Copa America 2015: Colombia, Brazil Disappoint in Quarterfinal
The Copa America is now headed to the semifinals, and the world has experienced a great deal of elation for major winners and yet a plethora of disappointments from those that were expected to do so much more.
Of the four remaining teams in the tournament, two of them were expected to make deep runs. The other two remaining sides were among the three worst teams in World Cup 2014 qualifiers. Those two sides, Peru and Paraguay, are where they are on their own merit, but there is no doubt that they left rather disappointing sides in the dust.
Here are the biggest disappointments of the quarterfinals at the Copa America.
Colombia Finishes Chile Run With One Goal
James Rodriguez, Radamel Falcao, Jackson Martinez, Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Victor Ibarbo and Teofilo Gutierrrez. What do these players have in common aside from being a superstar cast for Colombia's offense? A big fat zero. These players combined for zero goals in four games for Los Cafeteros.
Two make matters worse: They combined for two shots on goal against Argentina in 45 minutes of play -- the second 45 minutes of the game no less. The first 45 minutes of Colombia's quarterfinal match was dedicated to kicking, grinding and watching the opposition dribble and pass around them. If not for the magical saves of David Ospina, Colombia likely gets blown out in its final game of the tournament.
As it turns out the team got a chance at redemption during the penalties but still managed to lose against Argentina.
Pekerman's Poor Strategizing
Throughout the tournament, Jose Pekerman reverted to a 4-2-2-2 formation to give captain Radamel Falcao a chance to contribute on the national side.
Time and again his plan faltered and Colombia's offense failed to provide any major spark. The reason was that offensive dynamo James Rodriguez was getting left in no man's land out of position.
So against Argentina he opted for a 4-1-3-2 with the hopes that James would play in his proper position and give Colombia a chance to dominate the midfield more.
It failed as well, and just 25 minutes in, Teofilo Gutierrez came off for another midfielder so that a 4-2-3-1 formation could take over.
The 4-1-3-2 formation is top heavy but great for a team with possession that will over run the opposition offense incessantly. The problem for Colombia was that the possession game was not theirs, but Argentina's and the formation left the team exposed at the back with Alexander Mejia the only option to shut down Messi. Rodriguez was forced back to defend, something that is a weak point for him and did little to help the team.
The 4-2-3-1 formation restored some balance to Colombia's midfield but was useless with the team unable find any rhythm or semblance of possession.
Moreover, the team's rough tactics were unattractive, a brutal far cry from the fast paced and beautiful counter attacking soccer that won the world over in 2014 at the World Cup.
Pekerman likely felt that that kind of soccer would be useless against the grinding style of South American tournaments and opted to play that same style. Unfortunately his team is not built for that style of play and Pekerman would have been better served to play its free flowing game or one better suited for tighter spaces.
Dunga's Brazil Continues Its Downward Spiral
Times are bad for Dunga and Brazil. The 2-1 win over Venezuela showcased a side with potential but still left some concern over the team's near capitulation in the final moments of the match.
The capitulation came full circle in the quarterfinal against Paraguay with Dunga's team jumping out to a 1-0 lead after some brilliant performance but then letting back and almost arrogantly assuming the result was locked up.
Paraguay, which looked lost early in the game, started to find its form and eventually dominated Brazil until it got the chance to tie the score.
The penalties proved to be another weak point for Brazil but an appropriately painful elimination for a team that continues to look insecure on the back end.
Dunga was brought in to shore up the defense, and even if a 7-1 beating, like the Germany one from a year ago, is unlikely, the team still looks lost when other teams throw their best at them.
To put it in perspective: Colombia was disastrous on offense this entire tournament but managed to look like world beaters against Brazil. Initially this looked like Colombia's prowess had come through, but now it seems that that offensive brilliance was more a result of Brazil's defensive woes instead.
The offense has sputtered as well with Robinho's strike the only true moment of offensive genius from the team. Everyone knew that Dunga was not a coach for offensive brilliance, and this team, without Neymar, surely proved that idea right. Brazil owned over 57 percent of possession and was still outshot 11-6 by Paraguay. Paraguay had six shots on target to Brazil's three.
Now we can finally answer one question that has been on everyone's mind since Neymar's fateful suspension: Is there life after Neymar for Brazil? Very little.
Edinson Cavani
The Uruguayan forward had a putrid tournament, failing to score a goal and costing his team the quarterfinal after a strong defensive effort all around.
His retaliation on Gonzalo Jara was understandable, but he had to know that one false move would net his a red card. He failed to heed to discipline and put his team in a tough spot after doing little to nothing to help them win.
Uruguay was never a favorite to repeat without Luis Suarez, but Cavani was supposed to ease the team's stress levels and carry them offensively. He failed to do that will likely go down in ignominy for his turn in this tournament.