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Copa America Overview
The Copa America is the main competition for men’s national football teams which are governed by the CONMEBOL federation. A total of 12 teams from all over South America compete in the Copa America. The tournament is currently held every 4 years. It is the world’s oldest surving soccer tournaments, being founded in 1916 as part of Argentina’s independence centenary. There are no qualifying stages for the tournament, as all ten CONMEBOL teams have the right to participate in the competition and two teams are invited. The highest finishing team has the right to participate in the next edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup. The current champions of the tournament are the Brazilian National Football Team. Argentina and Uruguay are the most successful teams, winning 14 championships each.
History of the Copa America
The Copa America was first held between July 2nd and July 17th 1916 as part of the Argentina’s Independence Day ceremony. It was originally called the South American Championship and held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Uruguay became the first champion of the competition, with Isabelino Gradín becoming the top scorer of the tournament. This event was also the foundation of the South American Federation CONMEBOL, which took place during the middle of the tournament on July, 9th 1916.
From that point onward the tournament was held every two years. Uruguay and Argentina dominated the competition for the first thirty years of the tournament. The two countries also hosted the tournament, the most amounts of times out of any country. Legends such as Uruguay striker Pedro Petrone and Argentinean centre forward Herminio Masantonio participated in the tournament, and greatly contributed their team’s success during this era.
The name of the tournament was changed to Copa America in 1975. Between then and 1983 there was not host nation for the competition, and the tournament was held both in away and home fashion. In 1984 CONMEBOL adopted the policy of rotating the right to host the Copa América amongst the ten member confederations. The first rotation was completed after Venezuela hosted the 2007 Copa America. CONMEBOL then changed the amount of time between each tournament from every 2 years to every 4 years.
Currently Brazil is the reining champions of the competition, as they beat Argentina by a score a 3-0 with Robinho becoming the lead scorer of the squad. Argentina and Uruguay are to this date the most successful nations in the competition having a total of fourteen championships. Norberto Méndez and Zizinho have the most goals (seventeen) out any player to participate in the competition.
Trophy
Past Winners
| Year | Winner | Runner Up | Score | Third Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Argentina | Mexico | 2 - 1 | Colombia |
| 1995 | Uruguay | Brazil | 5-3(penalty kicks) | Colombia |
| 1997 | Brazil | Bolivia | 3 - 1 | Mexico |
| 1999 | Brazil | Uruguay | 3-0 | Mexico |
| 2001 | Colombia | Mexico | 1-0 | Honduras |
| 2004 | Brazil | Argentina | 4-2 (penalty kicks) | Uruguay |
| 2007 | Brazil | Argentina | 3-0 | Mexico |
Most Successful Teams
| Team | Num. of Wins |
|---|---|
| Uruguay | 14 |
| Argentina | 14 |
| Brazil | 8 |
| Paraguay | 2 |
| Peru | 2 |
| Colombia | 1 |
Important Links
http://www.conmebol.com/ www.timesdaily.com
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