2015 Copa América

2015 Copa América
Copa América Chile 2015
El Corazón del Fútbol
(O Coração do Futebol)
English: The Heart of Football
Tournament details
Host countryChile
Dates11 June – 4 July
Teams12 (from 2 confederations)
Venue(s)9 (in 8 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Chile (1st title)
Runners-up Argentina
Third place Peru
Fourth place Paraguay
Tournament statistics
Matches played26
Goals scored59 (2.27 per match)
Attendance655,902 (25,227 per match)
Top scorer(s)Chile Eduardo Vargas
Peru Paolo Guerrero
(4 goals each)
Best player(s)Argentina Lionel Messi
Best young playerColombia Jeison Murillo
Best goalkeeperChile Claudio Bravo
Fair play award Peru
2011
2016

The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body.

Twelve teams competed: the ten members of CONMEBOL and two guests from CONCACAFMexico and Jamaica, the latter of which competed in the Copa América for the first time.

Uruguay were the defending champions, but were eliminated by the host nation Chile in the quarter-finals. Chile won their first title, defeating Argentina in the final on penalties after a goalless draw. As winners, they qualified for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.

Host country

Originally, it was to be hosted by Brazil, as suggested by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) in February 2011 due to CONMEBOL's rotation policy of tournaments being held in alphabetical order. However, due to the organization of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics in that country, Brazil decided against also hosting the Copa América. CONMEBOL's president Nicolas Leoz had mentioned the possibility of the tournament being organized in Mexico (despite this country not being a member of CONMEBOL) as part of the federation's centenary celebrations. Brazil and Chile's Football Federations discussed the idea of swapping around the order of being hosts of the 2015 and 2019 tournaments. The swap was made official in May 2012.

Venues

There were nine different stadiums in eight cities used for the tournament. Most stadiums were renovated or rebuilt for the contest.

Santiago Concepción
Estadio Nacional Estadio Monumental Estadio Municipal de Concepción
Capacity: 48,745 Capacity: 47,347 Capacity: 30,448
Viña del Mar Antofagasta Valparaíso
Estadio Sausalito Estadio Regional de Antofagasta Estadio Elías Figueroa
Capacity: 22,360 Capacity: 21,170 Capacity: 21,113
Temuco La Serena Rancagua
Estadio Municipal Germán Becker Estadio La Portada Estadio El Teniente
Capacity: 18,413 Capacity: 18,243 Capacity: 13,849

Teams

Map of the participating national football teams of the CONMEBOL's 2015 Copa América.

Mexico and Japan were initially invited to join the 10 CONMEBOL nations in the tournament. Japan declined the invitation, and China was invited instead, but later withdrew due to the Asian sector of qualification for the 2018 World Cup being held at the same time. In May 2014, it was announced that the Jamaica Football Federation had accepted an invitation to participate, thus making Jamaica the first Caribbean nation to compete in Copa America.

 Argentina  Colombia  Paraguay
 Bolivia  Ecuador  Peru
 Brazil  Jamaica (invitee)  Uruguay (title holder)
 Chile (host nation)  Mexico (invitee)  Venezuela

Draw

The draw of the tournament was originally to be held on 27 October 2014 in Viña del Mar, but was postponed to 24 November. The 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four.

CONMEBOL announced the composition of the four pots on 10 November 2014. Pot 1 contained the hosts Chile (which has been automatically assigned to position A1), together with Argentina and Brazil. The remaining nine teams were allocated to the other three pots according to their FIFA World Rankings as of 23 October 2014 (shown in brackets), even though Colombia was rated higher than Brazil. On 23 November 2014, it was announced by CONMEBOL that Argentina and Brazil had been assigned to positions B1 and C1, respectively.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
 Chile (13) (hosts)
 Argentina (2)
 Brazil (6)
 Colombia (3)
 Uruguay (8)
 Mexico (17)
 Ecuador (27)
 Peru (54)
 Paraguay (76)
 Venezuela (85)
 Bolivia (103)
 Jamaica (113)

Squads

Each country had a final squad of 23 players (three of whom had to be goalkeepers) which had to be submitted before the deadline of 1 June 2015.

