“Mística copeira,” or for you who hail from Spanish-speaking countries, “mística copera.” It is often cited by fans when they talk about their clubs' performances in continental cups, and we who are Latin American and follow the Libertadores have among us fans of teams with victorious campaigns in the past. And we often attribute miraculous comebacks, steadfast wins under adverse conditions, or a history of winning over time as “mística.” When it comes to national team competitions, this is also mentioned, although the dynamics are different given the World Cup occurs only once every four years and for Latin Americans, only 3 nations have won the tournament. With Copa América, I'd say it's different given the historic imbalance of soccer prowess amongst the CONMEBOL participants. Since 1975, only 3 times did a team other than Brazil, Uruguay, or Argentina win it - Peru in 1975, Paraguay in 1979, and Colombia in 2001. Club competitions are more frequent by far, and hence, in my view, a better gauge to assess whether “mística copeira” exists. Does it or does it not exist? Present an argument as to why.
esas son cosas inventadas por uruguayos el futbol es de momnentos y actualidad. nada que ver con lo que paso en la decada pasada
It exists. A lot of the game is mental stamina. A team that has made it far many times before shows a lot more self-confidence as time goes by. Newbies start shaking with the clock advancing, wondering "how the heck are we pulling this?" In any Cup competition, specially in play-off games, you want to avoid those clubs that already "saben de dónde son los cantantes," that is, who have been there before multiple times, and even won the competition. They won't go crazy, and start using time to their advantage.