Copa América final: Messi stands in way of Chile’s history makers

[Jonathan Wilson]

The Argentinian camp is relaxed before the final but Chile, too, are confident with Claudio Bravo saying: ‘We’re not playing the best team in history’The training field echoes with laughter. Someone makes a joke about Lionel Messi, Ezequiel Garay and their shared love of Newell’s Old Boys. The players are, demonstrably, having fun: talk of splits and the destabilising presence of Carlos Tevez seems a long way in the past. Inside, Animal Planet still plays silently on the television in the corner and the technical staff still analyse their data, but they are no longer mumbling darkly about Louis van Gaal giving them a “ruined” Ángel Di María, short on game-time and confidence. Argentina’s mood is noticeably relaxed.
The difference from the tense atmosphere during the first week of the Copa América could hardly be more pronounced. After the draw against Paraguay in the group game Messi paced the corridors by night, wondering how it could be going wrong again. He has been far more involved in this tournament than he was at the World Cup, both on and off the pitch; he has become a captain rather than just the man who wears the armband.
Continue reading...

More...