Yahoo Sports Argentina wins record 16th Copa America title with 1-0 extra time thriller over Colombia
The highly anticipated Copa America final between defending champion Argentina and resurgent Colombia, which should be remembered for its on-field drama, a scoreless stalemate that required extra time to decide, instead will be stained by images of thousands of unruly fans breaching security, rushing Hard Rock Stadium gates and the chaos that followed.
Lautaro Martinez, a 97th minute substitute, was the hero of the night for Argentina, receiving a through ball from Giovani Lo Celso and right footing it through the hands of Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas in the 112th minute to secure the 1-0 win and keep the trophy in the hands of La Albiceleste. Argentina has won a record 16 Copa America titles.
It was the Copa-leading fifth goal for Inter Milan striker Martinez, and his third in the final minutes this tournament. He scored in the 88th minute of the opener against Canada and had the 88th-minute game winner against Chile. He was in tears after, running around and hugging everyone in sight. Coach Lionel Scaloni said he never lost faith in Martinez, though he was not in the starting lineup, and what impressed him most was his attitude coming off the bench so late.
“It is logical he would not be happy sitting for so long, but when he went in he gave his all and that was priceless,” Scaloni said. “He could have come in upset, pouting. Instead, he came in and was the difference maker.”
Argentine icon and Inter Miami star Lionel Messi left the game with an ankle injury in the 64th minute, likely the last Copa appearance of his career, and he was shown sobbing on the bench, his face in his hands, his severely swollen ankle out of his signature cleat. After the game, he limped around the field celebrating with his teammates.
“Leo was sad because he is the best player in the world and never wants to abandon his teammates,” Scaloni said. “The reason he is so upset to leave a game is not because of his ego, it’s because he wants to help his teammates win. Even with his ankle like that he wanted to play. That is the kind of player I want. His teammates see that and are inspired.”
Angel DiMaria, the 36-year-old Argentine legend, had announced he would retire after this Copa, so, he, too, was in tears. Scaloni said after that he was delighted to see DiMaria have what he called a storybook ending to his national team career.
“Angel has had countless memorable games for us, but I thought that was one of his best,” Scaloni said. “Our guys were getting tired, their legs were giving out, but at that moment he ran like he was 25 years old. He is a legend and deserved to go out like he did, playing so well in a Copa final.”
Meanwhile, a dejected Colombian captain James Rodriguez, sat on the field and wiped tears away as his team’s magical 28-game unbeaten streak came to an end. Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo told his players after to hold their heads high.
“We played the best team in the world, a team marking an era, and we are just beginning and played them even and even dominated at some points, so I felt we were up to the task of being in the final,” Lorenzo said. “I said at the start of the second half that the first team to score would win, and Argentina did. Even though I am sad we lost, there was a lot to celebrate for our team.”
Tournament organizers also surely felt like crying. Rather than celebrating a festive night of soccer in front of a sold-out crowd, stadium officials spent much of the game trying to explain what went wrong on a night that raised serious questions about the security plan, which fell primarily on tournament organizer CONMEBOL.
“Throughout the afternoon and evening, there were numerous attempts by unruly fans without tickets to overpower security and law enforcement personnel at entry points to the stadium, putting themselves, other fans and security and stadium staff at extreme risk,” read a statement from a Hard Rock Stadium spokesperson. “Various stadium gates were closed and re-opened strategically in an attempt to allow ticketed guests to enter safely and in a controlled manner. Fans continued to engage in illegal conduct — fighting police officers, breaking down walls and barricades and vandalizing the stadium, causing significant damage to the property.”
Kickoff was delayed nearly an hour and a half as thousands of fans were stranded outside the gates, waiting to get in. At one point, with a growing concern for a potential stampede that could injure fans, stadium management, CONMEBOL and the Miami-Dade Police Department conferred and decided to open the gates and let people in without checking tickets.
“In collaboration with CONMEBOL and law enforcement officers, a decision was made to open the stadium gates for a short period of time to all fans in order to prevent stampedes and serious injury at the perimeter,” said the Hard Rock Stadium spokesperson. “There was serious concern of fans being crushed in order to enter. Law enforcement and security personnel were immediately deployed throughout the stadium and surrounding area to keep fans as safe as possible in light of this unprecedented situation.”
Once the crowd quelled, security guards resumed checking for tickets and even went into the stands and checked tickets row by row, asking unticketed fans to leave.
Both coaches said the delay of kickoff and the security breach affected their players before and during the early stages of the game.
“It’s difficult to explain and understand what happened before the game,” said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni. “The players were on their feet for an hour outside the stadium waiting for their families to come in. The feeling of not knowing where their families were, if they ware safe, watching the videos circulating. In that condition we had to go out and play. The Colombian players had the same feelings. It was a very strange situation.”
Lorenzo agreed: “In the locker room and during warmups they told us there would be a half hour delay and it ended up being more than an hour. We were trying to reach our family members and friends to see if they were ok. It was chaotic. We were trying to calm everyone down, but there was a lot of anxiety.
When you plan for a final game day, you follow the same routine minute by minute...the breakfast, lunch, pregame talk, the departure of the bus, the arrival. When all that is disrupted, it affects both teams.”
Tickets to the highly anticipated match were selling for $1,500 to $8,000. South Florida is home to more than 300,000 Colombian and Argentine immigrants, and Colombian singer songwriter Shakira performed at halftime, increasing demand for tickets.
Both sets of fans, among the most fun-loving in Latin America, partied side by side without incident in the parking lots for hours all afternoon, singing, dancing and posing for photos together. But once it came time to enter the stadium, the un-ticketed fans ignored the rules and created the dangerous situation.
The mother of Argentine player Alexis Mac Allister told TyCSports that her son had to leave the locker room before the game to help the family enter the stadium. She called the situation “inhumane.”