The 2015 UEFA Champions League Final date of 6 June caused problems for South American players for Barcelona and Juventus. FIFA international rules require clubs to release players 14 days prior to the start of an international tournament, but the players featured in the final, leaving them at most five days to acclimate. For example, Arturo Vidal arrived two days before Chile's first match against Ecuador, and played with little training with his national team.

Mexico manager Miguel Herrera decided to prioritize the upcoming 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, saying, "We have to win at all costs in order to face the United States in the playoffs that guarantee a spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup." The Mexican squad was a team composed mostly from the local league with little international experience.

Uruguayan forward Luis Suárez was suspended for the whole tournament, as he served a nine-match ban in international football for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay's final group stage match against Italy in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Match officials

Source:

Country Referee Assistant referees Matches refereed
Argentina Argentina Néstor Pitana Hernán Maidana
Juan Pablo Belatti
Chile-Ecuador (Group A)
Colombia-Peru (Group C)
Bolivia Bolivia Raúl Orosco Javier Bustillos
Juan P. Montaño
Peru-Venezuela (Group C)
Peru-Paraguay (Third place playoff)
Brazil Brazil Sandro Ricci Emerson de Carvalho
Fábio Pereira
Argentina-Uruguay (Group B)
Chile-Uruguay (Quarter-finals)
Argentina-Paraguay (Semi-finals)
Chile Chile Enrique Osses
Jorge Osorio
Julio Bascuñán
Carlos Astroza
Marcelo Barraza
Raúl Orellana
Osses-Astroza-Barraza:
Brazil-Colombia (Group C)
Bascuñán-Astroza-Barraza:
Argentina-Jamaica (Group B)
Colombia Colombia Wilmar Roldán Alexander Guzmán
Cristian De La Cruz
Argentina-Paraguay (Group B)
Bolivia-Peru (Quarter-finals)
Chile-Argentina (Final)
Ecuador Ecuador Carlos Vera Christian Lescano
Byron Romero
Paraguay-Jamaica (Group B)
Paraguay Paraguay Enrique Cáceres Rodney Aquino
Carlos Cáceres
Chile-Mexico (Group A)
Brazil-Venezuela (Group C)
Peru Peru Víctor Hugo Carrillo César Escano
Jonny Bossio
Mexico-Bolivia (Group A)
Uruguay Uruguay Andrés Cunha Mauricio Espinosa
Carlos Pastorino
Colombia-Venezuela (Group C)
Chile-Bolivia (Group A)
Brazil-Paraguay (Quarter-finals)
Venezuela Venezuela José Argote Jorge Urrego
Jairo Romero
Uruguay-Jamaica (Group B)
Mexico-Ecuador (Group A)
Chile-Peru (Semi-finals)
El Salvador El Salvador Joel Aguilar Jamaica Garnet Page
Jamaica Ricardo Morgan
Ecuador-Bolivia (Group A)
Mexico Mexico Roberto García José Luis Camargo
Marvin Torrentera
Brazil-Peru (Group C)
Uruguay-Paraguay (Group B)
Argentina-Colombia (Quarter-finals)

Group stage

The fixture schedule was announced on 11 November 2014.

The first round, or group stage, saw the twelve teams divided into three groups of four teams. Each group was a round-robin of six games, where each team played one match against each of the other teams in the same group. Teams were awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and none for a defeat. The teams finishing first, second and two best-placed third teams in each group qualified for the quarter-finals.

