem that used to exist in the CONCACAF Gold Cup as well but luckily it was eliminated several years ago.
It's a shame that the tragedy has changed so many aspects of Japanese life and still they can't get back to normal. But talking about football is an opportunity for the CONMEBOL to adjust in a better geographical way their main National Teams Tournament which is sometimes considered a second-class championship.
The tournament is called Copa America. It is true that it is organized by CONMEBOL and it is true that Mexico and other prior guests to the tournament as the United States, Costa Rica and Honduras do not belong to the CONMEBOL, but they are at least part of the Americas, but inviting Japan (who had already participated in one edition) or the proposal of inviting Spain are ideas straight out the greed of the South American football authorities who look for a bigger income without considering the quality of a tournament that even while trying to improve, do not attract the best players of each country.
We just have to see this year's edition. Mexico for various reasons such as the Gold Cup and the intervention of the CONCACAF will only send an under-23 team reinforced with five players who exceed this age, complicating the chances of 'el tricolor' to keep up with other countries despite having been one of the best teams in the competition since they were first invited in 1993.
We also have to see whether Brazil will send all their stars. It seems that Argentina is forced to do so playing at home and after 18 years without winning the tournament, but we can only hope that this edition of the oldest National Teams Tournament in the world is better than previous years and at least can truly be called Copa America with no more weird invitations to teams from outside the continent, a problem that used to exist in the CONCACAF Gold Cup as well but luckily it was eliminated several years ago.
