COPA AMERICA; PARITY OR FARCE?

     The past two days of the Copa America has seen not just one, but four of its 'top contenders' eliminated in spectacular fashion. Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, and Chile have all been knocked out via a combination of shambolic penalty taking, inability to convert chances, and a general lack of urgency on the pitch in all four matches. At the moment Uruguay, conquerers of Messi and company, have emerged as clear favorites in a tournament where nothing has gone to plan for some of the best and most talented teams on the planet...

CARLOS TEVEZ AND A DISCUSSION ON WORTH

Driving home today from school I found myself in a discussion with my brother about a player who elicits from me a wide range of emotions. Carlos Tevez, Judas to one half of Manchester and Legend to the other half, comes across as a money driven, agent-manipulated modern star who cares only for himself.  For these reasons I maintain a certain disdain for him. This is in stark contrast to my feelings for Carlitos simply as a player; he is perhaps the hardest working superstar in the modern era, and on his day he can be the most technical, ambitious, and driven player on the pitch. He still plays like a hungry boy from the slums of Buenos Aires, which is refreshing to behold in a time where pampered superstars often lose interest in the very craft that made them famous (see: Ronaldinho). That he combines this tenacity with such a standoffish and often disgraceful attitude for his clubs, though, makes him difficult to like...

COLUMBIA'S RESURGENCE, AND THE MYSTERY OF MESSI

Two days ago I treated myself to a repeat viewing of ESPN's fantastic 30-for-30 documentary, The Two Escobars. Towards the end of the film, many former teammates of the murdered Andrés Escobar (killed supposedly due to his own goal in the 1994 World Cup) lamented that Columbian soccer had never recovered from the tragic aftermath of Columbia's dissapointing '94 campaign. Fans of Columbia's national team had become disenfranchised with the team, which had once stood in juxtaposition to the violent drug wars within the nation. Violence, indeed, had pervaded Columbia's sporting world, a last bastion of beauty and hope in the imploding nation...