Luka Modric has again come out in the media and expressed his desire to leave Tottenham for Chelsea. This time in an interview with the Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti, Modric claimed that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy doesn’t even want to listen to him. Modric also claims that they made a gentleman agreement last summer, when Modric signed a new six year contract, to sit down and talk should offers from big clubs come in.
Modric had a short meeting with Daniel Levy when he returned for pre-season training last week. Modric claims in the interview that Levy simply told him, he would not be sold and if he didn’t accept that he would find himself on the bench or in the stands.

All this leaves more questions than answers. Levy is known as an astute businessman. Could he have given some loose promise to his player, just to get an extended contract with him and such boost his transfer price? In today’s football market it seems inconceivable that anything would be agreed outside a carefully drafted, written contract. Is it instead Modric who is playing dirty against the Spurs chairman?

What we do know is that both Levy and manager Harry Redknapp repeatedly have insisted that Modric, or any other top player, is not for sale. Levy will have some difficulty backtracking on such statements. However, nothing is not for sale forever. Modric might not have been for sale last month, he could be for sale the next, or in the January transfer window. Having a disgruntled player in the squad can be very damaging. That scenario is not strange to Tottenham either. Modric’s fellow croat, Niko Kranjcar, has long been unsettled due to lack of playtime. The same could be said about Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko. Have Redknapp and Levy done enough to communicate and work with their prized players? Will Levy indeed play hardball and place Modric in the stands, so that he won’t see any first team football until he succumb to what the club wants from him? Or will the club be dictated by player power, as it has happened so often in professional football, and have to release him from the contract he has signed?
In the meantime Modric is fast losing popularity with the Spurs faithfuls. It could turn uglier before it is resolved.

Paraguay winger Marcelo Estigarribia gave Dani Alves the Gareth Bale treatment (given to Maicon in the Champions League), as Brazil almost were handed a Copa América defeat in Córdoba a few hours ago.

Brazil left it very late for their equalizer against a Paraguay team with experience and lots of heart. Paraguay have again become everyones favourites to do well, just like they were in the World Cup last year.
I’m hanging out in the Buenos Aires suburb of San Telmo. Here the young Estigarribia is already a popular figure, having played the past year and a half for Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario, located north west of Buenos Aires. Estigarribia has been on loan from French club Le Mans and would be expected to go back to French football. The Paraguayan winger will turn 24 in two months and he has considerably more experience and flair now, than when he first arrived in France five years ago. (Le Mans were relegated to Ligue 2 after the 2009/10 season.) Paraguay’s captain, goalkeeper Justo Pillar and forwards like Roque Santa Cruz, Haedo Valdez and Lucas Barrios are all well-kept names on the streets and bars of San Telmo.
Then there’s also the Larissa Riquelme factor. We all remember her from the World Cup and the Paraguayan model has now declared she’ll strip naked on the field, if Paraguay win the Copa América. Needless to say, if Argentina don’t win, a striptease from Larissa would be welcome as it also means Brazil have been unsuccessful in defending the cup!

Like Messi has disappointed for Argentina, Brazilian starlet Neymar was a big anonymous disappointment against Paraguay. He was eventually substituted by Fluminense striker Fred, who equalised with a clinical finish in the 90th minute. Jadson had put Brazil ahead in the 1st half but goals from Roque Santa Cruz and Haedo Valdez had Paraguay ahead of the Copa holders.
In the other Group B match of the evening, Venezuela has just defeated Ecuador 1-0. César González scored in the 67th minute. González plays his daily football for Argentinian Primera B side Club de Gimnasia, located in La Plata, Buenos Aires.

After Argentina’s disappointing opening 1-1 draw against Bolivia, the hosts frustrated their home crowds with an uninspiring 0-0 draw against Colombia. Here at the Copa América Lionel Messi was far removed from his daily club successes at Barcelona, when he walked off the pitch booed by the fans. Argentina finished the match with four forwards, Messi, Tevez, Higuaín and Agüero, but still failed to create any genuine chances.

In the other Group A game Costa Rica beat Bolivia 2-0, in a match where Bolivia had two players sent off and Costa Rica also missed a penalty and had a goal ruled for off-side. This means that the Argentinian La Albiceleste must win their last group match against Costa Rica to progress further in the Copa.

The lack of Argentinian success is not only due to the misfiring of Messi and Tevez, it has been a systemic failure, tactical and mental, with Sergio Batista in charge. Argentinian media have already hinted at his departure and some fans even calling for a return for Diego Maradona. At the bars in Buenos Aires there have been cheers for Maradona to come back to replace, not only Batista, but also Lionel Messi.
Batista has claimed he wants Argentina to play like Barcelona. Argentina have players at the highest level but to make a team play after the Barca model takes a lot of time, insight and practise. If Batista doesn’t produce results again, fast, time will be running out for him.

Batista’s tactics needs to change. If Argentina on home soil should get knocked out in the group stages of the Copa América, it will be nothing less than disastrous. Batista could push Javier Pastore into a midfield which desperately needs to link up better with Messi and the other forwards. They have basically been playing with three holding midfielders and none of the creativity seen at Barcelona. Batista could put Higuaín alone on top with Messi playing in the space behind him. Or Batista might still hold onto his flawed idea of an Argentinian Barcelona and hope Messi steps up to his crown, to salvage the dream of a Copa América triumph.

