2015 Copa América
The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015.[1] The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body.
| Copa América Chile 2015 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Chile |
| Dates | 11 June – 4 July |
| Teams | 12 (from 2 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 9 (in 8 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Chile (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Argentina |
| Third place | Peru |
| Fourth place | Paraguay |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 26 |
| Goals scored | 59 (2.27 per match) |
| Attendance | 655,902 (25,227 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Eduardo Vargas Paolo Guerrero (4 goals each) |
| Best player(s) | Lionel Messi |
| Best young player | Jeison Murillo |
| Best goalkeeper | Claudio Bravo |
| Fair play award | Peru |
← 2011 2016 → | |
Twelve teams competed: the ten members of CONMEBOL and two guests from CONCACAF – Mexico and Jamaica, the latter of which competed in the Copa América for the first time.
Uruguay were the defending champions, but were eliminated by the host nation Chile in the quarter-finals. Chile won their first title, defeating Argentina in the final on penalties after a goalless draw. As winners, they qualified for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.
Host country edit
Originally, it was to be hosted by Brazil, as suggested by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) in February 2011[2] due to CONMEBOL's rotation policy of tournaments being held in alphabetical order. However, due to the organization of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics in that country, Brazil decided against also hosting the Copa América. CONMEBOL's president Nicolas Leoz had mentioned the possibility of the tournament being organized in Mexico (despite this country not being a member of CONMEBOL) as part of the federation's centenary celebrations.[3] Brazil and Chile's Football Federations discussed the idea of swapping around the order of being hosts of the 2015 and 2019 tournaments.[4] The swap was made official in May 2012.[5]
Venues edit
There were nine different stadiums in eight cities used for the tournament. Most stadiums were renovated or rebuilt for the contest.
2015 Copa América (Chile) | Santiago | Concepción | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estadio Nacional | Estadio Monumental | Estadio Municipal de Concepción | |
| Capacity: 48,745[6] | Capacity: 47,347[7] | Capacity: 30,448[6] | |
| Viña del Mar | Antofagasta | Valparaíso | |
| Estadio Sausalito | Estadio Regional de Antofagasta | Estadio Elías Figueroa | |
| Capacity: 22,360[6] | Capacity: 21,170[6] | Capacity: 21,113[6] | |
| Temuco | La Serena | Rancagua | |
| Estadio Municipal Germán Becker | Estadio La Portada | Estadio El Teniente | |
| Capacity: 18,413[6] | Capacity: 18,243[6] | Capacity: 13,849[6] | |
Teams edit
Mexico and Japan were initially invited to join the 10 CONMEBOL nations in the tournament.[8][9] Japan declined the invitation, and China was invited instead,[10][11] but later withdrew due to the Asian sector of qualification for the 2018 World Cup being held at the same time.[12][13] In May 2014, it was announced that the Jamaica Football Federation had accepted an invitation to participate,[14] thus making Jamaica the first Caribbean nation to compete in Copa America.
Draw edit
The draw of the tournament was originally to be held on 27 October 2014 in Viña del Mar,[15] but was postponed to 24 November.[16] The 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four.[17]
CONMEBOL announced the composition of the four pots on 10 November 2014.[18][19] Pot 1 contained the hosts Chile (which has been automatically assigned to position A1), together with Argentina and Brazil. The remaining nine teams were allocated to the other three pots according to their FIFA World Rankings as of 23 October 2014 (shown in brackets), even though Colombia was rated higher than Brazil.[20] On 23 November 2014, it was announced by CONMEBOL that Argentina and Brazil had been assigned to positions B1 and C1, respectively.[21]
Squads edit
Each country had a final squad of 23 players (three of whom had to be goalkeepers) which had to be submitted before the deadline of 1 June 2015.[22]
The 2015 UEFA Champions League Final date of 6 June caused problems for South American players for Barcelona and Juventus. FIFA international rules require clubs to release players 14 days prior to the start of an international tournament, but the players featured in the final, leaving them at most five days to acclimate.[23] For example, Arturo Vidal arrived two days before Chile's first match against Ecuador, and played with little training with his national team.[24]
Mexico manager Miguel Herrera decided to prioritize the upcoming 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, saying, "We have to win at all costs in order to face the United States in the playoffs that guarantee a spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup."[25] The Mexican squad was a team composed mostly from the local league with little international experience.[25]
Uruguayan forward Luis Suárez was suspended for the whole tournament, as he served a nine-match ban in international football for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay's final group stage match against Italy in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[26]
Match officials edit
Source:[27]
Group stage edit
The fixture schedule was announced on 11 November 2014.[28]
The first round, or group stage, saw the twelve teams divided into three groups of four teams. Each group was a round-robin of six games, where each team played one match against each of the other teams in the same group. Teams were awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and none for a defeat. The teams finishing first, second and two best-placed third teams in each group qualified for the quarter-finals.
