Copa America: Out of murky waters arises a classic Brazil-Argentina finale

Football is, and has always been, extremely political. And no football body has gotten itself intertwined with politics as much as CONMEBOL, the South American association. (Think Argentine official Julio Grondana and his cronies who toyed with the organisation for decades with little opposition.) Hence, it came as no surprise that Copa America was plagued with controversies leading up to the 2021 edition, leaving fans and locals disinterested and disappointed.

But, after nearly a month of dragging the tournament forward with just a few fixtures impressing in the absence of any truly high-voltage clashes, the grand finale is upon is. And with all the attention that the Euro has been hogging halfway across the globe, a cup final rarely gets bigger than Brazil versus Argentina. The viewership for the final, by one estimate, is expected to be 10 to 14 times that of any of the games in the earlier stages of the tournament.

On one hand, it reflects the weight that this ancient rivalry still carries. But on the other, the interest for tournament has never been this low.

The 2021 Copa America was not meant to happen. Rising COVID-19 cases in Argentina and civil unrest in Colombia—the original joint hosts—led the desperate confederation to find new bids to host the tournament. Then came a new political issue.

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro valiantly stepped in just 10 days before the scheduled start of the event and announced that Brazil would host the tournament, despite being the worst-hit country in the continent in terms of COVID-19 numbers. The Brazilian players revolted, despite a majority of them being Bolsonaro supporters, saying they were not consulted and that it was a serious health risk. They publicly criticised Rodrigo Caboclo, the head of the Brazil football association, and nearly boycotted the event. But Caboclo was sacked over sexual harassment allegations, and the players were convinced to participate.

The Brazilian players were united in their criticism and shook CONMEBOL. But when Bolivian striker Marcelo Martins lashed out at the body for risking the lives of the players, he was slapped with a one-game ban. “The only thing that's important to you is MONEY. Is a player's life worth nothing?” Martins had written on Instagram, targeting CONMEBOL.

Martins's concern was genuine. He was one of the five Bolivian players to test COVID-19 positive ahead of their opening fixture against Paraguay. By the time we reached the semifinals, at least 165 cases of COVID-19 had been linked to the tournament, with 37 of them being coaches or players. There were also the shocking lapses in the “bubble” protocol, most notably when a hairstylist secretly snuck into the Brazil camp as seven players wanted new hairdos. The starstruck genius posted a selfie with Neymar on Instagram, and all hell broke loose.

If all these factors had not put off the local fans, there were more reasons for the lack of interest. Games played behind closed doors and zero promotion or advertisements around the cities meant that the tournament never felt like it was being played at home. To add to it, Brazil's most popular broadcaster TV Globo did not show the Copa games, but instead gave locals a few of the big Euro matches. One report said the locals preferred the Euro over the Copa for these reasons.

Moreover, when Neymar found out that there were some sections of Brazilians supporting Argentina because they wanted Lionel Messi to finally win a major trophy, he lashed out at them. Such is the disconnect between the fans and their national team.

Journalists from the continent have been repeatedly questioning the rationale behind force-hosting a tournament that players were not even interested in. The current edition, originally scheduled for 2020, was scheduled for last year just to shift the cycle so that the Copa could be played on even years. (The irony!) But players questioned the need for it, having already had three editions in the five years prior to that.

Qatar and Australia, the two invitees this time, had also pulled out of the event as the dates of the rescheduled tournament clashed with the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Although that was the official reason, there were rumours that the two nations were unhappy with the high number of cases in the continent.

With the absence of the local vibrance and atmosphere that makes Brazilian football what it is, the tournament trudged on, in the shadow of the fan-soaked and fun Euros. There were a few moments of brilliance from the likes of Luis Diaz and Emiliano Martinez and a couple of closely fought fixtures, but little quality from sides other than Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. Even Chile and Uruguay, the other big giants, looked uninspired and insipid.

The haphazard edition is not deserving of a final between Brazil and Argentina, but it is rather a much-needed one for it. The larger narratives of this being Messi and Neymar's first showdown in a major final and of it probably being Messi's last chance to land a major trophy with Argentina are what will bring the fans around to watch this big game, ignoring what has transpired over the last two months. CONMEBOL is unlikely to undergo any radical changes that would shift their focus to cater to the needs and demands of the fans and players.

But as football fans often do, they will choose to forget the mess around the sport to enjoy a game as big as this. The strength and flair of the Brazilians against the renewed vigour and mentality of the Argentines—it is irresistible, no matter what went before and what comes after.