The 43rd edition of the Copa América takes place from 1 July and concludes on 24 July with the final in Buenos Aires.  The ten CONMEBOL member countries compete for South America’s most prestigious prize along with two invitee countries, these being Mexico and Costa Rica after Japan withdrew from the competition.

With South American football having a reputation for having skilful players who play with a lot of flair and, considering some of the names that will be on display, this year’s tournament promises to be as unpredictable as exciting.

This is the first article in a series of three previewing each of the teams in the three groups that they have been drawn into.  Group A contains fourteen-time champions Argentina which are joined by Colombia, Costa Rica and Bolivia.

The teams

Argentina

World Ranking:  5

Star player:  Lionel Messi

Argentina has, in Lionel Messi, probably the best player in the world today and the team’s success will to a large extent depend on his performances in the tournament.  Argentina was considered by many to be real contenders to lift the World Cup in South Africa last year until they were demolished by a clinical German outfit in the quarterfinal stage.  This time around Argentina have the core of those players still together, but with one major difference – the coach.  Diego Maradona is considered by many as the greatest player to have ever played the game, but as then coach his unpredictable temperament and erratic ways may have been one of the major reasons for Argentina’s failure at last year’s World Cup.  In Sergio Batista they now not only have someone that has won the World Cup as a player, but he has also had success as a coach when he guided Argentina to the Olympic Games Gold medal in 2008.  Following his appointment, Argentina has had memorable results in beating Brazil, World Champions Spain, and Portugal.  He may just be what is needed to mould a group of individual stars into a cohesive unit.  Argentina will in all likelihood win Group A and can be considered to be one of the favourites to go on to win the trophy.  Argentina’s biggest challenge will probably be to get the team selections and combinations right in terms of its abundance of world-class attacking talent in Messi, Di Maria, Tevez, Higuain, Agüero, Milito, and Lavezzi.  Not a bad headache to have.

Colombia

World Ranking:  49

Star player:  Radamel Falcao

Colombia has fallen from grace from the wonderful team they had in the early 1990s following the André Escobar assassination and subsequent years thereafter.  Colombia has not qualified for the past three World Cups despite having won the Copa América in 2001 on home soil and have slipped from being ranked 35th in June 2010.  However, the emergence of some exciting Colombian players plying their trade in some of the major European Leagues has led to some optimism around Colombia’s 2011 Copa América campaign.  Falcao has undoubtedly been Porto’s star in their march toward the Europa League crown while Fredy Guarín and Hugo Rodallega are two of their other important players.  Colombia will probably qualify for the quarterfinal stage in second place from Group A.

Costa Rica

World Ranking:  56

Star player:  Bryan Ruiz

Costa Rica replaced Japan as the second invitee team in Group A following Japan’s final withdrawal from the competition on 17 May.  The Copa América will definitely be less competitive following Japan’s late withdrawal and Costa Rica’s indication that they will field a squad largely made up of youngsters due to their participation in the CONCACAF Gold Cup which ends only a week before the start of the Copa América.  Bryan Ruiz is undoubtedly their star player, but whether he even participates remains to be seen.  Costa Rica will probably simply make the numbers and finish last in Group A.

Bolivia

World Ranking:  97

Star player:  Marcelo Moreno

Bolivia are nearly unbeatable when playing at home in La Paz mainly because of its altitude which has led to rival teams complaining to FIFA about the venue hosting competitive matches.  Despite a short ban as a result of these complaints, the stadium is still allowed to host competitive matches and remains Bolivia’s main competitive advantage over teams.  Although expected not to qualify for the quarterfinal stage, Bolivia may sneak through as one of the best-placed third place finishers.

The fixtures

Argentina vs. Bolivia – 1 July 2011, Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, La Plata

Colombia vs. Costa Rica – 2 July 2011, Cape Estadio 23 de Agosto, Jujuy

Argentina vs. Colombia – 6 July 2011, Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López, Santa Fe

Bolivia vs. Costa Rica – 7 July 2011, Estadio 23 de Agosto, Jujuy

Colombia vs. Bolivia – 10 July 2011, Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López, Santa Fe

Argentina vs. Costa Rica – 11 July 2011, Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba

Argentina will in all likelihood win Group A to progress to the quarterfinal stage of the competition while both Colombia and Bolivia (one as one of the two best third placed teams) may yet join them.  Group A promises to be one filled with excellent football and an abundance of quality.

The next article in this series will focus on Group B.

[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’right’]