- Tie-breaking criteria
Teams were ranked on the following criteria:[22]
- Greater number of points in all group matches
- Goal difference in all group matches
- Greater number of goals scored in all group matches
- Head-to-head result (between two teams only)
- Penalty shoot-out (if both teams are playing the last match of the group stage)
- Drawing of lots by the CONMEBOL Organizing Committee
All times local, CLT (UTC−3).[29]
Group A edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chile (H) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Bolivia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 4 | |
| 3 | Ecuador | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Mexico | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
| 11 June 2015 | |||
| Chile | 2–0 | Ecuador | Estadio Nacional, Santiago |
| 12 June 2015 | |||
| Mexico | 0–0 | Bolivia | Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar |
| 15 June 2015 | |||
| Ecuador | 2–3 | Bolivia | Estadio Elías Figueroa, Valparaíso |
| Chile | 3–3 | Mexico | Estadio Nacional, Santiago |
| 19 June 2015 | |||
| Mexico | 1–2 | Ecuador | Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua |
| Chile | 5–0 | Bolivia | Estadio Nacional, Santiago |
Group B edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Paraguay | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 5 | |
| 3 | Uruguay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Jamaica | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
Group C edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Peru | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Colombia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Venezuela | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
| 14 June 2015 | |||
| Colombia | 0–1 | Venezuela | Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua |
| Brazil | 2–1 | Peru | Estadio Municipal Germán Becker, Temuco |
| 17 June 2015 | |||
| Brazil | 0–1 | Colombia | Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago |
| 18 June 2015 | |||
| Peru | 1–0 | Venezuela | Estadio Elías Figueroa, Valparaíso |
| 21 June 2015 | |||
| Colombia | 0–0 | Peru | Estadio Municipal Germán Becker, Temuco |
| Brazil | 2–1 | Venezuela | Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago |
Ranking of third placed teams edit
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | Uruguay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | C | Colombia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | A | Ecuador | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 3 |
Rules for classification: 1) points in all group matches; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) lots drawn by CONMEBOL.[22]
Knockout stage edit
In the knockout stage, the eight teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the following rules:[22]
- In the quarter-finals, teams from the same group could not play each other.
- In the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and third place playoff, if tied after 90 minutes, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (no extra time was played).
- In the final, if tied after 90 minutes, 30 minutes of extra time were played. If still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner.
Bracket edit
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 24 June – Santiago | ||||||||||
| Chile | 1 | |||||||||
| 29 June – Santiago | ||||||||||
| Uruguay | 0 | |||||||||
| Chile | 2 | |||||||||
| 25 June – Temuco | ||||||||||
| Peru | 1 | |||||||||
| Bolivia | 1 | |||||||||
| 4 July – Santiago | ||||||||||
| Peru | 3 | |||||||||
| Chile (p) | 0 (4) | |||||||||
| 26 June – Viña del Mar | ||||||||||
| Argentina | 0 (1) | |||||||||
| Argentina (p) | 0 (5) | |||||||||
| 30 June – Concepción | ||||||||||
| Colombia | 0 (4) | |||||||||
| Argentina | 6 | |||||||||
| 27 June – Concepción | ||||||||||
| Paraguay | 1 | Third place play-off | ||||||||
| Brazil | 1 (3) | |||||||||
| 3 July – Concepción | ||||||||||
| Paraguay (p) | 1 (4) | |||||||||
| Peru | 2 | |||||||||
| Paraguay | 0 | |||||||||
Quarter-finals edit
| Brazil | 1–1 | Paraguay |
|---|---|---|
| Robinho 14' | Report | González 71' (pen.) |
| Penalties | ||
| Fernandinho Ribeiro Miranda Douglas Costa Coutinho | 3–4 | Martínez V. Cáceres Bobadilla Santa Cruz González |
Semi-finals edit
Third place playoff edit
Final edit
Statistics edit
Goalscorers edit
Chile's Eduardo Vargas and Peru's Paolo Guerrero scored the most goals, with 4 each. In total, 59 goals were scored by 39 different players, with two of them credited as own goals.
