As finals go, this one crested the pinnacle in human endeavour, commitment, and physical stamina without ever doing the same in quality. Chile were a giant blur of red with their men pressing the Argentinians hard and knocking them successfully off stride. Leo Messi fell victim to pitbull Gary Medel who essentially kicked him out of the game right in front of Tata Martino in tactics similar to Brazil’s in the 2007 Copa America final.
Jorge Sampaoli adopted a three man back line with Marcelo Diaz positioned as libero with Medel free to pursue Messi and leave him his calling cards. That still doesn’t excuse Messi who flickered briefly but was largely invisible once again in a crucial match which will do nothing to dampen the criticism he values his club career over his country. Argentina were also hamstrung early as Angel Di Maria had to be withdrawn pulling up after haring down the pitch with a gaggle of Chileans in pursuit. Ezekiel Lavezzi was drafted on this emergency. The PSG man ended the first half with the Albiceleste’s best scoring chance when Javier Pastore’s cut back found him open but his shot was straight to Claudio Bravo. The first half also saw the Chilean back line of Medel, Diaz, and Silva living a bit dangerously after picking up bookings for their edgy tackling.
The second half was Chile suffocating the Argentinians for the first 15 minutes with their manic pressing as Alexis Sanchez created an early chance for Arturo Vidal but his header was straight to Sergio Romero. Chile looked at its threatening best when Sanchez, the Arsenal man was blowing by Nicholas Otamendi at will but the Argentinian defense led by Javier Mascherano, their man of the match closed them out just when they got into scoring positions. Matigol Fernandez’s coming on for Jorge Valdivia having a quiet match by his standards was met by a strong reaction of displeasure. The Argentinians replaced Aguero with Gonzalo Higuain. The Man City striker had one clear chance when his header was flicked off by Bravo but otherwise he too was subdued.
Could any of these sides win in regulation? Just at the stroke, the Albiceleste came about as close to a heart stopping winner as Messi broke free on a counter, fed Lavezzi; and as the Chileans desperately out of position watched, his pass rolling across goal was met by a fractionally out of position Higuain who couldn’t quite squeeze his shot from that tight angle into goal. A collective gust of relief could be heard all across the country. The scoring impasse was maintained in extra time although the indefatigable Sanchez had two clear chances first volleying a la Bergkamp, a Charles Aranguiz’s cleverly scooped ball which isolated him, just wide. Then Bravo started a counter after Zabaleta missed his long throw and Sanchez motored down into acres of space but not fast enough for Mascherano to pressure him heroically into a hasty shot which flashed just over the crossbar.
There it was. Left to penalties and the question of who had enough legs, desire, and composure to win. A question soon answered quickly enough as the Argentinians after tying Matigol’s penalty kick through Messi fell apart as Higuain skied his spectacularly and Banega’s limp offering was saved by Bravo. Messi barely watching wore a sickened look. The Chileans continued with Vidal and Aranguiz, leaving Sanchez to score the winning penalty, and celebrate by tearing off his jersey. 99 years of futility wiped out.
This was a match won by a better conditioned side who showed enough desire, commitment, and a team approach. There were many heroes including the undersized back line as Medel, Diaz, and Silva elevated themselves to shut out the taller Argentinians on set pieces. Sanchez and Vidal were indefatigable presences who harassed the Argentinians with and without the ball. The Albiceleste’s best player was Mascherano, clearly their heart and soul, not Messi on this day. This has become an embarrassing theme for the Argentinians who show so much promise, talent, but with their third failed Copa final in succession and the 2014 World Cup pipping at the post by the Germans, not enough desire or tactical adjustments to win it all.