The greatest player in the world can’t win an international tournament. Messi was swarmed by defenders every time he got a touch in the Copa America finals match against Chile. After Sunday’s victory, Chile has beaten Argentina in two consecutive Copa America tournaments in penalty kicks. Argentina had it’s chances, but left it to penalty kicks and watched their victory sail high above the crossbars and away. There have been a number of recent championships won while both teams players are on the sidelines watching as one striker successfully scores the winning PK against the opposing team’s goalie.
Apparently there is an “I” in team after all.
Some of the most important international tournaments have ended in penalty kicks.
- 2 of the last 6 Men’s World Cup finals.
- 2 of the last 5 Women’s World Cup finals.
- 3 of the last 5 Copa America finals.
Penalty kicks are exciting, but many times it feels that the better team end on the wrong level of the podium.
What soccer can learn from their ice-skating counterparts
The National Hockey League has been working to reduce the number of games ending in shootouts.
At full strength the teams skate 6 on 6 (5 on 5 if you don’t count the goalie). The NHL rationalized that the more players on the ice, the less likely a team would score. The NHL has been using a 5 on 5 (4 on 4 if you don’t count the goalie) overtime format for years. Not satisfied with the percentage of games ending in overtime, the NHL whittled it down further. Starting the 2015–2016 season, they changed the overtime format to 4 on 4 (3 on 3 if you don’t count the goalie). The change has produced a huge improvement in games ending in overtime before the shootout. For the 2015–2016 season, 60% of games tied at the end of regulation were settled in overtime. Compare that to the 2014–2015 season where only 44% of the games were settled before the shootouts.
10 on 10? 9 on 9? 8 on 8? What’s it gonna take?
What if Messi had only 2–3 defenders to contend with rather that the 4–6 Chileans that seemed to surround him every time he got the ball? The outcome on the Copa America finals may have ended differently. Interestingly, the game was fought at 10 on 10 strength the majority of the game, yet that still did not give either team enough space to operate. Perhaps a 9 on 9 format for the 1st 15 minutes of overtime, and then an 8 on 8 format for the 2nd 15 minutes of overtime would provide the spacing necessary for the stars to better control and settle the outcome.
I can only imagine Michael Jordon sitting on the bench, cheering Scottie Pippen as the Bulls and Lakers trade sudden-death free throws to see which team is the best basketball team in the world. Que lastima.
