11 June to 12 July 2021- this 32-day period was as close to Football heaven as one could possibly imagine. Two international tournaments featuring the two continents renowned for producing the greatest players and the best national teams in the history of the sport. Multiple high-octane matches, goals galore, Hollywood-esque drama; does it get any better than this?
While the sides competing in these tournaments were vying for respective continental supremacy, a question that kept popping up in the Football community, here and around the world: Which continent is currently superior in terms of the quality of football played by its nations?
The easy answer is Europe. In fact, Europe has been producing the better (and arguably more competitive too) brand of Football compared to that of Latin America for a number of years now.
Since the turn of the century, at least one European country has appeared in every World Cup final with 3 out of the 5 finals (2006, 2010 and 2018) being all-European affairs.
In contrast, the only South American representation in World Cup finals was through Brazil in 2002 and Argentina in 2014. Now, this bit of statistics does not automatically prove that Europe is stronger than South America in modern-day Football. But when European nations have been appearing in the biggest games in international Football far more than their South American counterparts, it does force one to stand up and take notice of the evolution that’s unfolding before our eyes.
The fact that Euro 2020 and Copa America 2021 were happening simultaneously made it easier for even a casual fan of the game to notice the subtle yet vast differences between the two competitions.
In the European Championship this year, it was evident that even the likes of Hungary, Switzerland or Denmark not only have the self-belief but also various strategies to adapt to different situations. That is probably the most important skill to have, especially in tournament/knockout football whereby being aggressive or effective is far more tangibly rewarding than being attractive.
Well, aggressive doesn’t mean playing ultra-attacking football all the times. It means trying to be solution-driven with the tactics a team is trying to deploy. Take Switzerland for example, when they were 3-1 down against France in the Round of 16, they did not give in. Rather, the manager made changes to disrupt the Les Blues’ momentum, the team rallied on, it was 3-3 in the blink of an eye, and the Swiss eventually won against the defending World Champions. That’s adaptability, that’s resilience, that’s mental fortitude.
This is not to say that the South American teams don’t have the same qualities. They certainly do; Brazil and Argentina showed how much they’ve evolved to be collectively robust, Peru’s run in Copa America 2021 was a breath of fresh air, and Colombia were solid and energetic as usual.
However, in Latin America, a Denmark-like resurgence – whereby the team lost its best player in the first game of the competition which forced the management to re-engineer a system productive enough for an unlikely semi-final berth – is probably rare because the stronger nations often formulate game-plans with one specific player in mind.
Let’s take a look at the finalists of Copa America 2021: Brazil and Argentina. While the Selecao were defensively compact for the majority of the tournament, they looked very dependent on Neymar to create and score goals at the other end. In fact, one could argue that Argentina were over-reliant on Messi too, given his attacking output throughout the competition.
If anyone saw the final between Brazil and Argentina, it was clear as daylight to comprehend the offensive impact of the two number 10s. Both Messi and Neymar had a relatively quiet game by their lofty standards, and it affected the game itself; there was no real flow, no real momentum, and in all honesty, it wasn’t the great spectacle we had hoped the final would be.
Of course, it goes without saying that it’s invaluable to have players like Messi or Neymar in a team because of the sheer quality they possess, but there’s also the other side of the coin. If these players have a bad game, there’s almost never a plan B. This is one aspect where the South American teams probably need to get better at.
On the flip side, however, it’s also crucial to note how Argentina did win the Copa America 2021 final when their best player had an off day. It’s important because it highlights Albiceleste’s accomplishments in comparison to what England tried to achieve in the EURO 2020 final.
Take an early lead, try to preserve it, and hit the opposition on the counter whenever possible; Argentina did it to perfection and England tried to follow suit but failed. Why? One of the reasons was England weren’t as aggressive as Argentina when it came to defending the 1-0 lead.
Argentina pressed high up the pitch and tried to unsettle Brazil’s build-up play with tactical fouls, whereas England sat very deep which allowed the Italians very little space in behind but enough time to build confidence and slowly take control of the game.
After taking the lead, Argentina executed their strategy so masterfully that it mirrored the classic street-smart German or Italian sides that just had a knack of grinding out a result; a skill rarely associated with the flamboyant South American teams. This, in essence, goes on to show that teams historically famous for individual brilliance (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, etc.) are now trying to focus more on team unity and commitment.
So, all in all, European Football has the upper hand over South America thanks to the impressive infrastructure and facilities which produce attractive league and cup competitions, fantastic managers, and top-class players. But having seen the flair-loving Latin Americans bringing elements of pragmatism into their game to win tournaments is scary and exciting at the same time.
Scary, because this will enable these teams to adjust and adapt to different match situations. Exciting, because the continents in discussion will get to battle it out in just over a year’s time on the grandest stage at World Cup 2022!
The writer is the COO of Plaantik.
etojoss20@gmail.com