“I would lean towards Uruguay and Colombia,” said ‘Tata’ Martino when asked about his favorites to win the continental competition outside of the Albiceleste.
“Unlike other Cups, there are several teams outside of Argentina and Brazil that are very good, with a lot of potential and willing to fight for the title, so I think the Copa América is going to be nice,” Martino added.
The ‘Tata’, 61 years old, lost three Copa América finals as a coach: Argentina 2011 with Paraguay against Uruguay, and Chile 2015 and Centenario 2016 both against Chile as coach of the Albiceleste.
“It is a great attraction” that the Copa América is held in the United States, Martino continued. “The Cup is very nice and especially this one that has the best teams in Central America, the truth is it is a very nice competition, it will be played in a packed stadium.”
On the other hand, when asked about how he saw Lionel Messiwhom he has in his ranks at Inter Miami, to face the tournament he said that “he will play with the peace of mind of what he has achieved.”
“It seems to me that the fact of having fulfilled that objective (winning the Copa América in 2021 and the World Cup in Qatar in 2022) frees the footballers and they begin to be seen in their best expression.
“Obviously Leo (Messi) like the entire Argentine team has a position within each match, whether friendly or official, it is a team that is difficult to think about how they are going to lose a match,” he stated.
Argentina and Canada will open the curtain of the Copa América this Thursday at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta in a Group A match, completed by Chile and Peru.
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