Tie-breaking criteria

Teams were ranked on the following criteria:

  1. Greater number of points in all group matches
  2. Goal difference in all group matches
  3. Greater number of goals scored in all group matches
  4. Head-to-head result (between two teams only)
  5. Penalty shoot-out (if both teams are playing the last match of the group stage)
  6. Drawing of lots by the CONMEBOL Organizing Committee

All times local, CLT (UTC−3).

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Chile (H) 3 2 1 0 10 3 +7 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Bolivia 3 1 1 1 3 7 −4 4
3  Ecuador 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 3
4  Mexico 3 0 2 1 4 5 −1 2
Source: CONMEBOL
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
(H) Hosts
11 June 2015
Chile  2–0  Ecuador Estadio Nacional, Santiago
12 June 2015
Mexico  0–0  Bolivia Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar
15 June 2015
Ecuador  2–3  Bolivia Estadio Elías Figueroa, Valparaíso
Chile  3–3  Mexico Estadio Nacional, Santiago
19 June 2015
Mexico  1–2  Ecuador Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua
Chile  5–0  Bolivia Estadio Nacional, Santiago

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Argentina 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Paraguay 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5
3  Uruguay 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
4  Jamaica 3 0 0 3 0 3 −3 0
Source: CONMEBOL
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
13 June 2015
Uruguay  1–0  Jamaica Estadio Regional de Antofagasta, Antofagasta
Argentina  2–2  Paraguay Estadio La Portada, La Serena
16 June 2015
Paraguay  1–0  Jamaica Estadio Regional de Antofagasta, Antofagasta
Argentina  1–0  Uruguay Estadio La Portada, La Serena
20 June 2015
Uruguay  1–1  Paraguay Estadio La Portada, La Serena
Argentina  1–0  Jamaica Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Brazil 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 6 Advance to knockout stage
2  Peru 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
3  Colombia 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4
4  Venezuela 3 1 0 2 2 3 −1 3
Source: CONMEBOL
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
14 June 2015
Colombia  0–1  Venezuela Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua
Brazil  2–1  Peru Estadio Municipal Germán Becker, Temuco
17 June 2015
Brazil  0–1  Colombia Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago
18 June 2015
Peru  1–0  Venezuela Estadio Elías Figueroa, Valparaíso
21 June 2015
Colombia  0–0  Peru Estadio Municipal Germán Becker, Temuco
Brazil  2–1  Venezuela Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago

Ranking of third placed teams

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B  Uruguay 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4 Advance to knockout stage
2 C  Colombia 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4
3 A  Ecuador 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 3
Source: CONMEBOL
Rules for classification: 1) points in all group matches; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) lots drawn by CONMEBOL.

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the eight teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the following rules:

  • In the quarter-finals, teams from the same group could not play each other.
  • In the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and third place playoff, if tied after 90 minutes, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (no extra time was played).
  • In the final, if tied after 90 minutes, 30 minutes of extra time were played. If still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner.

Bracket

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
24 June – Santiago
 
 
 Chile1
 
29 June – Santiago
 
 Uruguay0
 
 Chile2
 
25 June – Temuco
 
 Peru1
 
 Bolivia1
 
4 July – Santiago
 
 Peru3
 
 Chile (p)0 (4)
 
26 June – Viña del Mar
 
 Argentina0 (1)
 
 Argentina (p)0 (5)
 
30 June – Concepción
 
 Colombia0 (4)
 
 Argentina6
 
27 June – Concepción
 
 Paraguay1 Third place play-off
 
 Brazil1 (3)
 
3 July – Concepción
 
 Paraguay (p)1 (4)
 
 Peru2
 
 
 Paraguay0
 

Quarter-finals

Chile 1–0 Uruguay
Isla 80' Report
Attendance: 45,304
Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)

Bolivia 1–3 Peru
Moreno 83' (pen.) Report Guerrero 19', 22', 73'


Semi-finals

Chile 2–1 Peru
Vargas 41', 63' Report Medel 60' (o.g.)
Attendance: 45,651

Argentina 6–1 Paraguay
Rojo 14'
Pastore 26'
Di María 46', 52'
Agüero 79'
Higuaín 82'
Report Barrios 42'

Third place playoff

Peru 2–0 Paraguay
Carrillo 48'
Guerrero 89'
Report

Final

Statistics

Goalscorers

Chile's Eduardo Vargas and Peru's Paolo Guerrero scored the most goals, with 4 each. In total, 59 goals were scored by 39 different players, with two of them credited as own goals.

