Lionel Messi and the Argentine national team were the story of the Copa América Centenario, but not for the reasons fans in the championship-starved country had hoped. In late June, Argentina fell in the final of a major tournament for the third consecutive year. Messi and Co. lost the 2014 World Cup final to Germany, were beaten by Chile in the final of the 2015 Copa América on penalty kicks and lost in the final of this year's Copa, with Chile again winning on PKs. A distraught Messi said after missing a penalty kick and watching his team drop another heartbreaker, "For me, the national team is over. I've done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion." The story of Messi walking away dominated headlines until he announced in August that he would be back for 2018 World Cup qualifiers in September. The attention on Messi also brought spotlight on the chaos within the Argentine FA, which has been in turmoil since former AFA President Julio Grondona died in '14. The AFA's summer of upheaval included President Luis Segura announcing his resignation and national team coach Gerardo Martino quitting just before the Olympics. FIFA appointed a normalization committee in June to run the AFA's daily affairs.
RIO BACK IN SPOTLIGHT: Brazil hosted its second major int'l event in three years in August, with the Olympics largely proving skeptics wrong. The months prior were full of pieces about Rio de Janeiro being unprepared to host the Games, but the event itself was largely considered a success. The threat of the zika virus prevented a number of athletes from participating, especially in golf, but little mention of the virus was made after the start of the Olympics. The World Health Organization said in September that no zika infections were reported during the Olympics, either among athletes or visitors. Swimmers were at the center of two of the biggest stories in Rio. Ryan Lochte's alleged vandalism of a gas station made global news and turned into a controversy as more became clear about what actually happened. A war of words between Lilly King and Yulia Efimova was another massive storyline. King's comment after winning Gold in the 100m breaststroke -- "It's incredible, just winning a Gold Medal, and knowing I did it clean" -- referenced the IOC's decision not to issue a blanket ban on Russian athletes over alleged state-organized doping.
CHAPECOENSE TRAGEDY: Brasileiro side Chapecoense was hoping to become the surprise champion of the Copa Sudamericana when it traveled to Colombia to take on Atlético Nacional in late November. The game never took place, though, as the plane carrying the team crashed just short of its destination, killing 71 people. It has emerged in the months since the wreck that the flight never should have taken place. Colombian aviation authorities said this week that the plan for the flight operated by Bolivia's LaMia did not meet int'l standards. The plane took off without enough fuel to make the flight safely, and there was also an error in the decision not to stop midway to refuel, the authorities said. Clubs throughout South America and across the globe paid tribute to Chapecoense in the weeks following the crash.
