Messi announces his retirement from the Argentina national team.
This ****ing tournament.
NOOOOOOOO. Messi
I can't at the Argentina's team disbanding after this. Being sub-champions 3 consecutive years is not an easy thing to do despite the deception of losing in the end.
They still have a great team and they did a great job the last world cup of 2014 (the first since 1990 that Argentina went to a Final).
Quote:
Maradona: “Si no ganamos, que no vuelvan”
Also Maradona can sit. He was a flop when he was a coach and the team is better now.
The meeting of Argentina and Chile in the 45th Copa América final was eagerly awaited as an alluring confrontation of two of the finest soccer teams in the world. Yet the game that materialized had all the charm and beauty of a street brawl.
Faces puckered in pain and anger. Studded cleats whipped dangerously in the air, aimed at flesh. Bodies collided with other bodies, crumpling and splaying onto the grass.
Those in the crowd of 82,026 — the largest soccer crowd in New Jersey history — who sought a showcase of sophisticated play were instead treated to a stream of crunching tackles, theatrical quarrels, disciplinary cards (eight yellows, two reds).
The game on Sunday had a violent start, establishing a fierce tone, and amid the constellation of superstars on both teams, the referee, Héber Lopes, somehow emerged as the center of attention. The only credible chance of the first half came in the 22nd minute, when Gonzalo Higuaín chipped his shot wide after finding himself one on one with goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. Otherwise, it was a parade of fouls and cards.
Scoring chances emerged as the game wore on, even as players’ legs grew wobbly, like boxers swaying, seeking a decisive blow, in a 12-round bout. The two goalkeepers traded athletic saves in a span of minutes in overtime. Everyone in the stadium — the fans, the players, the referee — seemed exhausted when the game went to penalty kicks.
Vidal stepped up first, and his shot was saved by keeper Sergio Romero of Argentina. Then came Messi, who whacked his attempt several yards over the bar. He spent parts of the shootout thereafter on his knees, staring at the ground. Argentina’s fourth shooter, Lucas Biglia, missed, too, setting up Chile’s decisive kick. Messi watched in despair.
The sellout crowd — thick with fans of Argentina dressed in light blue and white, speckled throughout with Chile supporters in red — represented one last mass spectacle to cap a month of entertaining games. In recent days, tournament organizers hailed the success of the event, specially scheduled for the 100th anniversary of the tournament and held for the first time outside South America. For the United States, it was a chance to reiterate its capacity to host a future World Cup.
The competition drew an average of 46,119 people per game, more than any other Copa tournament. Sunil Gulati, the president of U.S. Soccer, last week called those figures “World Cup numbers, for an event organized in seven months with 16 teams.” (The last three World Cups drew averages of 53,592, 49,499 and 52,609 people per game.)
SCORE SUMMARY
Pen. - CHI - Arturo Vidal (saved); Nicolás Castillo (make); Charles Aránguiz (make);
Jean Beausejour (make); Francisco Silva (make)
Pen. - ARG - Lionel Messi (miss); Javier Mascherano (make);
Sergio Agüero (make); Lucas Biglia (saved)