Uruguay Finishes Atop an Ugly Copa América

So where was all that brilliant, attacking football we heard so much about?

A tournament that was supposed to be the elixir that cleans the palate of an ugly 2010 World Cup proved to be another exhibition of untidy, low-scoring football more notable for who didn’t play to expectations than who did.

When Uruguay’s national team, representing a country of only 3.5 million people, raised the Copa América in Buenos Aires on Sunday, it simultaneously marked the arrival of a true international powerhouse while throwing into sharp relief the flaws of two traditional superpowers.

So what is there to take away from the 2011 Copa América?

Uruguay’s World Cup run was no fluke

Behind a magical, Golden Ball-winning tournament from Diego Forlan, La Celeste earned a fourth-place finish in South Africa last summer, ahead of their much-lauded regional rivals Brazil and Argentina. Twelve months later, the football world seemed to have convinced itself that the traditional order would reassert itself in the Copa, with both Argentina and Brazil bringing in new managers to reignite their potent attacks.

Instead, Uruguay once again played a spirited brand of football and received a transcendent performance from a striker. It wasn’t Forlan, though. Luis Suarez, whose antics could make him a WWE-level heel during Brazil 2014, was a dazzling force on the attack, playing with an energy and fearlessness that seemed absent from much of the Copa.

The victory earned Uruguay their highest-ever placement in the FIFA World Rankings—fifth, behind perennial powerhouses like Spain, Germany and Brazil. There is still some question about their skill in the midfield, but with young keeper Fernando Muslera on the rise, a strong back end and a world-class striker in Suarez, La Celeste should be a real contender in 2014.

Brazil has a lot of work to do

With only three years before Brazil hosts football’s biggest stage, their national team appears deeply flawed. With their seemingly endless stream of all-world striker talent, the Seleção traditionally scores at will and with style. But despite the presence of Neymar, the next in that line of irrepressible scorers, Ganso and Robinho up front, the Brazilian attack never coalesced and they exited the tournament in the quarters with a loss on penalties to Paraguay.

Head coach Mano Menezes suggested the tournament ultimately wasn’t that important—2014 is the real goal—but the fact remains that there was no indication this squad knows how to harness its obvious talent.

Argentines should be hugely disappointed

With arguably the greatest collection of talent outside of Spain, the best player of a generation, and freed of the madness of Diego Maradona, this was supposed to be an opportunity for La Albiceleste to make a major statement on home turf, beat arch rival Brazil and end an 18-year Copa drought.

Their only problems were supposed to come on their back line, yet they struggled to even find a rhythm up front. Messi once again failed to have the signature international tournament still absent from his resumé and a quarterfinal exit ultimately cost Sergio Batista his job after only one year patrolling the Argentine sidelines.

Paraguay proves that wins are overrated

Paraguay’s run to the quarterfinals in South Africa was a thing of zero beauty, a miserable testament to the effectiveness of bend-but-don’t-break defending and physical, blue-collar football.

Paraguay’s second place finish at the Copa was a testament to the effectiveness of never winning a match.

Take a minute to peruse the football scores from the last few weeks. The Paraguayan side advanced to the elimination round with a series of low-scoring draws and snuck into the finals by beating Brazil and a resurgent Venezuelan squad on penalties. They were thoroughly outplayed throughout the elimination rounds, but refused to give up the one goal that could bury them–the same strategy that made their World Cup run possible.

While their resilience should be admired, it appears that there just isn’t much elite talent in the Paraguayan national program and it’s quite possible their luck will run out in the World Cup qualifiers.