2019 Copa America final brings together host Brazil against fellow Group A, Peru. The match will take place at the Estadio do Maracana on Sunday (7/7/2019). The Selecao is unstoppable. Go smoothly to the final round without defeat. In fact, not even though goalkeeper Alisson Becker conceded in 90 minutes of open play in all the games that were passed.
Tite’s foster children were troubled by the Paraguay ultra-defensive game, but could be skipped on penalties. The most serious reserves come from Argentina. However, as we have seen, Lionel Messi et al could not stop Brazil. Even though the statistics are prettier, Argentina must be eliminated in the semifinals by goals from Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino. In fact, Argentina had better possession (52%) and more shots; 9 (2 on targets) versus four (3 on targets) belonging to Brazil.
The hard code of the Tite troops will lift the 9th Copa America trophy at home. Moreover, the opponents who will be faced in the final round are Peru, which was hit 5-0 in the group stage. Peru was surprisingly able to finish Uruguay in the quarterfinals on penalties, then hit the defending champions Chile with a landslide score 3-0. Even so, Ricardo Gareca’s squad was not strong enough to avenge the previous defeat. Only silly mistakes can make the Samba Team slip.
In the Copa America event, there have been 18 clashes of Brazil vs Peru. Selecao won 12 times, Peru won 3 times, the rest drew. In the last 10 meetings, Peru has only won once, Brazil won seven times. Peru, the dark horse, certainly wants to lift the Copa America trophy for the third time. La Blanquirroja once lifted this trophy in 1939 and 1975. It has been 44 years they dreamed of lifting up the most prestigious trophy in South America. Surely the two teams will appear desperately. As an underdog, Peru does not seem to bear the heavy mental burden of Brazil. What should be watched out for by Tite (Brazilian coach), Peru has a record of always winning when penetrating the final. Although the achievement of the last trophy has been almost half a century ago, the record has become a boost for Paolo Guerrero et al.
Despite struggling in the group stage, even only qualifying as the third best, Peru was able to penetrate the final after overcoming a strong Chile team in the semifinal with a convincing score (3-0). But Brazil is also thirsty for the title. It’s been eight times champion, but the last trophy was appointed in 2007 or 12 years ago. Moreover, Gabriel Jesus et al did not want to tarnish the slick record of always winning when Brazil hosted the tournament. Looking at the statistics of the matches of the two teams in Group A, Peru only recorded 34 percent possession and made six shots (2 on target). While Firmino et al have 66 percent ball possession, 17 shots (9 on target), and scored five goals without conceding.
Imitate Mourinho
There is nothing wrong with the Peruvian coach, Ricardo Gareca (61), adopting Jose Mourinho’s bus parking strategy when bringing Inter Milan to win the 2010 Champions League. Mourinho defeated attacking football which was applied by Pep Guardiola with Barcelona and Louis van Gaal who gushed Bayern Munich. Facing Barcelona in two semi-final legs, Inter were able to get rid of Guardiola’s forces 3-2 on aggregate. Mou did not care about the scorn of the observers who considered him implementing the bus parking strategy.
As a result, the Special One forces hit Bayern Munich 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Only mastering 32 percent of the ball possession compared to 68 percent belongs to Bayern, Internazionale actually managed to lift the Champions League trophy in 2010. In the same season, Inter won the treble winner: Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League.
Lots of Lesson to be Learned
Gareca has quite a lot of subject matter before returning to face Tite in the top game. In addition to evaluating the 0-5 defeat in the group stage, he can also study Argentina’s defeat from the same opponent. That facing Brazil with open play is not a wise choice. Gareca seems to have to learn from the tactics used by Venezuelan coach Rafael Dudamel (46) and Paraguay coach Eduardo Berizzo (49). Because, only two coaches were able to reduce the aggressiveness of the Brazilian players. Only Venezuela and Paraguay did not concede or draw 0-0 against Selecao.
So, in this final match, like it or not, Gareca must play more defensively, while counterattacking quickly. If you need to force the match, it will end with a fight-tosan fight. As many people predicted, it seems that the final match at the Estadio do Maracana is still the property of the host. However, in my opinion, the winning score is no longer as striking as before. Brazil will likely win 3-1. While the Peruvian players will try hard to at least “injure” Alisson Becker’s clean sheet records throughout the tournament.
ASL
