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The 2015 Copa America is almost upon us, and is set to be a tournament full of brilliant, attacking football, what with all the major teams like Argentina, Brazil and Colombia looking all set to take back the title from defending Champions Uruguay, who will be missing their talisman, Luis Suarez.
Having just finished an exhausting and exhilarating European club season, the star players of most teams will be tired, but ready to lead their national teams to glory. Here, we look at 7 players, some very well known, some not so much, who have points to prove and some great young prospects –
Lionel Messi - Argentina
Lionel Messi’s Barcelona medal collection includes 4 Champions Leagues, 7 La Liga titles, and a couple of Club World Cups, with several other cup wins thrown in for good measure.
His only international honours are a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and a FIFA World Youth Championship win back in 2005, both of which aren't really considered senior honours as even an Olympic squad consists primarily of players under the age of 23.
This means that the best footballer ever has no World Cups, and no Copas America. What makes it more unbelievable is that he’s played in teams perfectly capable of winning such competitions.
This is why the Copa is more than a post-season kick about for the four-time Ballon d’Or winner, and whilst winning this competition won’t erase the heartache of losing last year’s World Cup final, it’ll go some way towards healing the wounds, and rebuilding the confidence.
Messi won the Golden Ball award at the aforementioned World Cup in Brazil, and whilst there were some doubts as to whether he was the tournament’s best player, there’s no doubt that he’d have swapped the individual honour for an Argentina win in the final.
If Argentina are to win the Copa in Chile, then they might need one of their capable supporting cast to step up to the level of the Barcelona man, although if they fail to do so, you wouldn't put it past Messi winning it all by himself.
Neymar - Brazil
The 2014 World Cup was a disaster for Brazil on the pitch, but the one player who may have emerged with his reputation intact is their latest superstar, Neymar.
The worrying thing for Brazil is that the Barcelona forward might be the only player in their current ranks who can be dubbed a superstar, but Dunga’s squad have a fresh look about them which could see one or two other players emerge as world stars in this very tournament.
Neymar is just 23 years of age, but is already the leader of this Brazil side, both literally as their captain, and figuratively as their designated “Craque”. The former Santos forward had already amassed 24 international goals prior to putting on a Barcelona shirt in the summer of 2013, and has since take this tally to 43.
Only Pelé (77 goals), Ronaldo (62), Romário (55), and Zico (48) are ahead of him in the list of Brazil’s all time goalscorers, and at such a young age Neymar looks set to climb further up this list in the years to come.
This year’s Copa America is a chance for Neymar to start adding meaningful international honours to his CV, to go with the goals.
Although there’s no such thing as a meaningless international game for Brazil, he’ll want more than just a Confederations Cup win to his name in the coming years. Neymar was an integral part of his team’s triumph in that competition back in 2013, walking away with the award for best player.
During that tournament he was ably assisted by the goal poaching exploits of Fred, and he’ll need similar support from Roberto Firminho this time around, if Brazil are to reach the latter stages of the Copa America.
Alexis Sanchez - Chile
Whilst this is an important tournament for Neymar and Messi, it could be a career defining one for Arsenal and Chile forward Alexis Sanchez.
Sanchez will return to his homeland to find a nation of football fans expecting great things of this team of stars, and the number seven will be the an important attacking focal point.
Not many players can outshine Lionel Messi in terms of entertainment on a football pitch, but during his time at Barcelona, Sanchez occasionally did just that.
If Chile are to triumph in this Copa America on home soil, then he might have to give a more sustained run of performances to usurp tournament favourites Argentina, and their irrepressible number 10.
Sanchez fits perfectly into the system used by Chile’s highly respected coach Jorge Sampaoli, and the other components of the squad should fit snugly into place. If these theories work in practice, this could give Chile a slight advantage over the ongoing experiment that is Argentina, and the unpredictability of tournament mode Brazil.
