The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held between 26 June and 15 July in Venezuela, which hosted the tournament for the first time.

2007 Copa América
Copa América Venezuela 2007
Copa América 2007 official logo
Tournament details
Host countryVenezuela
Dates26 June – 15 July
Teams12 (from 2 confederations)
Venue(s)9 (in 9 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Brazil (8th title)
Runners-up Argentina
Third place Mexico
Fourth place Uruguay
Tournament statistics
Matches played26
Goals scored86 (3.31 per match)
Attendance1,050,230 (40,393 per match)
Top scorer(s)Brazil Robinho (6 goals)
Best player(s)Brazil Robinho[1]
Best young playerArgentina Lionel Messi
2004
2011

The competition was won by Brazil (they were also the defending champions), who beat Argentina 3–0 in the final.[2] Mexico took third place by beating Uruguay 3–1 in the third-place match. Brazil thus won the right to represent CONMEBOL[3] at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.[4]

Competing nations

edit

As with previous tournaments, all ten members of CONMEBOL participated in the competition. In order to bring the number of competing teams to twelve, CONMEBOL invited Mexico and the United States, the two highest ranking CONCACAF teams in the FIFA World Rankings. Just as in every tournament since 1993, Mexico accepted the invitation. The United States rejected the invitation due to scheduling conflicts with the 2007 Major League Soccer season. CONMEBOL then proceeded to invite Costa Rica, the third highest CONCACAF team in FIFA's ranking.[5] In the end, the United States accepted the invitation.[6]

Venues

edit

For this Copa América, the organizing committee decided to choose eight cities to hold the tournament. A total of 14 cities presented proposal before the committee, of which they rejected proposals from Barquisimeto, Maracay, Valencia, Valera, Portuguesa and Miranda for not meeting established requirements. The cities of Barinas, Caracas, Ciudad Guayana, Maracaibo, Maturín, Mérida, Puerto la Cruz and San Cristóbal were selected to host the tournament. Later on, the organizing committee reconsidered the candidacy of Barquisimeto, based on the proposal of a new stadium to be built for the city. With a final nine host cities, the 2007 edition broke the previous records for host cities set by the 2004 Copa América in Peru, which used seven.

Maturín Barquisimeto Mérida Ciudad Guayana
Estadio Monumental de Maturín Estadio Metropolitano de Lara Estadio Metropolitano de Mérida Estadio Polideportivo Cachamay
Capacity: 52,000 Capacity: 42,000 Capacity: 42,000 Capacity: 41,600
       
Maracaibo
Estadio José Pachencho Romero
Capacity: 40,000
 
San Cristóbal Puerto la Cruz Barinas Caracas
Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo Estadio Olímpico Luis Ramos Estadio Agustín Tovar Estadio Olímpico de la UCV
Capacity: 40,000 Capacity: 38,000 Capacity: 27,500 Capacity: 24,900
       

Officials

edit

On 30 May 2007, CONMEBOL announced the list of match officials for the competition. The list included one match official from every country (except Paraguay, which had two). From these thirteen, six officiated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup: Carlos Simon, Óscar Ruiz, Carlos Amarilla, Jorge Larrionda, and Armando Archundia.

Draw

edit

The draw for the competition took place on 14 February 2007 in the Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas.[7][8]

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
  Venezuela (hosts)
  Argentina
  Brazil
  Ecuador
  Paraguay
  Uruguay
  Chile
  Colombia
  Peru
  Bolivia
  Mexico (invitee)
  United States (invitee)

Squads

edit

Each association had to present a list of twenty-three players to compete in the competition.

Group stage

edit

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:

1. Greater number of points in all group matches
2. Goal difference in all group matches
3. Greater number of goals scored in all group matches
4. Head-to-head results
5. Drawing of lots by the CONMEBOL Organising Committee
Key to colors in group tables
Group winners, runners-up, and best two third-placed teams advance to the quarterfinals

All times are in Venezuela Standard Time (UTC–4).

