The Constant Drama Of The Argentines

Throughout the next week, we’ll be sharing what to watch for in this edition of Copa América, with a compilation of short perspectives from our friends from some of the football sites around. We kick things off with James Tyler, editor of Unprofessional Foul, preparing us for telling us how Argentina has managed to be both the headline story of the tournament and a drama filled with subplots.

While I’m thrilled by the youthful Selecao that Mano Menezes is bringing to the party (Ganso! Pato! Neymar likes wacky hair!) and the perennial taste of upset represented by a strong Uruguay team, my eyes will be firmly glued upon Sergio Batista and the Albicelestes. If timing is everything, then the weird divergence of River Plate’s relegation and the national team’s 18-year Copa drought has me on the edge of my seat, for no other reason than the tension and excitement of their story arc. With a domestic giant humbled and humiliated with news of riots carrying across the world, do you think Messi and friends might be feeling the pressure to rally the nation (reportedly 40 percent of the Argentine people support River) and win on home turf?

Then again, does Messi ever really feel pressure? They bring arguably the most seasoned, experience squad to the tournament though with the weight of a full European season playing heavily on joints, muscles, and minds, and starting the tournament against a team that thrashed them 6-1 in World Cup qualifying is another fine narrative wrinkle. If they canter to victory, then hope springs anew, but if they falter… look for yet more fire and brimstone. Ultimately, we can wax rhapsodic about Alexis Sanchez, Edinson Cavani and—ahem—Roque Santa Cruz, but the Argentine national team will dominate the headlines not because of their host status, but because they’re almost certainly the most compelling national team under FIFA’s purview in 2011.