FOXBORO, MA — Aggressive lunges, goal line scrambles, and questionable refereeing headlined what was supposed to be an exciting game involving one of the best soccer teams in the Copa America.
The aggressive nature of the game and another disastrously low turnout at Gillette Stadium are not things one would usually attribute to game between two South American sides playing in a major international tournament.
Chile had been expected to build on the flowing expansive football they played against Argentina in the opening group game in Santa Clara but a well-organized Bolivia team made sure that Juan Antonio Pizzi’s team wasn’t able to play their game. Bolivia’s game plan was clear from the onset, and as a result at times it looked more like a hockey game than a soccer game. Alexis Sanchez was felled at least twice in the first 10 minutes by heavy tackles, the Bolivians willing to show that they weren’t there to be pushed around.
Pizzi’s men consistently knocked on the door, but they were beaten back by Bolivia, unable to make a breakthrough. There was a certain feeling of desperation in the first half, as Chile hurriedly looked to secure an early goal against the group’s “minnows.”
After half-time, though, Chile looked like a completely different team.
Almost immediately after the break Maurico Pinilla broke down the left hand side and squared for Arturo Vidal who powered home from 12 yards, in doing so Vidal became the fifth Chile player to score in three different iterations of Copa America.
After Vidal opened the scoring Chile began throwing almost everything forward searching for a second to kill the game — they finally looked like the team most had expected them to be. The pressure culminated when Alexis Sanchez was taken down in the 55th minute after a brilliant solo run in the penalty box. Inexplicably the officials waved the penalty shout off. Sanchez and the Chile fans were furious.
Jhasmani Campos replacing Raul Castro was just supposed to bring fresh legs into the game for Bolivia to stymie what most thought was an ensuing Chilean onslaught. What happened next was rather spectacular.
Jhasmani Campos lined up over the ball in the 61st minute for a free kick about 30 yards from goal. Campos, who plies his trade in Kuwait, struck the ball so sweetly that Bravo in the Chile goal could do nothing but get fingertips on the ball. It cannoned in off the crossbar and somehow, sensationally, Bolivia was level.
This sparked a fire inside of Chile.
Chile brought an onslaught of offense down upon Bolivia’s goal, but for stretches it seemed like it was going to be “one of those days” for Juan Antonio Pizzi and his men. Carlos Lampe denied Alexis Sanchez with a full-stretch diving save to his right in the 72nd minute, and came up huge again in the 88th minute as he denied Sanchez once again at the his near post before the follow-up was cleared off the line.
A scary moment in the 90th minute involving Vargas and Eugenio ended with the Bolivian Eugenio losing control of his body for a moment and crashing to the ground unconscious, after Vargas had caught him with the full force of a bicycle kick. After a few minutes on the ground Eugenio got back up, but fell back down again. He was stretchered off, but somehow, was allowed to return 5 minutes afterwards.
The stoppage meant that referee Jair Marrufo had a minimum of 8 minutes to marshall at the end of the game, and in the 99th minute controversy reared its head once more for oft-involved Marrufo. A cross from the right hand side was blocked by Luis Gutierrez, and the assistant referee immediately rushed in to consult with the referee.
Arturo Vidal stepped up and dispatched the penalty with ease. Chile ended up winning the game 2-1 but in truth? It was a smash and grab by the defending Copa America Champions.
Bolivia manager Julio Cesar Baldivieso was furious during the press conference, calling the 99th minute decision to award Chile a penalty kick “outrageous for football,” asserting that the call was “a penalty invented.” Baldivieso then went on to criticize the amount of time added on at the end of the game.
“I will ask you to analyze the video and tell me where those eight minutes came from!” ranted the former Bolivian international, as he lamented Marrufo’s refereeing performance.
Chile enjoyed around 80% of the possession and while Pizzi’s men ended up winning the game 2-1 — It was a smash and grab win, in truth, by the defending Copa America Champions.
