Copa America Centenario & Euro 2016

CA Centenario

Chile was and is the best team in South America. They proved it just last year in the REAL Copa America.
Argentina have better players but NOT a better TEAM, which is ALL that matters. Messi is a quitter.
Brazil is just funny. Their best player is off shooting commercials during a "major" tournament. Sad.
Colombia is fun to watch but don't quite have "it". Not as good as their 90s team.
Venezuela were amazing. Really nice kits too. Hope they qualify for the next World Cup.
Mexico I feel sorry for you. Never ever seen a Mexico team do what they did. Better forgotten.
US had some interesting play. Not completely terrible, but not really a threat. Not really.
Uruguay was another first. Never seen them not show up. They have a good team. Strange. Suarez was pissed!

Not really a "major" tournament. They played this Cup for real last year, Chile won. This "Centenario" was just marketing. Look at where it was played and how it was played. I personally think this was all set up for Messi to win his first major international Cup and Chile didn't get the memo. I don't think it ever mattered who won this Cup, but I am happy to see Chile retain the title, as they should. Overall: B. Last year: A. Need packed stands and we didn't have that.

Euro 2016

England are useless.
Wales were epic.
End of an era for Spain.
Refreshing Italy.
Germany stayed home.
Iceland were brilliant.
France were arrogant.
Belgium have issues.

Regarding CR7: his injury in the final was literally the best thing to EVER happen to Portugal! He has his major trophy, and for that he has earned immortality, but he was not on the field during the most important game in the history of Portugal. Everyone wins: haters can say Portugal won because he wasn't on the pitch, lovers can say he led Portugal to its first ever major trophy.

Overall: B+/A-. New contenders, lots of youth, Germany lost, new Champion, but not enough goals.

Very happy for Eusebio.wicked1

pretty good summary of the summer
def love that chile squad, lots of talent and they BRING it every game, alexis sanchez is one of my favorite players to watch
personally i wouldn't call Messi a quitter, still will be the best to ever lace them up by the time he is done, no doubt...and as we have mentioned in the old forum dude has the weight of his entire nation on his shoulders, cant judge unless you know what thats like, the fact that the second greatest player ever called him out on his leadership earlier this year probably didn't help either...if healthy he may have a monster season coming up, his team mates will be looking out for him to shut up the doubters.
Neymar was only allowed to play in 1 tourney this summer by his club, i'm assuming the Brazilian FA made him some nice offers to make sure he plays at home in the Olympics over the Copa, fwiw Olympic soccer is garbage and I hope he can stay healthy with that quick tournaround and the start of a long season right after

for the euros, germany were pretty damn dominant the entire tournament right until the 45th minute of the semi final, so even though they "stayed home" they still put their stamp on this tourney, can't win em all...gomez don't get hurt that france game might have been over in the first 30 mins, it is what it is
Belgium just need a solid coach, wilmots was a great player in his time, but obvioulsy not a good enough coach at getting the best out of this super talented squad, looked underwhelming in the WC and again in the euros. Coaches should be lining up around the block to take that job with the WC only 2 years away.

The Copa Centenario may have been a made-for-tv thing from Gulati at US Soccer, but the teams that competed brought their best squads (with a few exceptions, Brazil for one). Argentina still has the most talent in South America, but just cannot seem to put it all together when the spotlight is brightest (WC finals and the past two Copa finals). Messi is still amazing (free kick in the US semifinals was brilliant!), but I think he struggles with the national team trying to figure out if he wants to play a facilitator or the star. I was very underwhelmed by Kun Aguero in the Copa. That dude is amazing, but did not show it during the Copa. Was he injured? Higuain is an enigma. Guy surpasses the goal scoring record in the Serie A, but can barely score for the national team. I expected much more from Di Maria (another enigma).

Mexico was impressive until the Chile game. They just seemed to give up and from the little that I have seen from Mexico over the years, I have never seen them give up. Very talented squad. Can they recover in time for the WC?

Congrats to Chile. Two in a row. That team just gets after their opponent. How they could keep up that pressure all tournament long to me was shocking. That team is much deeper than just Sanchez and Vidal.

As for the Euros.....I liked the tournament a little more than the Copa. I like the expanded teams, but they need to try and develop a system where teams cannot advance without trying to win games. Too many teams seemed completely okay with the tie in the group stages. To me football is best when teams have to go for the win (return legs in the Champions League when a team is behind in goals, an early goal in an elimination game, etc.), but there were some very boring games in the Euros because many teams were playing "not to lose" versus playing to win. I don't know how to fix it, but I am sure someone has the fix.

France wasted a chance to win the Euros. When CR7 went out of the finals, you would think Deschamps would move to a more attacking style of play, but France chose to sit back and try for the counter. Why Pogba was so deep in the finals is a mystery to me. France didn't need him that far back on the pitch when CR7 went out.

Iceland was the Cinderella team of the Euros. England was again the goat. They have a lot of talent, but just seem to miss the final ingredient. Germany should have won the Euros, but they played too timid to me in the game versus France. Not having Gomez or another big center forward seemed to kill their attack. Mueller could have and should have been much better in the Euros.

Only 2 more years to the WC. I cannot wait!