Do you see what I did there? Tomorrow at 0145 GMT we finally have the kick-off in the first match of possibly the most colourful, entertaining, violent tournament in world football today, the Copa America. Argentina are hosting this feast of latin football, and I'm hopeful we'l see some cracking football, plenty of goals and hopefully some players we haven't seen a lot of yet. I would personally have my eyes open for Ganso of Brazil and Guarin of Uruguay. Both have been mentioned as fantastic players in certain publications, but have yet to capture the world's imagination and this could well be the tournament where they do that. I will look at each round of games as a group of six matches and publish every 4 or 5 days during the tournament to make sure I cover the lot.
Argentina v Bolivia, 0145 Saturday
As mentioned, the first match sees the hosts Argentina taking on perennial no-hopers Bolivia. Bolivia's most famous player is probably Marco Etcheverry, most remembered for getting sent off within minutes of his only World Cup appearance. Apart from that they have mostly been on the wrong end of some bad beatings. Argentina come into the tournament having lost a couple of recent friendlies, but not too much should be read into those. Sergio Batista has been blooding all sorts of fringe players of late to help him narrow down his squad and most, if not all, of them are unlikely to feature at all in this tournament. The Argentine public also view this as a chance to cast the country in a good light and the players will not be short of encouragement to do so. And they have the best player in football, which can't hurt can it? I would be backing a heavy win here. Even though the Albiceleste have a dodgy backline, I wouldn't expect Bolivia to score. I think the best value is on a bet of Argentina to win both halves at 1.8 with Stan James.
Colombia v Costa Rica, 1930 Saturday
Second game also comes from Group A and sees my outside tip, Colombia, taking on another whipping boy in Costa Rica. Costa Rica are probably most famous in this country for the bandy legged wonder Paolo Wanchope, a man who seemingly never knew himself what his legs were up to! These days they have no players in any big European Leagues and will probably be content to head home post tournament without suffering any embarrassments. Colombia contain Europe's most wanted striker in Radamel Falcao, a man who seemingly has it all in terms of the modern forward. He is also relatively free of ego, a rare trait in the modern footballer. I think he'll end up at Real Madrid as he has signed with Jose's dodgy agent friend Jorge Mendes, Skybet were 5.0 on that eventuality and I'd still be tempted at any price 4.0 or above. They also have his Porto teammate Freddy Guarin, who provided his supply line for most of the season. If these 2 can again link up then Colombia could go far here. I would back them -1.5 asian at 2.05 with Bet365 for this opening game.
Brazil v Venezuela, 2000 Sunday
Third game in and we see the other half of South America's big two with Brazil getting involved against another minnow in Venezuela. Venezuela have never been to the World Cup and have no pedigree in major tournaments at all. They are a small country and have never produced any players you or I would have heard of. This is absolutely no reason to right them off completely as a team, but they should provide no task for the might of Brazil. Under new coach Mario Menezes, Brazil have restructured the side. They are still tight at the back, a Dunga trait, but have blooded new, exciting players in the forward line as well as more attacking full backs. Lucas of Liverpool is also now a regular, mostly to provide extra cover when Marcelo and Dani Alves (the cheating prick of a man) go bombing on forward from full back. They usually start with Neymar, Pato and Ganso as a fluid triumvirate in the forward line now. All three are under 22 and come with the speed and audacity you might expect, also in Neymar's case some of the most pathetic diving you'll ever see. He'll seriously never make a career in England with the way he throws himself in the air now. I see this going a very similar way to Argentina's opener and will be betting the same market. I think there is some excellent value in Paddy Power quotes of 2.3 on Brazil to win both halves. Get involved with that.
Paraguay v Ecuador, 2230 Sunday
Fourth match in and we finally see a more even contest. Paraguay have been something of a force in South America for the last decade, producing players like Roque Santa Cruz and Lucas Barrios who have done well in Europe and aided them qualifying for World Cups. But, Santa Cruz looks half a man these days and his season at Blackburn where he scored a number of goals now looks like a one-off. They are simply not the team they were even a year ago. Other players like Paolo Da Silva and Cristian Riveros have ended up at European sides (Sunderland in this case) and found themselves out of the side and low on match practise and confidence. Ecuador on the other hand are always a danger. Whilst they have never really had a 'superstar' player, they are always a tight team unit and can cause most teams problems given the chance. Antonio Valencia will be their star man having returned strongly from injury for Man Utd at the end of the season. I think they are more than capable of giving Paraguay a scare, but it will probably be a low-scoring affair with both teams keen not to lose with Brazil also in Group B. Take the Draw or Ecuador in the Double Chance market at 1.9 with Skybet.
Uruguay v Peru, 2315 Monday
The final matches of this first round of games come from Group C. First up is World Cup surprise package Uruguay against Peru. Peru have probably not had much to shout about since the days of Trumpet playing Nobby Solano. They will probably be another team happy to escape the tournament having not suffered too heavy a defeat on the way. Uruguay's players have been on a high since the World Cup and in some cases have been on fire. This is particularly true of Napoli's Edison Cavani who ended the season as top scorer in Serie A and has been linked with a move away to a major team. Luis Suarez also finished the season well after transferring to Liverpool, looking like the only bit of creativity in a fairly workmanlike Pool side. Diego Forlan was the exception. After a couple of brilliant seasons at Atletico Madrid a fall out with management led to him often finding himself on the bench and angling for a move away from Spain's capital. This could well lead to some sluggish performances or a glorious swansong before one last big move. I would expect Uruguay to win this comfortably and will be backing them to win to nil at 2.0 with Ladbrokes as they have one of the best defences in South America.
Chile v Mexico, 0145 Tuesday
Last match of this tips blog comes from Group C in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Chile were a lot of people's outsiders for a decent World Cup run under Marcelo Bielsa and his somewhat different 3-3-1-3 formation. Sadly, the attacking flair that saw them looking excellent in qualifying deserted them at the tournament proper. Bielsa, having always been somewhat tricky to work with, was dispensed with after their exit. Their new coach, Claudio Borghi, has sought to make them a more difficult to beat side and they have lost some of the magic that made them a second team for many neutrals. Mexico have just come from winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup, North America's premier tournament, having spanked the USA 4-2 in the final. They have given a number of players time-off after that and head to this tournament with a team entirely made up of players from the Mexican League and Gio Dos Santos of Spurs. They may well see this as a chance to experiment and see how some fringe players cope with top level football. I certainly would not expect them to make too much of an impression. I wouldn't expect Mexico to have much to offer in attack in the absence of Man Utd's Javier Hernandez so I think Chile might well keep a clean sheet here. Ladbrokes go 2.1 on that possibility and I'll go for that in this one.
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