With the 2015 Copa America all but ready to kick off in Chile (the hosts open the tournament against Ecuador on June 11th), we thought we’d flashback to a true tournament upset back in 2001.
Honduras 2-0 Brazil – 2001 Copa America
So often in International football, great teams are forged from utter humiliation. Take the Germany side that Svenigans’ England walloped 5-1 in their own back yard for instance. A result so humiliating for the hosts, entire footballing philosophy’s were changed on a national level. That’s what an Emile Heskey goal will do to you.
Brazil’s 2001 Copa America side falls quite nicely into that category also. With Luis Scolari at the helm for first time (we all know what happened in his second), Brazil, as usual, were considered tournament favourites.
With a calamitous start to the tournament as a whole, Colombia having their hosting rights firstly taken away, due to to security concerns, then later returned to them, due to ‘hey why not?’. Argentina elected to withdrawn from the competition (incidentally so did Canada) after threats made by Colombian paramilitary groups.
Who would replace them? Only the plucky Hondurans.
Whilst very much expecting to merely make up the numbers – they even struggled to do that with an emergency squad assembled literally within hours of getting on a plane – Honduras lost their opening match to a Paulo Wanchope featured Costa Rica side.
Probably buoyed by a ‘nothing to lose’ attitude, the side stomped to a quarter final place after improbable wins against Bolivia and Uruguay.
Brazil were next in line and, despite missing the frightening trio of Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, were expected to make cannon fodder of the side merely ‘invited’ into the tournament due to administrative reasons.
It didn’t quite go to plan for Scolari’s men as, after a surprisingly even first half, a Saul Martínez header hit the post before being ricocheted in by Barcelona’s Juliano. Brazil were rocking.
Whilst searching for an equaliser, Brazil allowed Honduras to grab a final killer blow when Martínez fired past the hapless Marcos. Consigning the side to one of the worst defeats in their glittering history. If only they knew what was to come in 2014….
Needless to say Brazil had the last laugh as the side were crowned 2002 World Cup winners just a year later.
