A passionate sellout crowd is expected at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Sunday night for the highly anticipated Copa America final between defending champion Argentina and resurgent Colombia.

With that heightened emotion in mind, Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni got serious during his pregame news conference Saturday, urging fans to maintain a festive atmosphere and avoid the violence that marred the end of the Colombia vs. Uruguay semifinal a few nights earlier.

Uruguayan players, claiming that some Colombian fans were bullying the players’ family members, climbed into the stands at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., and a brawl broke out. CONMEBOL, the South American soccer federation, launched an investigation and as many as 11 players may be sanctioned for World Cup qualifying matches in the future.

“The final game should be a party centered around the joy of playing to winning a title,” Scaloni said. “Those images (from the brawl) were very ugly and sad. Anybody who was in that situation would have reacted the same way, seeing your family members, wives, kids, mothers, in danger. We ask our players to be good role models, but when they see their family in that situation, it is natural to react the way those young men did.”

Scaloni said when he was a player for Argentina, they faced a similar situation at Maracana Stadium in Brazil and went into the stands to protect their loved ones.

“I hope nothing like that happens Sunday, from the bottom of my heart,” Scaloni said. “May the fans of Colombia and Argentina enjoy this event. We will all have friends and family there and don’t want to have to worry if something will happen to them. Those images were like something from 50 years ago and should not be happening.”

Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez added: “It was very ugly to see. Sunday is a final, people may drink more alcohol, they need to tighten security so the people of Argentina and Colombia and everyone can enjoy the game the way they should.”

Colombian player Juan Fernando Quintero agreed: “It’s sad what happened. Emotions were high, but soccer cannot be stained by those incidents, especially when there are children there. It worries me what happened, but all we can do is control what we do on the field.”

The passion of the Copa America fans is undeniable.

The final was still a day away, and already Colombian and Argentine fans with flags hanging out their car windows were making their way to the stadium Saturday afternoon to take photos of themselves in team colors outside the parking lot gates.

With more than 300,000 Argentine and Colombian immigrants in South Florida, and tens of thousands of visitors in town for the event, everyone wants to get as close to the action as possible.

Only 65,000 fans will be fortunate enough to attend the game (8 p.m. ET, FOX, Univision) and be able to afford the tickets, which were listed at $1,500 to $8,000 Saturday. Stadium officials have stressed that only fans with game tickets will be allowed in the parking lots on game day. Fans without tickets who purchased parking lot passes expecting to tailgate around the stadium grounds will be turned away and can request refunds through Ticketmaster.

Copa America was first held in 1916 and is the oldest running continental football competition in the world. It is the most important men’s tournament in South America. The Copa trophy arrived at the stadium Saturday and was carried around the building by a worker in white gloves.

This year’s final, being held in the United States with an expanded field, is such a spectacle that the halftime show, typically 15 minutes, will last 25 minutes to accommodate the performance of Colombian singer songwriter Shakira.

The game offers lots of intriguing storylines.

Argentina is the defending Copa and World Cup champion, and its star-studded roster has loads of experience, led by Inter Miami star and eight-time Ballon D’Or winner Lionel Messi. It will be the final game for legend Angel DiMaria in an Argentine jersey, as he had announced he will retire from the national team after this competition.

Messi has not made any such declarations, but at age 37, there is speculation that he, too, may be playing in his national shirt for the last time and may not play in the 2026 World Cup.

Colombia is riding a 28-game unbeaten streak. Los Cafeteros (the coffeemakers) are in the Copa final after a 23-year draught. And their talisman, 32-year-old playmaker James Rodriguez, has regained his form and is arguably the best player of this tournament.

Messi has not been at his peak and will be highly motivated. He has a history of playing well in big games. According to stats compiled by Argentine newspaper Diario Ole, Messi has played in 50 finals for club and country, won 44 of those and scored 37 goals and 16 assists.

“I am calm, waiting for the day to come as always,” Messi told reporters after the semifinal. “I am much calmer than before after everything we lived through and what we went through.

“I want to enjoy things much more, live each moment to the fullest, not to speed up the time. Just live day to day and when it comes, focus on what the match is going to be like.”

As for what he expects from Colombia:

“We watched the Uruguay and Colombia match. We knew that whoever it was going to be, it would be tough. Colombia hasn’t lost in a long time. It’s a team with very good players, very intense as well. Up front, they have quick and dynamic players. And well, it’s a final.

“Finals are always different matches. But we’re doing well, we’re calm like we’ve been throughout the whole tournament, enjoying everything that’s happening to us. And well, we’re focused on what that final is going to be.”

On his fitness, Messi told DSportsAR: “With Canada in the first game, I felt very good physically. With Chile, I had the adductor issue and didn’t play comfortably, With Ecuador, I was fine from the injury, but I had it in my head that something was wrong. In the last game (the semifinal against Canada), I lost the fear and in these past days and in the final I will feel better.”

The Colombian fans have come out in huge numbers for all their Copa matches, a sea of yellow dancing and serenading their heroes, and the sky blue and white clad Argentina fans have packed stadiums, as well.

“There is no happier or more passionate fan base than the Colombians,” said Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo, a native of Argentina who has turned around the Colombian team since taking the job two years ago. “I only wish that it wasn’t such a surprise for them so see us in a final, as if it was a gift from heaven. This should happen more often. I hope this will continue and they will enjoy many more finals in the future.”

As for playing against his home nation, Lorenzo said: “I grew up with love for the colors of Argentina and worked most of my life for that, but I have spent many years in this beautiful country (as an assistant and then head coach), have many Colombian friends, so I feel Colombian in some sense. It’s a dream job to help Colombian soccer grow and fulfill the dreams of these young kids.”

If the game goes to penalty kicks, Argentina will have the edge with Emi Martinez, who plays for Aston Villa in the English Premier League and has been one of the Albiceleste heroes with huge saves, including two in a penalty kick shootout win over Ecuador in the quarterfinals.

In the knockout phase of the Copa America, regulation ties went straight to penalties, but for the final, if the match ends tied, an extra time period will be played with two halves of 15 minutes each. If a tie persists after that period, the match will be decided through a penalty shootout.

____

©2024 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.