On Tuesday night, heading into the early hours of Wednesday morning, 27.06.2007, the opening game of the 42nd Copa America will get underway with Uruguay facing Peru in the host nation of Venezuela.
On Tuesday night, heading into the early hours of Wednesday morning, 27.06.2007, the opening game of the 42nd Copa America will get underway with Uruguay facing Peru in the host nation of Venezuela.
On Tuesday night, heading into the early hours of Wednesday morning, 27.06.2007, the opening game of the 42nd Copa America will get underway with Uruguay facing Peru in the host nation of Venezuela. On Thursday, 28.06.2007, Werder Bremen’s stars Naldo and Diego will begin their campaign with the Brazilian national side under trainer Carlos Dunga.
In Venezuela, nine stadiums were renovated in anticipation of hosting the South American championship – a task that is clearly worth all the effort. In the very shortest space of time, the original contingent of 270,000 tickets were snapped up per telephone or over the internet and since then a further 140,000 tickets have also changed hands. The fans in South America are expecting a festival of footballing magic the like of which the game has rarely seen. Still, Diego, Werder’s playmaker, was very clear: “Of course we have the quality within the team to play the most attractive football but that is not our goal. First and foremost, we want to win.”
In Group B On Thursday, 28.06.2007 at 2:45am (CET) the Brazilian’s will begin the defence of their title against Mexico. On Sunday, 01.07.2007 at 10pm (CET) Naldo, Diego & Co. will face Chile before playing their final group match on Thursday, 05.07.2007, at 2:45am (CET) against Germany’s World Cup first round opponents from Ecuador.
The Selecao won the last Copa America back in 2004 with a 6:4 penalty shoot-out win against Argentina in the final. The title holders enter the tournament as favourites even without the services of Ronaldinho and Kaká who both pulled out of the competition. Diego has compared the atmosphere within the current team with that of the 2004 title winners: “The group has really changed but the atmosphere is just the same. We have a lot of respect for each other and have a friendly relationship with one another at the same time.
Just how well the Brazilians will fair and whether or not they can defend their title remains to be seen but for Werder fans interested in following the progress of Diego and Naldo, all 26 games in the competition will be broadcast live and exclusively by “Arena”.
Johnnie Muldoon
