The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held between 26 June and 15 July in Venezuela, which hosted the tournament for the first time.
Horacio Marcelo Elizondo is an Argentine former international football referee best known for his officiation throughout the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Having achieved all his goals in refereeing, Elizondo retired after the December 2006 match between Boca Juniors and Lanús, 2 years before the compulsory retirement age of 45.
Jorge Luis Larrionda Pietrafesa is a retired FIFA football referee from Uruguay who has officiated at international matches since 1998. He officiated at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he took charge of four matches, including a semifinal between Portugal and France. He is known as a strict referee who shows a high number of cards.
Carlos Eugênio Simon is a Brazilian ex-FIFA football referee. He is also a journalist and he works for Fox Sports Brasil since 2012. Simon has been an international referee since 1998 and his first international game was between Ecuador and Peru. He was a referee in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2006 FIFA World Cup, and 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Óscar Washington Tabárez Silva, known as El Maestro, is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player. He most recently coached the Uruguay national team.
The South American zone of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw ten teams competing for places in the finals in South Africa. The format is identical to that used for the previous three World Cup qualification tournaments held by CONMEBOL. Matches were scheduled so that there were always two games within a week, which was aimed at minimizing player travel time, particularly for players who were based in Europe.
Ravshan Sayfiddinovich Irmatov is an Uzbek professional football referee. He officiated in the Uzbek League from 2000-2019 and internationally from 2003-2019. Irmatov holds the record for officiating the most FIFA World Cup matches with 11.
Yuichi Nishimura is a Japanese football referee. He has refereed in the Japanese J. League Division 1 since 1999 and has been a full international referee for FIFA since 2004. He refereed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where he was appointed to several prestigious matches, including as fourth official on the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final. He also refereed the opening game in the 2014 FIFA World Cup between hosts Brazil and Croatia, his poor performance in which was criticized. He refereed the second leg of the 2014 AFC Champions League final between Al Hilal and Western Sydney FC.
The Copa Libertadores is the most important international football club competition in South America. Throughout the history of the tournament, 25 teams from seven countries have won the competition. Its rich history has been saturated with many legendary matches, iconic players and exceptional teams; from Peñarol's historical consecration in 1960, to Coutinho and Pelé enchanting the world with Santos's magical football, down to Estudiantes's unlikely success at the end of the 1960s, and Club Atlético Independiente being brought to glory in the utmost manner.
The 2010 Recopa Sudamericana de Clubes was a two-legged tie that determined the winner of the Recopa Sudamericana, an annual football match between the winners of the previous season's Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana competitions. It was contested between Argentine club Estudiantes de La Plata and LDU Quito from Ecuador. The first leg was played on August 25 in Quito, while the second leg was played in Quilmes due to Estadio Ciudad de La Plata was undergoing renovations. Estudiantes participated in t the Recopa for their first time ever, having qualified by winning the 2009 Copa Libertadores.
Sálvio Spínola Fagundes Filho is a former Brazilian football referee.
Roberto Carlos Silvera Calcerrada is an Uruguayan football referee.
Mark William Geiger is an American sports administrator and former soccer referee. He is the senior director of match officials at the Professional Referee Organization (PRO), which oversees domestic referees in Major League Soccer (MLS). Geiger previously officiated in MLS and was on the FIFA International Referees List from 2008 to 2019. At the international level, Geiger refereed the 2012 Olympics, the 2013, 2015, and 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cups, and the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups. At the 2014 World Cup, he became the first referee from the United States to officiate a knockout match at a World Cup tournament. Before becoming a full-time referee, Geiger was a high school mathematics teacher.
Djamel Haimoudi is an Algerian football referee. He has been a FIFA listed international referee since 2004.
Patricio Loustau is an Argentine former football referee who officiated primarily in Primera División since 2009, as well as for FIFA as a FIFA international referee since 2011, until his retirement on the 2022 season finale. His father, Juan Carlos Loustau, is a former football referee, who officiated in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, held in Italy.
Gery Anthony Vargas Carreño is a Bolivian football referee.
Esteban Daniel Ostojich Vega is a Uruguayan football referee. He has been a FIFA international referee since 2016.
Fernando Andrés Rapallini is an Argentine football referee who officiates in the Argentine Primera División. He has been a FIFA referee since 2014.
Piero Daniel Maza Gómez is a Chilean football referee who officiates in the Chilean Primera División. He has been a FIFA referee since 2018.
Corinthians, an association football team based in São Paulo, is one of the successful Brazilian teams in international club competitions. They have won two FIFA Club World Cup titles, one Copa Libertadores and one Recopa Sudamericana, for a total of four international trophies.
