FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi and Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero named in the official Copa America team of the group stage, alongside controversial Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal.
Arturo Vidal, rather infamously, crashed his red Ferrari while under the influence of alcohol during the group stage, risking expulsion from the Chile squad before . issuing a tearful apology.
Vidal is the competitions top goalscorer and is named by the competition’s official website as the group stage’s ‘most influential player’.
There is no space in the team for Vidal’s Chilen team mate, Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez, despite the Chile side that he spearheads being the best represented, with five players that includes FC Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, Aston Villa’s Gary Medel, and Internacional’s Charles ArA?nguiz.
FC Barcelona’s Argentine star Lionel Messi also makes the team, but, his Brazilian team mate Neymar was excluded from the team. Neymar single handedly won the opening game for Brazil with a goal and a marvelous assist, but, was then sent off in the following game against Colombia which led to a four game ban for the FC Barcelona star.
Messi’s Argentine team mate Sergio Aguero did make it to the team, with the Manchester City forward in the squad despite, much like Neymar, not playing the final game. Albeit, of course, for different reasons – he was rested.
Brazil did have one representative in the team, PSG’s Thiago Silva making it to the squad as Brazil scraped through to the quarter finals.
The Copa America Team of the Group stage:
Bravo (Chile); Silva (Brazil), Gimenez (Uruguay), Medel (Chile); Aranguiz (Chile), Lobaton (Peru), Sanchez (Colombia), Vidal (Chile); Aguero (Argentina), Barrios (Paraguay), Messi (Argentina)