The
first semi-final of the Copa America 2015 see the hosts Chile taking on their
fierce rivals Peru for a place in the finals. One team had to dig deep and
scrape a victory amid controversy; the other team cruised through to the semis
with some individual brilliance.
The
home team started off their Copa America 2015 journey with a comfortable win
over Ecuador and then in their second game with a thrilling three all draw
against Mexico and they ended the group stage with a thumping victory over
Bolivia. Everything seemed to be going fine for Chile as they looked a focused
team to go all the way in this tournament.
But,
controversy struck when the Chilean
talisman Arturo Vidal wrecked his Ferrari with the suspicion of drunk driving,
with the Chilean player later confirming with the press for his reckless
actions in a tearful press conference. Coach Jorge Sampaoli was under a lot of
pressure whether to axe the Juventus midfielder from his side for his actions,
but instead kept faith and retained him.
Chile
and Vidal moved past that incident ready to take on last year’s champions
Uruguay in the Quarter-Finals. The La Roja eventually won the game one-nil with
Isla scoring a late winner to dash the Uruguayans dream and keep La Roja’s
hopes still alive. But that was not the talking point of this game. The press
and the rest of the world were more focused the controversial incident between
Cavani and Jara. With the PSG striker already being booked in the first half
for dissent, midway through the second half, the Chilean defender provoked the
already booked Cavani who responded with a slap on the defender’s face which
hardly made any contact whatsoever. The referee was blindsided and failed to
see Jara’s but noticed the Chilean’s defender reaction as he went to ground
holding his hands in pain and seemed to be grimacing in pain, the referee had no
option but to show a second yellow card to Cavani and send him off.
The
actions committed by the Chilean defender seemed to have angered the club he
plies his trade for; the Bundesliga side FC Mainz are ready to off-load the
player if they receive any offers, as they are disgusted by his actions. The
Chilean defender rightly deserves a three match ban which sees him ruled out
for the entire tournament. Many feel that the punishment is not harsh enough.
Peru
definitely the underdogs in this competition. Started off the campaign with a
narrow injury time defeat to Brazil, but bounced back with a one nil victory
over Venezuela and finished the group stage with a goalless draw to Colombia.
Regardless of their underdog tag, La Blanquirroja tends to surprise big teams
and always is up for the challenge. They finished the 2011 Copa America in
Third place. Can Ricardo and Gareca and his men go one step this time around?
La Blanquirroja faced a tough Bolivian side in the quarter-finals but in the
end sailed through the semis with an inspiring hat-trick from J.Guerrero which
sees the striker right up there with Vidal contesting for the Golden boot.
This
Semi-Final between these two fierce rivals is set to take place at the Estadio
Nacional in Santiago with a place in the final up for grabs for both these
sides. La Roja will be looking for a controversy free game and also making
their nation proud by reaching the final. Peru will be looking to recreate
their glory days by reaching the finals for a third time having won the last
the last two times they were in a final.
Possible Line-ups:
Chile:
Bravo; Medel, Isla, Mena, Albornoz; Díaz, Aránguiz,
Vidal; Valdivia; Sánchez, Vargas.
Peru: Gallese; Vargas, Advincula, Zambrano, Ascues; Lobatón,
Ballón, Cueva, Sánchez; Farfán, Guerrero.
Joshua Ronald Ivan, follow him on Twitter.
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