Group A

edit

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Venezuela 3 1 2 0 4 2 +2 5
  Peru 3 1 1 1 5 4 +1 4
  Uruguay 3 1 1 1 1 3 −2 4
  Bolivia 3 0 2 1 4 5 −1 2
Source: [citation needed]


Uruguay  0–3  Peru
Report Villalta   27'
Mariño   70'
Guerrero   88'
Venezuela  2–2  Bolivia
Maldonado   20'
Páez   55'
Report Moreno   38'
Arce   84'

Bolivia  0–1  Uruguay
Report Sánchez   58'
Venezuela  2–0  Peru
Cichero   48'
Arismendi   79'
Report

Peru  2–2  Bolivia
Pizarro   34', 85' Report Moreno   24'
Campos   45'
Venezuela  0–0  Uruguay
Report

Group B

edit

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Mexico 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7
  Brazil 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6
  Chile 3 1 1 1 3 5 −2 4
  Ecuador 3 0 0 3 3 6 −3 0
Source: [citation needed]


Ecuador  2–3  Chile
Valencia   16'
Benítez   23'
Report Suazo   20', 80'
Villanueva   86'
Brazil  0–2  Mexico
Report Castillo   23'
Morales   28'

Brazil  3–0  Chile
Robinho   36' (pen.), 84', 87' Report
Mexico  2–1  Ecuador
Castillo   21'
Bravo   79'
Report Méndez   84'

Mexico  0–0  Chile
Report
Brazil  1–0  Ecuador
Robinho   56' (pen.) Report

Group C

edit

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Argentina 3 3 0 0 9 3 +6 9
  Paraguay 3 2 0 1 8 2 +6 6
  Colombia 3 1 0 2 3 9 −6 3
  United States 3 0 0 3 2 8 −6 0
Source: [citation needed]


Paraguay  5–0  Colombia
Santa Cruz   30', 46', 80'
Cabañas   84', 88'
Report
Argentina  4–1  United States
Crespo   11', 60'
Aimar   76'
Tevez   84'
Report Johnson   9' (pen.)

United States  1–3  Paraguay
Clark   35' Report Barreto   29'
Cardozo   56'
Cabañas   90+2'
Attendance: 28,200
Referee: Victor Rivera (Peru)
Argentina  4–2  Colombia
Crespo   20' (pen.)
Riquelme   34', 45'
D. Milito   90+1'
Report E. Perea   10'
Castrillón   76'

Colombia  1–0  United States
Castrillón   15' Report
Argentina  1–0  Paraguay
Mascherano   79' Report

Ranking of third-placed teams

edit

At the end of the first stage, a comparison was made between the third-placed teams of each group. The two best third-placed teams advanced to the quarter-finals.

Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
B   Chile 3 1 1 1 3 5 −2 4
A   Uruguay 3 1 1 1 1 3 −2 4
C   Colombia 3 1 0 2 3 9 −6 3
Source: [citation needed]

Knockout stage

edit

Bracket

edit
 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
7 July – San Cristóbal
 
 
  Venezuela 1
 
10 July – Maracaibo
 
  Uruguay 4
 
  Uruguay 2 (4)
 
7 July – Puerto la Cruz
 
  Brazil (p) 2 (5)
 
  Chile 1
 
15 July – Maracaibo
 
  Brazil 6
 
  Brazil 3
 
8 July – Maturín
 
  Argentina 0
 
  Mexico 6
 
11 July – Ciudad Guayana
 
  Paraguay 0
 
  Mexico 0
 
8 July – Barquisimeto
 
  Argentina 3 Third place
 
  Argentina 4
 
14 July – Caracas
 
  Peru 0
 
  Uruguay 1
 
 
  Mexico 3
 

Quarter-finals

edit
Venezuela  1–4  Uruguay
Arango   41' Report Forlán   38', 90+1'
García   64'
Rodríguez   86'

Chile  1–6  Brazil
Suazo   76' Report Juan   16'
Baptista   23'
Robinho   27', 50'
Josué   68'
Vágner Love   85'

Mexico  6–0  Paraguay
Castillo   5' (pen.), 38'
Torrado   27'
Arce   79'
Blanco   87' (pen.)
Bravo   90+1'
Report

Argentina  4–0  Peru
Riquelme   47', 85'
Messi   61'
Mascherano   75'
Report

Semi-finals

edit
Uruguay  2–2  Brazil
Forlán   36'
Abreu   69'
Report Maicon   13'
Baptista   41'
Penalties
Forlán  
Scotti  
González  
C. Rodríguez  
Abreu  
García  
Lugano  
4–5   Robinho
  Juan
  Gilberto Silva
  A. Alves
  Diego
  Fernando
  Gilberto

Mexico  0–3  Argentina
Report Heinze   45'
Messi   61'
Riquelme   65' (pen.)

Third-place match

edit
Uruguay  1–3  Mexico
Abreu   22' Report Blanco   36' (pen.)
Bravo   68'
Guardado   76'

Final

edit
Brazil  3–0  Argentina
Baptista   4'
Ayala   40' (o.g.)
Dani Alves   69'
Report

Result

edit
 2007 Copa América Champions 
 
Brazil

8th title

Awards

edit

Goalscorers

edit
 
Robinho, top scorer

With six goals, Robinho was the top scorer in the tournament. There were 86 goals scored in 26 matches, for an average of 3.31 goals per match.