Eduardo Vargas (left) and Paolo Guerrero, top scorers
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goals

Source: CONMEBOL.com

Assists

3 assists

2 assists

Winners

 2015 Copa América champions 

Chile

1st title

Awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.

Final Man of the Match Award

Team of the Tournament

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards Manager

Chile Claudio Bravo

Colombia Jeison Murillo
Chile Gary Medel
Argentina Nicolás Otamendi

Peru Christian Cueva
Chile Marcelo Díaz
Argentina Javier Mascherano
Chile Arturo Vidal

Chile Eduardo Vargas
Peru Paolo Guerrero
Argentina Lionel Messi

Chile Jorge Sampaoli (Chile)

Marketing

Chilean president Michelle Bachelet with Zincha, the 2015 Copa América mascot.

Sponsorship

Logo and slogan

On 2 April 2014, the official logo was unveiled, along with the slogan "El Corazón del Fútbol" ("The Heart of Football").

Match ball

On 16 November 2014, the official match ball (OMB) was unveiled at the Estadio Nacional. The name of the ball is Nike Cachaña, which is a Chilean slang term for a successful feint or dribble. During its launch, the Chilean international Arturo Vidal was present. The ball is mainly designed with white as main appearance featured with blue and red applications, representing host nation Chile. The colors of Chilean flag make a statement in the design of this ball: the red representing the people, the blue symbolizing the Chilean sky, and the white for the Andes that so strongly define the geography of this country.

Mascot

The official mascot of the tournament, a young culpeo fox, was unveiled on 17 November 2014. The name of the mascot, "Zincha" (from Zorro (fox) and hINCHA (fan)), was chosen by the public over two other options, "Andi" and "Kul".

Official song

"Al Sur del Mundo" by Chilean group Noche de Brujas served as the official song of the tournament. It was performed during the opening ceremony of the competition on 11 June. It features the different cultures of the twelve competing nations.

Incidents and controversies

The day after Chile's 3–3 draw against Mexico in their second group match, Jorge Sampaoli gave the players a day off from training. They had to return to the training ground by 9pm, but Arturo Vidal did not arrive. He had been involved in a traffic accident on his way back to the ground, and arrested for driving under the influence. He spent the night in jail, and appeared in court the morning after. His driving license was revoked, and he was sentenced to pay for the damage done. Although there was speculation that he would be dropped, Sampaoli opted to keep him on the team.

An on-pitch brawl broke out following Colombia's 1–0 win over Brazil in their second group match; Brazilian captain Neymar deliberately kicked the ball at opponent Pablo Armero and attempted to headbutt Colombian matchwinner Jeison Murillo, earning a red card. As a result, Colombian forward Carlos Bacca retaliated by pushing Neymar over, and was himself sent off. CONMEBOL fined Neymar $10,000 and suspended him for four matches, ruling him out for the remainder of the tournament, while Bacca was suspended for two matches.

In Chile's quarter-final victory over Uruguay, full-back Gonzalo Jara poked Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani in the anus, and then fell when Cavani slapped him in retaliation. Both Cavani and Jara received a yellow card for the incident, which resulted in Cavani being sent off because he had previously received another yellow card for insulting one of the referees' assistants. Jara was later suspended for two games, which made him miss the rest of the tournament. His club, Mainz 05 of Germany, criticized Jara for the incident and stated that he would be sold. However he would remain with the club until 16 January 2016 when he agreed to terminate his contract with them.


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