Copa America 2011: 5 Future Stars on Display in Argentina
The Copa America is back in Argentina next month to showcase the best of South American football.
The 10 members of CONMEBOL are participating along with two invitees.
Mexico will bring an Under-23 side in preparation for the 2012 Olympics due to their senior side's participation in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The other guest nation is Costa Rica, who belatedly joined the participants after Japan withdrew due to the Tōhoku earthquake in March.
The earthquake caused a temporary suspension of their domestic league. Thus, the rescheduling of the J-League conflicted with the Copa America and prevented domestic Japanese players from participating.
The tournament seems more competitive than ever with each side fielding a full strength squad (Mexico's extenuating circumstance aside) which is due to changing the cycle for staging the tournament which, in 2007, went from two to four years.
Most importantly, the tournament provides an opportunity for the host nation to revamp their football structure which Argentina have done to superbly.
AFA have tried to decentralize the country from its traditional football epicenter of Buenos Aires with all but one (the final) of the competition's games being staged in other cities, including La Plata, Santa Fe, Cordoba, San Juan, Mendoza, Salta and Jujuy.
The Copa America always provides a platform for the best South American football talent to be unearthed and give a glimpse of potential stars of the future.
Here are five talents that are destined for great careers and should be followed closely.
Follow Jack Alexandros on Twitter
Dayro Moreno, Club Tijuana and Colombia
1 of 5
Dayro Moreno, 25, is a Columbian attacker who can also operate wide right.
He is quick and a deadly in one-on-one situations as was demonstrated with his golazo against São Paulo in the 2010 Copa Libertadores.
The Tijuana star was purchased this year for $3.5 million from Once Caldas where Moreno starred last season.
He scored 28 goals in 44 games as the Manizales based club secured the Colombian title.
A star at Under-20 level with 16 goals in 26 games, Moreno's career stalled briefly in Romania where he spent two years playing for Steau Bucharest.
The Colombian hardly disgraced himself with scoring 12 times with limited opportunities but jumped at the opportunity to return home to play for his first club Once Caldas where he has regained his confidence and is fulfilling his talent once more.
Moreno will line up with prolific Porto striker Radamel Falcao. The problem is that Colombia, do not supply Falcao the service nearly as quickly as the Dragões do in the Portuguese league.
Subsequently Falcao will have to drop deep to get involved in the game. This is where Moreno should help replicate Falcao's form for Porto with Colombia.
Moreno possesses the ability to run at pace which will help Colombia operate a counter attack style in the majority of the games.
If Moreno can get close to Falcao quickly by carrying the ball upon Colombia regaining possession, then Los Cafeteros stand a chance of causing a upset or two.
If Moreno can replicate his club form for his country, he will surely go a long way to helping his team mate who suffers from the same problem.
Michael Arroyo, San Luis and Ecuador
2 of 5
Michael Arroyo is a powerful, explosive midfielder who is capable of turning defense in to attack with lung-bursting runs from one end of the pitch to the other.
Arroyo, 24, is the one of several new hopes for Ecuador who is rebuilding following their disappointing 2010 World Cup Qualification.
La Tri hopes to build on successful World Cup appearances in 2002 and 2006 by replacing this golden generation.
One of those is Édison Méndez, who is in the twilight of his career having earned 93 caps for the national side.
Arroyo is capable of replacing him long term in a central role but whilst the veteran is still able to contribute, Arroyo can be deadly operating in an alternative position.
Manager Reinaldo Rueda has deployed Arroyo slightly wider left where he is capable of covering back to help captain Walter Ayovi and when in attack cut in on to his right where he shoots from distance as demonstrated with his spectacular strike against Canada this month.
Ecuador is on the rise again and CONMEBOL have four automatic spots and one playoff spot available for World Cup 2014 that does not involve Brazil, who qualify automatically.
La Tri looks capable of achieving qualification, and Arroyo will be integral to its success.
Gary Medel, Sevilla and Chile
3 of 5
Gary Medel, 23, is a tenacious, tough-tackling defender-come-midfielder who is also comfortable in possession of the ball which allows him to be so versatile.
The Sevilla player draws comparisons with Gennaro Gattuso for his ability to cover endless blades of grass for the full 90 minutes.
He is equally comparable, in defense, to Carles Puyol with his no-nonsense approach to defending and his ability to read the game and intercept oppositions' attacks.
Unlike those he is compared with, Medel is capable of scoring too with the ability to wriggle free of his marker and attack the ball a la Nemanja Vidic.
Medel excelled at Universidad Catolica and then on loan at Boca Juniors and became a fan favorite before Sevilla mustered up the $8 million required to bring the Pitbull to Europe.
Medel is vulnerable to disciplinary problems due to his all action style that means a slight mistimed tackle can leave him prone to going in to the referee's book.
A bright future awaits the Chilean whose ability as a footballer is equally matched by a great attitude to the sport.
Fernando Muslera, Lazio and Uruguay
4 of 5
Fernando Muslera, 25, is an athletic goalkeeper capable of spectacular saves.
Muslera has plied his trade in Serie A with Lazio since 2007 and is an ever-improving goalkeeper who was integral to his club over-achieving this season by finishing fifth despite a lack of investment by the cash strapped Roman club.
Muslera's weakness has always been claiming crosses and high balls. He has made great steps in correcting his faults in this area over the past season.
He is tall, at 6'2" (1m 90cm), so he should be adept at claiming the ball should his timing be good.
Muslera has often been compared to Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the way he can reach down low extremely quickly and change directions to make double-saves or adapt to a deflections.
With a renaissance of such for the Uruguay national team, La Celeste is dominating games again and are third favorites for the Copa America.
As such, Muslera can expect to spend large periods of games as a spectator and will have to work on concentrating for when the opposition counter attack.
At 25 years old, Muslera is still very young for a goalkeeper but also possesses a significant amount of experience with five years of first team action and over 200 professional appearances.
Expect Muslera to continue to improve and eventually arrive at a top Champions League club.
Neymar, Santos and Brazil
5 of 5
Neymar, 19, is a phenomenal attacking talent that has already showcased his ability against world class opposition.
Neymar is extremely fast and possesses quick feet that can put defenders on their backsides without even moving the ball.
The Seleção star has already scored three goals in his five appearances and represents the great hope for the Brazilian national team and its quest to win the World Cup in front of its own fans in 2014.
Neymar has already become the star of his club, Santos, leading the Peixe to the final of the Copa Libertadores scoring five goals.
Before immediately impressing with the full national team, Neymar starred for the Under-20 team that won the 2011 South American Youth Championship.
Personally, Neymar won the player of the tournament and was the top scorer with nine goals, five more than any other player.
He has been linked with Chelsea and Real Madrid and Santos president Luis Álvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro is rumored to want as much as $65 million for the Samba superstar.
Neymar is destined for greatness and has risen to every challenge that has been put in front of him so far, therefore, one should presume that Neymar will have a big part to play in Brazil's pursuit of defending its Copa America.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