Tuesday 5 July

Uruguay were held to a 1-1 draw yesterday night by Peru. Pablo Guerrero put Peru ahead in the 23rd minute while Luis Suarez got Uruguay level in the last seconds of the 1st half. Diego Forlan was very close a couple of times but Uruguay, like Argentina and Brazil, had to settle for the draw.
In yesterday’s late match Chile kept their campaign on track by beating Mexico 2-1. The Mexicans went 1-0 up five minutes before half time but Chile was the better team for much of the match. In the second half Esteban Paredes came off the bench and in the 66th minute scored the equaliser. Five minutes later, Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Arturo Vidal got away from his marker on a corner and headed home the winner. Greatly appreciated by the 8000 fans from Chile who made the trek across the border to watch the match in San Juan.

Monday 4 July

The mood amongst Argentinian football fans is upbeat again after Brazil failed to capitalize on their possession against Venezuela. The defending champions were held to a 0-0 draw. Pato hit the woodwork while Robinho and Neymar spilled other big chances.
With most teams having had some difficulties to kick off their Copa campaign, the Argentinians are growing confident again that it’s their time to lift the trophy. The Copa is wide open and we have so far not seen any signs of a clear favourite just yet.

In yesterday’s other Group B match Paraguay were also held to a 0-0 draw in Santa Fe. They were the better side but could not finish off Ecuador, whom also had some clear cut chances.

Sunday 3 July

It has been 18 years since Argentina won the Copa América. This time around they’re hosting the event and desperately want to win the cup again. The country had built up their hopes before the tournament started but there seems to be some nagging selfdoubt. Coach Sergio Batista certainly has plenty of star power in his squad but there have been questions about the mentality and Batista’s tactics and style of play.

The 14 times winners were convincing in the last Copa América (2007) and were favourites to beat Brazil in the final. Instead they were dismantled 0-3. In the opening match at Estadio Único (Ciudad de La Plata) this Friday Argentina seriously struggled against a well organized Bolivian team. Bolivia played with a single striker on top, to emphasise on a midfield who linked up well with their defense. Except for an early chance for Carlos Tevez, after a Messi freekick, Argentina found themselves very limited in getting through with their offenses.
Bolivia then stunned the Argentinian fans just after the half-time break when Edivaldo Rojas back-heeled a corner over the line, despite the scrambling attempt of goalkeeper Sergio Romero to keep the ball out.
The introduction of Sergio Aguero from the Argentinian bench put another breath of life into the Argentinian creativity going forward. When it finally happened for them it was quite spectacular. An Angel di Maria cross into the Bolivian box was chested down by Roma defender Nicolas Burdisso, for Aguero to hit a sweet volley into the back of the net. The draw saved Argentina some embarassment from what should have been a clearly anticipated victory.

In the other opening match of Group A, played on Saturday afternoon, Colombia also disappointed somewhat as favourites against Costa Rica. They young Costa Rican team played with only ten men from the 28th minute. Not only did Colombia struggle in creating chances for their normally strong strikers, they also found themselves having trouble to contain the likes of Diego Madrigal who led the attack for Costa Rica. Colombia did however find the winner, when Porto midfielder Fredy Guarin played through Hertha Berlin striker Adrian Ramos in the last minute of the first half. With that win Colombia goes top of the group ahead of Argentina and Bolivia.

Reporting from Buenos Aires
Tomorrow Friday 1 July Copa América kicks off again, this time hosted by Argentina. The tournament goes over twenty-three days and is contested by twelve nations. Running since 1916, it is the world’s oldest international football tournament. Brazil are the defending champions from the last tournament in 2007.

The hosts are this edition’s favourites to take the title, with a strong team including Messi, Tevez, Aguero, Di Maria, Higuain, Zabaleta, Cambiasso, Mascherano and the Milito brothers. However the Brazilian title holders, with the likes of Neymar, Pato, Robinho, Maicon, Alves and Thiago Silva will likely be the strongest challengers. The Brazilians expect tough contest from Paraguay in their Group B, while Group C is the most open of them all, where Uruguay have been grouped with Chile, Peru and Gold Cup winners Mexico.

My trip from California to Argentina, after the Gold Cup final, was a bit less eventful than the Mexican squad. A late night incident, with some prostitutes in an Ecuador hotel, led to eight players being suspended for the next six months by the Mexican federation. That follows the Gold Cup scandal where five Mexican players were suspended for testing positive for a banned substance.

The three groups in Copa América:

Group A:
Argentina
Bolivia
Colombia
Costa Rica

Group B:
Brazil
Paraguay
Venezuela
Ecuador

Group C:
Chile
Mexico
Peru
Uruguay

Host Argentina play against Bolivia in the opening match on Friday evening. This is followed by Colombia vs Costa Rica on Saturday afternoon, Brazil vs Venezuela and Paraguay vs Ecuador on Sunday afternoon. Monday afternoon Group C kicks off with Uruguay vs Peru and Chile vs Mexico.