THE SELECAO END THEIR WAIT FOR SILVERWARE BUT IS SOUTH AMERICAN FOOTBALL LOSING ITS SHEEN?
This year's Copa America saw Brazil retain their trophy on home soil and Peru continue their promise from Russia 2018 by reaching the final but in truth there was little to get excited about from any team.
Gabriel Jesus got excited in the final to be fair, scoring a goal, earning a red card and then punching the VAR monitor on his way out. As with the Women's World Cup, the use of VAR was beset with controversy, as its application seemed illogical and secretive.
With only 24 cameras as opposed to the 32 used in Russia, it was less than convincing at times and provided more headaches for FIFA as the technology is rolled out across the soccer world.
Peru confirmed their return to the South American elite after their impressive if premature first round World Cup exit and veteran warrior Paulo Guerrero lived to fight another day too.
17 years since their last World Cup win, Brazil had something to smile about with their first Copa America since 2007. Their 3-1 victory over Peru should have given them the chance to compete again in the Confederations Cup, a competition they won a hat-trick of times between 2005 and 2013.
But Qatar's infernal summer temperatures and the desire to expand the World Club Cup in 2021 means there will be no Confederations Cup that year and probably ever again.
Neymar was absent but his homeland is still churning out plenty of good footballers, albeit the strong and efficient runners rather than the Ronaldinho ball wizards.
Barcelona midfielder Arthur impressed throughout the tournament and Gremio winger Everton, scorer of the final's opening goal, could be the next big money move to Europe.
Flair is what South American football is famous for but there were slim pickings in Brazil. Three out of the four quarter-finals went to penalties after defensive-heavy goalless draws. Perhaps this impression is down to the decline of Brazil's traditional rivals.
After a haphazard and disjointed World Cup, Argentina are still floundering in Leo Messi's twilight years with the Barcelona genius' modus operandi conflicting with manager Lionel Scaloni's desire for fast transitions via the flanks after a series of Albiceleste coaches basing their sides around him.
Messi himself got a red card for only the second time in his career, a very harsh decision as he was only standing up to shoving from Chile's Gary Medel. Post match Messi was in no mood for letting bygones be bygones, berating CONMEBOL.
"There is no doubt," he said. "The whole thing is set up for Brazil. I did not want to be part of this corruption."
The sight of Brazil's populist president Jair Bolosnaro milking the celebrations at the end of the final with his hands on the trophy while coach Tite kept a low profile made Messi's words not so easy to dismiss out of hand.
Chile made a brave defence of their title but could not complete a hat-trick of wins as they fell 3-0 to Peru in the semi-final.
Colombia under Carlos Queiroz exited their group with ease beating Argentina 2-0 but were clearly second best in their quarter-final loss to Chile on penalties.
Venezuela made the last eight, confirming the promise of their U-20 World Cup finalists in 2017. The Vinotinto are the only CONMEBOL nation never to have made it to the World Cup finals but have genuine hopes for Qatar 2022. Uniquely in the continent, baseball tops football for popularity in their country.
So not a vintage Copa but at least Brazil, the most legendary football nation, are back to winning major trophies after so long without one.
For the ten nations of South America, the next chance to win the almighty cup is as soon as next summer, when Argentina and Colombia co-host and Australia and Qatar join the party.
The subsequent tournaments will be every four years, starting in Ecuador in 2024.
For Brazil and the rest of South America, top European sides remain their obstacle to winning the World Cup again.
It has now been five World Cups since a South American side won (Brazil in 2002) and it is beginning to feel like the greater wealth and superior organisation of the European clubs are filtering through to their national teams more than ever.
It would be tragic to think of the Copa America as a second level tournament compared to the European Championship but there might well be a gap opening up between the two traditional powerhouses of the sport.
To really assess where CONMEBOL nations sit relative to UEFA ones we will have to wait more than three years however, until the 2022 World Cup kicks off in the Qatari winter.
TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT:
Alisson (BRA), Alves (BRA), Gimenez (URU), Silva (BRA), Trauco (PER), Arthur (BRA), Paredes (ARG), Vidal (CHI), Rodriguez (COL), Guerrero (PER), Everton (BRA).
(c) Soccerphile & Sean O'Conor