Copa America quarter-final Review: Chile vs Uruguay

While the first quarter-final of this year’s Copa America only produced one goal, it wasn’t short of incident thanks to Uruguay’s aggressive approach, and Chile’s response which was, at times… well… a little unorthodox to say the least. The tension and physicality in the match was clear from the outset, with Uruguay holding Chile’s potent attack at bay with the help of several crunching tackles. In fact, Uruguay did an excellent job of forcing their opponents into fairly hopeful long shots for the majority of the game, rarely allowing clear-cut chances.

This all changed in the 63^rd minute when Edinson Cavani received a second yellow card in one of the more bizarre moments in football history. Following a small altercation between Chile defender Gonzalo Jara and Cavani, the former took a quick free kick on the halfway line before sidling up behind the star striker and actually, ‘for realz’ sticking his finger up Cavani’s arse/butt (don’t if the former is allowed…).

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Seemingly (and very understandably) shocked into inaction by what had just happened, Cavani just stood there and almost shrugged his shoulders a little. This was apparently Jara’s queue to hit the deck as the Mainz player dived to the ground holding his face. It was at this point that the referee turned toward the incident for the first time, and surmising that Cavani struck the fallen Jara, produced a second yellow and sent him off.

Cavani – utterly incensed at this point – was eventually led away by team mates; however, while Chile had controlled the game up to that point, was had been steady, largely unthreatening pressure then turned into incessant waves of Chilean attack. Uruguay’s resistance finally broke after a Jorge Valdivia layoff saw fullback Mauricio Isla fire a low shot into the bottom corner in the 81^st minute. Just before the end, salt was rubbed into already throbbing Uruguayan wounds when they were (this time rightly) reduced to nine men following a brutal tackle on Alexis Sanchez from left back Jorge Fucile. Here are three takeaways from the feisty encounter:

1) Chile’s midfield can carry them all the way: While Uruguay’s solid defensive display kept the game scoreless until late on, Chile dominated possession; and the battle in midfield, almost throughout. With Jorge Sampaoli again opting for a back four, Chile started with the four of Marcelo Diaz, Charles Aranguiz, Arturo Vidal and Valdivia. All four are at least very good in their own right, but what is arguably most striking about the quartet is how cohesive and balanced they are. Diaz is left to sit deeper than his compatriots, using his expert reading of the game; both in attack (where his passing is also superb) and defence, to anchor the unit, providing a vital point of reference for those around him.

Flanking him are the two workhorses in Vidal and Aranguiz. Both are fantastically versatile players with very few (or in Vidal’s case no) flaws in their game, making them more than capable of providing a true box-to-box presence even at the highest level. They were also the key men in constantly harassing Uruguay’s midfield and winning the ball back quickly. Ahead of them if the attacking fulcrum of the side in Valdivia, whose influence in this team continues to grow with every passing minute; with his rapier-sharp threw balls and subtle flicks proving decisive in unlocking the well-manned defences Chile have faced up to this point.

2) Jose Maria Jimenez ready to be a star: At the heart of Uruguay’s backs-to-the-wall masterclass was Atletico Madrid pairing Diego Godin and Jimenez, who were fantastic all the way through the contest; keeping Sanchez and strike partner Eduardo Vargas remarkably quiet. Of course, this was hardly a surprise given the pedigree of the duo, but it will definitely add a few more voices to the growing chorus asking to see more of Atleti’s young centre back as he was able to show off many of his long list of attributes against the tournament hosts.

He is a ruthlessly no-nonsense, imposing defender; capable of using his impressive strength to regularly bully opponents out of possession, while his reading of the game has improved leaps and bounds under Simeone’s tutelage. In possession he is very unfussy and tidy, while his above average speed and decent technique mean he is also able to carry the ball out from the back at times. In short – though he only turned 20 earlier this year – next season he will likely have Miranda (an excellent centre back in his own right), looking nervously over his shoulder.

3) Replacing Jara could prove tricky: As a result of his surreal episode with Cavani, Jara has now been banned for the remainder of the tournament. Knowing Sampaoli, he will likely have several creative tricks up his sleeve to compensate, but weirdly; given Jara is hardly a world-beater, the defender could prove harder to replace than many of the more talented player in this side.

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Firstly, though traditional positions only exist in our footballing world, rather than the alternate dimension Sampaoli inhabits, Jara is the only recognised centre back to regularly feature under the ingenious Argentine, as well as being one of the first names on the team sheet for the majority of Sampaoli’s tenure. In fact there are no other recognised centre backs in the squad whatsoever, meaning that the solution will once again have to come from left field. To speculate as to what that might entail is almost ruining the fun, as simply sitting back and waiting to see what Sampaoli concocts is wonderfully intriguing.