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Team of the Tournament

edit

[9]

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards

  Doni

  Javier Zanetti
  Jonny Magallón
  Juan
  Jorge Fucile

  Júlio Baptista
  Javier Mascherano
  Juan Román Riquelme

  Robinho
  Nery Castillo
  Lionel Messi

Final positions

edit
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Eff
1   Brazil 6 4 1 1 15 5 +10 13 72.2%
2   Argentina 6 5 0 1 16 6 +10 15 83.3%
3   Mexico 6 4 1 1 13 5 +8 13 72.2%
4   Uruguay 6 2 2 2 8 9 −1 8 44.4%
Eliminated in the quarterfinals
5   Paraguay 4 2 0 2 8 8 0 6 50.0%
6   Venezuela 4 1 2 1 5 6 −1 5 41.6%
7   Peru 4 1 1 2 5 8 −3 4 33.3%
8   Chile 4 1 1 2 4 11 −7 4 33.3%
Eliminated in the first round
9   Colombia 3 1 0 2 3 9 −6 3 33.3%
10   Bolivia 3 0 2 1 4 5 −1 2 22.2%
11   Ecuador 3 0 0 3 3 6 −3 0 0.0%
12   United States 3 0 0 3 2 8 −6 0 0.0%

Marketing

edit

Sponsorship

edit

Global Platinum Sponsor

Global Gold Sponsor

Global Silver Sponsor

Charitable Partner

Local Supplier

Match ball

edit

The official match ball for the tournament was the Nike Mercurial Veloci. The ball was presented on 14 February 2007, prior to a friendly match played between Venezuela and New Zealand, by the president of the Venezuelan Football Federation, Rafael Esquivel, to the mayor of Maracaibo, Giancarlo Di Martino – head of the local organising committee.

Mascot

edit
 
Guaky suit manufactured by Fractal Studio, through the main cities of Venezuela

Guaky is a scarlet macaw, a bird representative of Venezuela. He wore the traditional jersey Venezuela national football team burgundy and football shoes. Under their wings the characteristic tricolor national flag, with its eight stars on their wings.

To choose the official mascot held a contest in which proposals received 4,500,000 of Venezuelan children and adolescents at a school. The winning draw corresponded to the 15-year-old Jhoyling Zabaleta.[10] The final design was commissioned to Fractal Studio, bring life and a "strong personality, cheerful and sport" that accompanied the event during its realization. The name of the pet, Guaky was subsequently elected by an online survey, where that option was a 54.17% of preferences.[11]

Theme songs

edit
  • "Gol" by Venezuelan singer Juan Carlos Luces, was the main theme song of the tournament, which was performed during the draw and the opening ceremonies.[12]
  • "Baila la Copa" by Venezuelan singer Ose was an official anthem for the tournament.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Copa América Best Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  2. ^ "Brazil victorious in Copa America". BBC Sport. 16 July 2007. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
  3. ^ The South American champion, along with the European champion (the winner of UEFA Euro 2008), "will no longer be obliged to take part" in the Confederations Cup beginning with the 2009 edition FIFA.com – 2005/2006 season: final worldwide matchday to be 14 May 2006.
  4. ^ Mexico and the United States are members of CONCACAF, the governing body of North American football (which includes Central America and the Caribbean as well). Thus, they would not be allowed to represent CONMEBOL at the Confederations Cup. Had either team won the Copa América, the best-finishing South American team would have taken the place.
  5. ^ "Postergan sorteo de la Copa América 2007". Los Tiempos. 4 October 2006. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  6. ^ "Estados Unidos y México tomarán parte en la Copa América 2007". Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol. 29 May 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  7. ^ "Conmebol definió por sorteo grupos de la Copa América Venezuela 2007" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Sorteo de grupos Copa América Venezuela 2007" – via www.youtube.com.
  9. ^ "El Once Ideal de la Copa América" [The Ideal Eleven of the Copa América]. La República (in Spanish). 16 July 2007. Archived from the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Sketch winner of the "Pet Copa America 2007"". Journal EL MUNDO. 29 June 2006. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  11. ^ "Con nombre propio". ESPN Español. 1 February 2006. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  12. ^ "Copa América 2015: las canciones del torneo desde Perú 2004 hasta hoy". Depor. 14 May 2015.
edit