Tag: south america

From Peru to Denmark: the race for South American talent

IN 2001, a 13-year-old Lionel Messi and his family relocated from Rosario to Barcelona. Reports of his trial are poetic, as just two minutes on a football pitch were enough for the…

Can a youthful Peru return to the greatness of the 1970s?

As Christian Cueva dribbled towards Diego Barretto’s goal, rounded the Paraguayan goalkeeper and scored Peru’s third goal in a massive 4-1 win in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying, there was a sense of…

How Chile are stuck between glory and indefinite wilderness

For close to a decade, the Chileans wandered in the wilderness looking for an identity. What eventually followed was perhaps the most entertaining and successful football in their nation’s history. Now they run…

The continental kings of Europe and South America

FOOTBALL IS A GIFT to each culture that embraces the sport. Separated by thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean, South America and Europe have a symbiotic relationship in football so much…

Chile: the rise of South America’s sleeping giant

DESPITE THE BEST EFFORTS OF MANY, one’s life cannot entirely revolve around football without being affected by the outside world. Pesky issues like friends and a life aside, football fans are incessantly…

A Tale of One City: Asunción

SMALL LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES TEND NOT TO GET INVOLVED WITH INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT, and Paraguay is no different. During the Second World War, the league system continued virtually unaffected as Higinio Moríñigo’s government officially remained…