5 Copa America records that won't be broken anytime soon
Copa America is one of the oldest football tournaments in the world and also one of the most fiercely contested ones. The competition features the might of the South American flair and always promises to be an action-packed entertainer. The first Copa America was held in 1916 under a different name and over the years the South American teams have battled each other under various banners. The tournament to be held in Chile this month is the 44th edition.
Since the competition has been going on for nearly a century, there have been numerous records set across various categories. Some of these records are so huge that it is unlikely that they will be broken in the near future. They may never even be surpassed. Here are five such records in the Copa America.
1) Most Copa America appearances: Uruguay – 41
Although this year’s tournament is the 44th edition, no country has played in all of the previous editions. Uruguay come closest with 41 appearances out of the 43 previous tournaments.
The reason why many countries haven’t participated in the previous tournaments are varied. In some cases, it was due to the security concerns in the host nation. For example; in 2001, Argentina withdrew from the event due to security concerns in Colombia. In the early days, it was because some of the nations were not affiliated to the CONMEBOL.
Though Argentina have participated in the just two tournaments less than Uruguay, it will be a long time before they catch up with Uruguay or beat them because the Copa America doesn’t have a qualification stage and, therefore, all South American teams are participants by default unless they withdraw, which is a rare occurrence these days.
| RANK | COUNTRY | APPEARANCES |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Uruguay |
41 |
| 2 |
Argentina |
39 |
| 3 |
Chile |
36 |
| 4 |
Paraguay |
34 |
| 5 |
Brazil |
33 |
| 6 |
Peru |
29 |
| 7 |
Ecuador |
25 |
| 8 |
Bolivia |
24 |
| 9 |
Colombia |
19 |
| 10 |
Venezuela |
15 |
2) Overall goals scored: Argentina – 422
Even though Uruguay have played in the most number of tournaments and won the most titles, the Argentines edge their rivals when it comes to overall performance. La Albiceleste hold the record for the highest average of goals scored per match with 2.44 and an overall goals tally of 422!
Surprisingly, it isn’t Uruguay who are second when it comes to overall goals scored as the Brazilians edge them out narrowly with three goals more in significantly fewer number of games, but Argentina still hold a very superior lead over them both.
The barrier between the top 3 and Chile in fourth place is also quite huge, but Chile and the teams below them have played fewer games in comparison to the big three.
| RANK | COUNTRY | GOALS SCORED |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Argentina |
422 |
| 2 |
Brazil |
387 |
| 3 |
Uruguay |
384 |
| 4 |
Chile |
247 |
| 5 |
Paraguay |
241 |
3) Biggest margin of victory: Argentina 12-0 Ecuador
There have been many one-sided games in Copa America, but none of them comes close to what Argentina did to Ecuador in 1942. Back in those days the competition featured seven teams. Each team played the others once and at the end of the competition the team with the maximum points were crowned champions.
Ecuador played their first game of the tournament against Uruguay and were thrashed 7-0. Little did they know that their second outing would leave an everlasting scar as they lost to the Argentines 12-0!
Enrique Garcia opened the scoring early on in the second minute before Jose Manuel Moreno scored a hat-trick in the space of 10 minutes. Aldolfo Pedernera scored the fifth of the game in the 25th minute following which Moreno scored again to make it 6-0 at half time. In the second half, Herminio Masantonio scored four goals with 20 minutes left to play and then Angel Perucca scored late in the game before Moreno scored his fifth and Argentina’s 12th of the day.
Ecuador finished bottom of the table after losing all six of their games - with just four goals scored and 31 conceded.