Copa America 2015: Three horses compete for power

The 44th South American Championship promises to be a fierce competition between two traditional candidates, Brazil and Argentina, alongside host Chile.

The Copa America kicks off on June 11 in Chile. Twelve teams will compete in three groups, with eight quarter-finalists made up of the six top-two finishers and the two best third-placed teams. Looking at this year's teams, Brazil and Argentina remain the two strongest candidates, with hosts Chile the surprise package.

Alexis Sanchez had a successful season with Arsenal and is ready to lead Chile at the Copa America. Photo: Reuters.

Chilehave never won the South American championship despite participating in every Copa since 99 years ago. However, Chileans are expecting the team to make history on home soil this year.

It is no coincidence that Chile can dream of the title because they have the best squad in history. This has been proven by their performance in the last two World Cups, only losing to the third place result in the 1962 World Cup when Chile was the host.

However, the home field is also a pressure for Chile. Coach Jorge Sampaoli has reason to worry when witnessing Chile lose to Brazil in the 1/8 round of the 2014 World Cup. At that time, Chile was very close to eliminating host Brazil, but their unstable mentality forced them to enter the penalty shootout and lose. Coach Jorge Sampaoli's important task is not only in expertise but also to protect his students from pressure from home fans and himself.

According to the original plan, Chile would train in Europe from May and only return a few days before the opening of the Copa. However, coach Sampaoli's plan fell through because many key players had to fight for European clubs until the end of June. The team then moved to practice behind closed doors at home and had a friendly win 1-0 against El Salvador last weekend. This was a bad result for Chile because in two friendly matches at the end of March, they lost to both Iran and Brazil.

Chile's energetic and technically gifted attack is proving to be a breeze for their opponents. They must regain their sharpness with speedy counter-attacks before entering a major tournament on home soil.

Messi needs a major title with Argentina to complete his career. Photo: Reuters.

ArgentinaArgentina are under huge pressure to win a trophy with a talented squad that includes perhaps the greatest star in football history, Lionel Messi. The clock is ticking as the last time Argentina won a major trophy was the Copa America in 1993. In 2004 and 2007, Argentina reached the final but were beaten by arch-rivals Brazil.

Mascherano and Tevez were in the 2004 final and are still waiting for a title 11 years later. Time is running out for them, as are Messi, Di Maria and Aguero, who all turned 30 at the 2018 World Cup.

This is the reason why coach Gerardo Martino did not risk testing young talents in this year's tournament. Mauri Icardi and Pablo Dybala had a great season in Serie A but it was not enough to get them on the flight to Chile. There are only three players from the 9X generation in the Argentina squad, and coach Martino even called up veterans like Tevez and Otamendi.

Argentina are confident going into the tournament as their key players have shown good form recently. Aguero scored a hat-trick and Di Maria scored in a 5-1 win over Bolivia, just hours after Messi's brilliant performance in the Champions League final.

Argentina’s weakness, however, is easily identified in defence. While the attack boasts some of the biggest names in the world, the defence is completely out of step. Argentina played cautiously under Alejandro Sabella last summer, but Martino’s attacking style could now expose gaps in defence.

Dunga has a chance to regain prestige for Brazil and himself at Copa America 2015. Photo: Reuters.

Brazilplayed a friendly against another Copa America team, Mexico, in Sao Paulo on Sunday. It was Brazil's first home match since the disastrous World Cup a year ago. It seemed that the Brazilian fans had not yet fully forgiven their team, given the quiet atmosphere at the Allianz Parque.

Brazil's 2-0 win, with some spectacular goals from a series of coordinated plays, showed they were ready to regain the pride and prestige they lost last year. However, the disappointment of the 2014 World Cup cannot be erased overnight, no matter what happens in Chile.

Brazil are confident, though, after a run of nine straight wins under Dunga. The return of captain Neymar after the Champions League triumph has also boosted Brazil's optimism ahead of their opening game against Peru.

Coach Dunga is not a famous coach. His straightforward personality also often clashes with the media. Dunga only has the support of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), an organization that is shaken by the FIFA scandal. If there is a change at the top of the CBF, Dunga's position will be difficult to ensure, unless he brings a major title to Brazil.

Luis Suarez is the most regrettable absence for Copa America 2015 as well as the Uruguay team. Photo: Reuters.

Other notable teams include the defending champions.UruguayandColombia. Although they are the cup holders, Uruguay will find it difficult to make a difference because they are without their main striker Luis Suarez, who is suspended for biting Chiellini. It can be seen that Uruguay showed two completely different faces when Suarez was on the field at the 2014 World Cup. When Suarez was on the field, Uruguay beat England and Italy, but without him, they easily fell to Colombia.

Colombia have one of the most talented and quality teams in history, but their weakness is their mentality. They have not shown the willpower in big matches, which is unlikely to take them far.

According to VNE