Central & South America

Much of the buzz ahead of the Copa America Centenario is about Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and the USA, but people forget that none of those teams are the reigning Copa America champion. Chile is travelling to the United States at full force and won’t be shy in defending their title. 

Out of the players who helped Chile defeat Argentina in a penalty shootout to clinch the 2015 title, only Jorge Valdivia and Angelo Henriquez are not on the 23-man roster for 2016. 

There are a few mysteries in life we might never get the answers to. Where did we come from? Where do we go? And what goes on inside of Dunga’s head?

Photo: @futbolsapiens | Twitter

No Mexican club has ever won the Copa Libertadores, and that will continue for at least another year after Pumas were bounced from the competition in the quarterfinals by Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle via a penalty shootout.

Pumas entered the second quarterfinal leg down 2-1 on aggregate, but quickly took control of the match via an Ismael Sosa breakaway.

Barcelona won Sunday's Copa del Rey final 2-0 against Sevilla in extra time, but they did it mostly without all-world striker Luis Suarez, who won the Pichichi Award as La Liga's top scorer and had the best season of his career.

Suarez limped off in the second half, and was seen in tears on the bench afterward. It's hard not to feel for the guy.

The United States heads into its Olympic qualifying playoff against Colombia bearing both the brunt of national pressure and the knowledge that they’re coming up against, in many ways, superior opposition.

Gabriel Barbosa, a.k.a. Gabigol, has a very similar story to many Brazilian youngsters. Born in the suburbs of São Paulo, the talented 19-year-old decided to try to mae a better life to him and his family via a football career. The first club to take a chance on him was São Bernardo do Campo, and soon  he received an offer to come to  Santos FC. 

At Santos his career took off. Santos is known to have a a very strong Youth Academy, discovering Brazilian stars such as Pelé, Robinho and Neymar.

When we last checked in on our friend River Plate goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero, he had received a pair of shoes from Lionel Messi during the Club World Cup. It was a beautiful story, but things appear to have taken a turn for the worse for Barovero, who conceded a hat trick to Alan Ruiz in the Argentine Premier Division.

One of the goals will trouble poor Barovero for some time, we're guessing.