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- Lionel Messi
- Javier Pastore
- Marcos Rojo
- Ronald Raldes
- Martin Smedberg-Dalence
- Douglas Costa
- Neymar
- Roberto Firmino
- Robinho
- Thiago Silva
- Mauricio Isla
- Gary Medel
- Alexis Sánchez
- Jeison Murillo
- Édgar Benítez
- Derlis González
- Nelson Valdez
- André Carrillo
- Christian Cueva
- Claudio Pizarro
- José Giménez
- Cristian Rodríguez
- Miku
- Salomón Rondón
- Own goals
- Ronald Raldes (against Chile)
- Gary Medel (against Peru)
Source: CONMEBOL.com[30]
Assists edit
3 assists[31]
2 assists[31]
Winners edit
| 2015 Copa América champions |
|---|
| Chile 1st title |
Awards edit
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.[32]
- Golden Ball Award: This was the first time of Copa America's history "Golden Ball Award" cancelled. Lionel Messi rejected it but Argentina's staff was to receive the award.[33][34][35][36]
- Golden Boot Award: Eduardo Vargas and Paolo Guerrero (4 goals each)
- Best Young Player Award: Jeison Murillo
- Golden Glove Award: Claudio Bravo
- Fair Play Award: Peru
Final Man of the Match Award edit
Team of the Tournament edit
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Marketing edit
Sponsorship edit
- Banco Santander
- MasterCard
- Kia Motors
- America Móvil (Claro Americas and Telcel)
- The Coca-Cola Company
- Kellogg's (Pringles)
- DHL
- LAN-TAM
- Canon
- Airbnb
- Opta Sports
- Aggreko
- Arena sport TV[38]
Logo and slogan edit
On 2 April 2014, the official logo was unveiled, along with the slogan "El Corazón del Fútbol" ("The Heart of Football").
Match ball edit
On 16 November 2014, the official match ball (OMB) was unveiled at the Estadio Nacional. The name of the ball is Nike Cachaña, which is a Chilean slang term for a successful feint or dribble. During its launch, the Chilean international Arturo Vidal was present. The ball is mainly designed with white as main appearance featured with blue and red applications, representing host nation Chile. The colors of Chilean flag make a statement in the design of this ball: the red representing the people, the blue symbolizing the Chilean sky, and the white for the Andes that so strongly define the geography of this country.[39]
Mascot edit
The official mascot of the tournament, a young culpeo fox, was unveiled on 17 November 2014.[40] The name of the mascot, "Zincha" (from Zorro (fox) and hINCHA (fan)), was chosen by the public over two other options, "Andi" and "Kul".[41]
Official song edit
"Al Sur del Mundo" by Chilean group Noche de Brujas served as the official song of the tournament. It was performed during the opening ceremony of the competition on 11 June. It features the different cultures of the twelve competing nations.[42]
Incidents and controversies edit
The day after Chile's 3–3 draw against Mexico in their second group match, Jorge Sampaoli gave the players a day off from training. They had to return to the training ground by 9pm, but Arturo Vidal did not arrive. He had been involved in a traffic accident on his way back to the ground,[43] and arrested for driving under the influence.[44] He spent the night in jail, and appeared in court the morning after.[45] His driving license was revoked, and he was sentenced to pay for the damage done. Although there was speculation that he would be dropped, Sampaoli opted to keep him on the team.[46]
An on-pitch brawl broke out following Colombia's 1–0 win over Brazil in their second group match; Brazilian captain Neymar deliberately kicked the ball at opponent Pablo Armero and attempted to headbutt Colombian matchwinner Jeison Murillo, earning a red card. As a result, Colombian forward Carlos Bacca retaliated by pushing Neymar over, and was himself sent off.[47] CONMEBOL fined Neymar $10,000 and suspended him for four matches, ruling him out for the remainder of the tournament,[48] while Bacca was suspended for two matches.[49]
In Chile's quarter-final victory over Uruguay, full-back Gonzalo Jara poked Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani in the anus, and then fell when Cavani slapped him in retaliation. Both Cavani and Jara received a yellow card for the incident, which resulted in Cavani being sent off because he had previously received another yellow card for insulting one of the referees' assistants. Jara was later suspended for two games, which made him miss the rest of the tournament.[50] His club, Mainz 05 of Germany, criticized Jara for the incident and stated that he would be sold.[51] However he would remain with the club until 16 January 2016 when he agreed to terminate his contract with them.[52]
References edit
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- ^ Iannacca, Márcio. "Copa América será no Brasil em 2015, confirma CBF em seminário". globoesporte.com.
- ^ COPESA, Consorcio Periodistico de Chile S.A. (21 July 2009). . latercera.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ . Nación.cl. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ [It's official: the 2015 Copa América will be in Chile]. conmebol.com (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 10 May 2012. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Copa América 2015". conmebol.com.
