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Chilean Football Stronger Than Ever As Copa America Cements Their Status As South America's Superpower
Chile's victory in the USA showed they are only growing in strength as Russia 2018 becomes the next date circled in their calendar.
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By Nick Dorrington (@chewingthecoca)
Chile took a little time to get going at the Copa America Centenario, but they grew ever more confident and cohesive as the tournament progressed and eventually came away with the trophy after defeating Argentina on penalties at the end of 120 minutes of intense yet goalless football in Sunday's final. A year after Jorge Sampaoli had led them to success at the 2015 Copa America, it was Juan Antonio Pizzi who stepped in to steer them to their second international title.
As Pizzi admitted in the aftermath, replacing Sampaoli was almost a fool's errand. There was no way to better his predecessor's achievements and plenty of ways in which he could fail to do so. His decision to leave Jorge Valdivia, a key part of the 2015 triumph, at home drew early criticism, which then intensified following a couple of pre-tournament friendly defeats, the opening loss to Argentina and an unconvincing win over Bolivia.
But after a number of experiments, he settled on a formula in the 4-2 win over Panama that carried through to the highly impressive 7-0 demolition of Mexico in the last eight. A swift start followed by a controlled second-half performance then saw Chile to a 2-0 win over Colombia and secured them a return date with Argentina in the final. By then, the scepticism surrounding Pizzi's qualities had well and truly faded.
The coach's redemptive arc was mirrored by some of his players. Arturo Vidal was quarrelsome and ineffective in the opening defeat to Argentina but grew in stature as the competition went on and was arguably the tournament's best player by its conclusion. The influence of his year under Pep Guardiola's command at Bayern Munich was evident in the clever positions he took up when linking with team-mates in the final third, and he more than anyone was able to ensure that Valdivia was not overly missed. He was immense in the thrashing of Mexico and produced another powerhouse display in the final.
Claudio Bravo joined up late with the squad after tending to his unwell daughter and was at fault for at least three of the five goals Chile conceded during the group stage. However, the confidence with which he chested down an errant ball forward early into the quarter-final win over Mexico projected a new-found calm that he and his defence never lost thereafter. He made a couple of important stops in the semi-final win over Colombia and then produced perhaps the outstanding save of the competition in the final, diving high and stretching every sinew to tip Sergio Aguero's goal-bound header over the bar.
Charles Aranguiz and Gonzalo Jara also recovered from patchy early displays to play decisive roles during the latter stages of the competition. Indeed, the way in which both individuals and the squad as a whole reacted to setbacks and pushed forward towards glory was a testament to the mental strength of the group.
The focus now turns to Russia 2018, for which Chile will receive a dry-run at next year's Confederations Cup. If they qualify, it will be the first time they have taken part in three consecutive World Cups. It will also probably represent the last opportunity for the generation who have changed the course of Chilean football history to make their mark in the competition. Aside from a semi-final appearance on home soil in 1962, Chile have never progressed beyond the last 16, but they look well placed to do so in Russia.
As Vidal stated after Sunday's final: “There is no limit to what this team can achieve.”