James Rodríguez - Colombia
As the player who should have been awarded the Golden Ball at the 2014 World Cup, James Rodríguez heads into his first competition since the world, and more specifically Real Madrid, first sat up and took notice of him.
Neymar aside, he was perhaps the most “Brazilian” player on show last summer, donning a yellow number 10 shirt, and blasting in the goal of the tournament from his playmaking position.
The Colombian is a key part of the national side, but like the other players mentioned here, he’ll be relying on one or two others to step up to his level if his side are to be successful.
Rodríguez has taken his newfound stardom in his stride, and he’ll be hoping to slide through balls into the stride of Colombia’s forwards: Radamel Falcao, Jackson Martínez, and Carlos Bacca who’s fresh from his Europa League heroics with Sevilla.
Giorgian de Arrascaeta - Uruguay
With Luis Suarez still suspended, Diego Forlán retired, and several other players from the old guard not included, Uruguay’s wily old coach Óscar Tabárez will be looking to a new generation to provide the creativity for Edinson Cavani up front.
A young set of forward players including Diego Rolán, Jonathan Rodríguez, and Abel Hernández will be looking to fill the voids left by Suarez and Forlan, but Giorgian de Arrascaeta could be an emerging star in the tournament, and will pull the strings behind the strikers from his attacking midfield position if given the chance.
The 21-year-old plays his club football for Cruzeiro in Brazil, having joined the current Série A champions from Defensor Sporting in Uruguay at the start of 2015. De Arrascaeta is a quick, skilful player who could be described as a right footed version of his mercurial left-footed team-mate, and fellow playmaker, Nicolás Lodeiro.
It’s likely that he’ll be competing with Lodeiro for a place in the squad, but it’s entirely possible that the combination of left and right footer could be used as playmakers behind a lone striker, should the other forwards fail to impress.
He’s been given the number 10 shirt in the squad, which could be seen as a vote of confidence, and Uruguay will be hoping he can surprise a few opposition players with his bursts from midfield and eye for a pass.
Yordy Reyna - Peru
Peru find themselves in a group with South American heavyweights Brazil, tournament dark horses Colombia, and Venezuela, and they’re likely to be fighting with the latter for third place in the group.
The white and reds’ squad is made up of experienced campaigners such as Paolo Guerrero, who was the top scorer in last Copa, and Jefferson Farfán, as well as the odd promising player in their early twenties.
One such player is 21-year-old forward Yordy Reyna, who currently plays for Red Bull Salzburg, but has spent the last couple of seasons on loan at a few other clubs in Austria and Germany.
He’ll wear the number 11 shirt for Peru in this tournament, and whilst he’s not a guaranteed starter, he’ll be one worth keeping an eye out for should he make an appearance.
Reyna is a quick right-footed attacker who can cause problems for opposition defences in most areas of the final third. He can create from the wings, play off the shoulder of a defender, as well as being able to attack from deep with lightning fast dribbling. He’s also not scared to use his left foot, and has scored goals on his weaker side in the past.
He’s likely to be competing with another young Peruvian star, André Carrillo, for a place in this squad, but the two could well line up together in a front three in years to come.
Derlis González - Paraguay
Paraguay attacker Derlis González failed to make the grade at Portuguese side Benfica, despite scoring a couple of good goals for their B-team. However, the 21-year-old wasn't deterred, and arrived back in Europe at FC Basel in 2014 after impressing on loan at Guaraní and Olimpia back in Paraguay.
He made 8 appearances in the 2014/15 Champions League as his club made it to the first knockout round, and he even managed to score his side’s only goal against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
This was one of three goals he scored in the world’s most prestigious club competition, and he didn’t look at all out of place playing in it. González, like Reyna, is a quick, tricky right footed attacker who has the pace to play out wide, but also the skill to play centrally.
He’s another young player who’s been given a squad number in the first eleven for his respective country, and Paraguay will be hoping he can be a key part of their bid to reach the knock-out stages of the competition.
