The 2021 Copa America is just around the corner. Along with the UEFA Euros, the Copa also provides the world with some fantastic and entertaining football fixtures for a month before the regular seasons of club football resume. This year’s Copa America should be extremely competitive given the freshly formed teams that have come into action to face off in Brazil, are Barcelona fans should be especially thrilled with two new signings ready to showcase their skills in the tournament.
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This year’s Copa America will be a massive opportunity for the likes of Brazil or Argentina to make a statement. It’s another great opportunity for Argentina to finally land an international trophy under captain Lionel Messi, especially with the six-time Ballon d’Or winner preparing for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
It is absurd that one of the best, if not the best, footballers to grace the field has yet to win a single international trophy. Many argue that this lack of international success is what keeps Messi away from being recognized as the greatest ever.
This is also one of the talking points for comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo, as the latter has won The UEFA Euros and the UEFA Nations Cup with Portugal.
Brazil have won the Copa America recently along with the Olympics as Neymar Jr featured in a massive manner for them. The Brazilians look to be in top form. It won’t be a surprise if they end up winning this year’s competition too. Their current form is very good with the former Barcelona star Neymar in brilliant form.
Other teams like Chile and Uruguay also have solid teams in order to make a statement. South America’s biggest football competition has never failed to disappoint so far and it looks like it will be another year of massive entertainment from the South American footballers.
Here we take a look at 4 Barcelona superstars to watch out for at the Copa America:
#4 Ronald Araujo (Uruguay)
The young Uruguayan international has had a fantastic season under Ronald Koeman at Barcelona, considering his age and the situation he was put into. The player only featured for the Blaugranas after big names such as Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, and others were injured. With the Dutch coach already looking to develop the youth, it was a perfect opportunity for Araujo and the young man did not disappoint.
The Barcelona center-back will be extremely key for Uruguay in the competition. Even though the team has solid center backs like Diego Godin and Jose Maria Gimenez, given the season that Araujo had, he will definitely get the opportunity to prove himself on the international stage.
Araujo is solid when it comes to his aerial abilities, and he’s absolutely brilliant when he is the last man behind. On top of that, the defender is confident, he isn’t afraid of throwing his body in order to make a challenge or make crucial blocks. He’s got all the qualities of a modern defender as he’s also comfortable on the ball and extremely good at progressing it.
He had a fantastic season with Barcelona where his runs stretched for a good period of time, he kept a good amount of clean sheets and played with a lot of concentration and focus. Araujo will be a massive addition to the Uruguay squad for Copa America in the summer and Barca fans should keep a close eye on his developement.
#3 Emerson Royal (Brazil)
The Brazilian right-back was re-signed by Barcelona after they triggered their special clause of 9 million euros with Real Betis, permanently ending the co-owning agreement. The player has been absolutely fantastic at Real Betis especially under manager Manuel Pellegrini. However, currently, he’s a Barca player and he will feature in the Copa with high expectations to follow.
Brazil also has many options at right-back. For example, Juventus’ Danilo and Fagner are way more likely to start over Emerson. However, Danilo did not have the best of seasons with Juventus. Meanwhile, Emerson is highly regarded as one for the future and his performance with Real Betis proved that he doesn’t need a great squad around him to give consistent performances. That may be one of the reasons why Emerson may get picked ahead of Danilo. Emerson will surely make appearances for the Brazilians in this year’s Copa and fans should keep a close eye on his performance as that could potentially reflect his starting form with Barca.
He’s fantastic on the ball and he’s got tremendous crossing abilities. He times his overlapping runs perfectly and he’s solid when it comes to defending. He does not fail to let his physical presence known to the opponents. He’s a fantastic addition to the Brazil squad and he will hopefully continue to thrive at the Nou Camp after the season begins.
#2 Sergio Aguero (Argentina)
The former Manchester City forward signed for Barcelona just a few weeks ago and will not represent Barcelona as he heads into the 2021 Copa America with Argentina. The Premier League legend never really dropped his quality until last season, however, injuries have not been kind to him. For his last ever game at the City of Manchester Stadium, he showed what he was capable of scoring a brace against Everton in the most lethal form, seemingly back to his very best.
Sergio Aguero, however, was not a regular starter under Pep Guardiola this season. The striker was out with multiple knee and thigh injuries for long durations. This led to the Spanish coach picking Gabriel Jesus or even a midfielder who would play the role of false 9 ahead of the Argentine.
However, whenever the center-forward was given the opportunity he seemed to make the most of it. He scored a belter against Crystal Palace, a penalty against Fulham, and two goals in the final game week. Kun Aguero will also be reunited with his new club and country teammate Lionel Messi. Fans are hoping to watch the two play some extremely attractive football together and they will get the opportunity to witness the pair in action on the international stage before they feature alongside each other at the club level for the first time.
While Aguero isn’t among the starting eleven, he will be a massive addition to the Argentina squad and he will have the opportunity to prove himself again. He’s got more goals for Argentina than the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez, and Hernan Crespo despite having lesser appearances, but the presence of Lautaro Martinez could see him get fewer minutes at the Copa America.
#1 Lionel Messi (Argentina)
last but not the least, Lionel Messi, who after yet another brilliant season individually, will be heading into the Copa America leading this current Argentina side as captain.
The Barcelona legend has had a brilliant 2021 calendar year so far. After a slow start according to his high standards, he really stepped things up in all departments. From creating chances for the team to scoring goals and providing assists, he’s been running things single-handedly at the Nou Camp for a long time now.
Lionel Messi has won the Olympics in 2008 with Argentina but ever since then, he has failed to land an international trophy. Be it the Copa America or the FIFA World Cup or the qualifiers leading to these particular tournaments, the Argentine has always given his best. Whatever his job was he has executed that extremely well. Obviously, the penalty miss against Chile is not the sweetest memory but individually the magician has given it his all. Despite coming back from international retirement, he’s given top performances in all the FIFA World Cups and arguably carried Argentina alone when there seemed to be no options.
He will be Argentina’s most important player in the summer during the Copa America and the Argentine fans will look up to him for some justice of not having won an international trophy for a very long time. Given Lionel Messi’s performances for the blue shirt, he’s delivered multiple times but in the most important stages and in the cruelest ways, he’s failed to lead the team to a trophy. The boys in blue will try again and give their best in the summer, while Barca and Messi fans will be hoping that this is not the last Copa America tournament featuring the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Which Barca star are you most excited to watch?