- ^ . Copa América. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ "Reunión de Presidentes y el C. Ejecutivo". CONMEBOL.com. 24 October 2012. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013.
- ^ . sdpnoticias.com. 13 February 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- ^ "China to enter 2015 Copa America in Chile". wildeastfootball.net. 2 March 2014.
- ^ "China accept 2015 Copa America invitation". tribalfootball.com. 3 March 2014.
- ^ . Hupu.com. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original on 18 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ . Hupu.com. 19 April 2014. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
- ^ "Jamaica to tackle Copa America". rjrnewsonline. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- ^ "Sorteo de la Copa América 2015 se realizará en octubre en Viña del Mar" [2015 Copa América draw will be in October in Viña del Mar] (in Spanish). biobiochile.cl. 19 February 2014.
- ^ "Copa América Chile 2015: la ceremonia del sorteo se realizará el 24 de noviembre" [Copa América Chile 2014: drawing ceremony will be on 24 November] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 26 August 2014.
- ^ . Copa América 2015. 24 November 2014. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ "La Copa América Chile 2015 tiene a sus cabezas de serie: la anfitriona, Argentina y Brasil" [The 2015 Copa América has its top seeds: the hosts, Argentina and Brazil] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 10 November 2014.
- ^ . Copa América Chile 2015. 11 November 2014. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- ^ Akerman, Nick (23 October 2014). "FIFA World Rankings: Updated Standings After Latest International Fixtures". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ "Conmebol fijó los grupos de los cabezas de serie para la Copa" [CONMEBOL assigns groups to the top seeds for the Copa] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 23 November 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Reglamento Copa América – Chile 2015" (PDF). CONMEBOL.com.
- ^ Pérez Serrano, Ángel (28 July 2014). "La Copa América, pesadilla del Barça este año" [The Copa América, Barça's nightmare this year] (in Spanish). mundodeportivo.com. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ a b Paullier, Juan. "¿Por qué México no manda a sus estrellas a la Copa América Chile 2015?" [Why isn't Mexico sending its stars to the 2015 Copa América in Chile?] (in Spanish). BBC. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ^ . FIFA. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- ^ . CONMEBOL. 23 May 2015. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ^ . Ca2015.com.com. 11 November 2014. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
- ^ . CONMEBOL.com. 25 April 2015. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
- ^ "Copa America Chile 2015 — Goleadores". CONMEBOL.
- ^ a b Copa América statistics: assists
- ^ . Copa América 2015. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015.
- ^ "BeIN Sports: Messi habría rechazado el MVP del torneo" [BeIN Sports: Messi reportedly rejects MVP award for tournament] (in Spanish). AS.com. 5 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
- ^ "Lionel Messi allegedly refuses best player award at Copa America as trophy removed from ceremony". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- ^ "Messi rechazó recoger el premio a MVP de la Copa América". Marca (in Spanish). Spain. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- ^ "Messi rechazó el MVP del Argentina-Paraguay de la Copa América". Sport. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
- ^ . Copa América Chile 2015. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ^ . Footballwood. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ . Copa América Chile 2015. 17 November 2014. Archived from the original on 20 November 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- ^ . Copa América Chile 2015. 28 November 2014. Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ . Copaamerica.Footballwood. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- ^ "Arturo Vidal se ve involucrado en un choque durante su tarde libre". 24horas.cl (in Spanish). 16 June 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ^ "Vidal queda detenido por conducir bajo la influencia del alcohol". 24horas.cl (in Spanish). 17 June 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ^ "Arturo Vidal es formalizado en Juzgado de San Bernardo". alairelibre (in Spanish). 17 June 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ^ "Sampaoli mantiene a Vidal en la Roja: "Lo que necesitamos es incluirlo"". 24horas.cl (in Spanish). 17 June 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ^ "Copa America: FT: Brazil 0–1 Colombia". BBC. 17 June 2015.
- ^ "Neymar suspended for remainder of Copa America tournament". ESPN. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
- ^ Macguire, Eoghan (21 June 2015). "Copa America 2015: Neymar banned for remainder of tournament". CNN. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ Grez, Matias (30 June 2015). "Copa America 2015: Gonzalo Jara's poke in backside earns him ban". CNN. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ "Angry Mainz to offload Gonzalo Jara for prodding Edinson Cavani's bottom". The Guardian. Reuters. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ Gonzalo Jara leaves Mainz 05
External links edit
- Copa América Chile 2015 (Official website) (in English)
- Copa América 2015, CONMEBOL.com (in Spanish)