- The centennial tournament has seen great players shine throughout its more than 100-year history.
- Here is A review of 10 CONMEBOL stars.
This June 20, the 48th edition of the CONMEBOL Copa América™ will begin. In its 108-year history, players admired worldwide have participated in the tournament. Among them were:
-Diego Armando Maradona (Argentina)
"El Diego," who was a FIFA World Cup champion in 1986, played in three editions of the oldest national teams' tournament in the world (1979, 1987, and 1989) but never managed to win it. He scored four goals in 12 matches.
-Pelé (Brazil)
"O Rei" won three World Cups (1958, 1962, and 1970) but never lifted the CONMEBOL Copa América™ trophy. He played in the 1959 edition, where he finished as the tournament's top scorer with 8 goals in 6 matches. Brazil was the runner-up in that tournament.
-Enzo Francescoli (Uruguay)
"El Príncipe" played in the CONMEBOL Copa América™ four times with an enviable record: three titles (1983, 1987, and 1995) and one runner-up finish (1989). He scored 5 goals in 16 matches.
-Roque Santa Cruz (Paraguay)
The all-time top scorer for the Paraguayan national team participated in four editions of the tournament (1999, 2007, 2011, 2015), reaching the final of the 2011 CONMEBOL Copa América™. He scored a total of 7 goals in 17 matches, including a hat trick against Colombia in 2007.
-Carlos Valderrama (Colombia)
"El Pibe" shone for the Colombian national team for a long time, completing five editions of the CONMEBOL Copa América™, reaching 27 matches, placing him in the Top 10 players with the most appearances in history. He scored two goals and twice achieved third place: in 1993 and 1995. His other tournament appearances were in 1987, 1989, and 1991.
-Álex Aguinaga (Ecuador)
Like "El Pibe," Aguinaga is among the players with the most appearances in this centennial tournament: 25, with four goals, but with the astonishing feat of having participated in eight different editions, a record in this regard. In 1993, he achieved his best result in the tournament with a fourth place finsih, the best in Ecuador’s history. The other editions in which he participated were: 1987, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2001, and 2004.
-Iván Zamorano (Chile)
"Bam Bam" played in the CONMEBOL Copa América™ four times: 1987, 1991, 1993, and 1999, completing a total of 15 matches and 8 goals for the fearsome striker. His best result was fourth place in the last edition he played.
-Teodoro Fernández (Peru)
"Lolo" played in six editions of the tournament: 1935, 1937, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1947. He scored 15 goals, placing him third on the historical scoring chart, only behind Zizinho and Norberto Méndez (17). He played 24 matches and was champion in 1939.
-Marco Etcheverry (Bolivia)
"El Diablo" was a true legend for the Bolivian national team, playing 21 matches and scoring four goals in CONMEBOL Copa América™ over six editions (1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, and 1999). In 1997, he reached the tournament final.
-Juan Arango (Venezuela)
The midfielder was part of the historic Vinotinto team that finished in fourth place in 2011. Besides that tournament, Arango played in five other editions of the CONMEBOL Copa América™: 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2015. He completed 20 matches and scored 2 goals.
CONMEBOL.com/OPTA
