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Notebook Massive security planned for Copa final
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Nearly 7,500 police will be deployed around El Campin stadium on Sunday to ensure the Copa America final is free of violence. The police force includes 900 elite agents that will control the city's airport, hotel district and access roads to the capital. Explosives experts with bomb-sniffing dogs will check the stadium area before, during and after the game, police said. Security checks will begin 40 blocks from the stadium. Among the dignitaries expected to attend the final are Pele, Argentina's Diego Maradona and FIFA President Sepp Blatter. The fear of violence nearly caused the tournament to be suspended, but no major incidents have been reported at the games so far. Too highThe altitude of this Andean city won't be any help to Colombia in Sunday's final with Mexico for the Copa America.The hosts played the first round in low-lying Barranquilla, and coach Francisco Maturana is concerned how his players will perform in the thin air in Bogota, some 8,500 feet (2,600 meters) above sea level. To attenuate possible ill effects, the team trained in the city of Armenia, 4,500 feet (1,650 meters) high. "The best way to face (the altitude) is to get there just hours before the game," said defender Ivan Ramirez Cordoba. "That's what we'll do in the final." If the team starts to flag, he said, the home crowd is always good for a boost. "Playing at home, no matter the altitude, gives you extra strength," the defender said. "Maybe we'll feel the altitude a little, but with the desire we have to take the Copa, it won't be too heavy." One to goVictor Aristizabal needs just one goal to put his name next to Pele's in the Copa America record book.The Colombian striker has six goals in the tournament and is virtually assured first place in the individual scoring race. But with one more in Sunday's final against Mexico, he would become the first player in more than 40 years to break the six-goal mark. The last player to do it was none other than Pele, who scored eight in 1959. Still, six has been a lucky number for Aristizabal. After a long scoring drought in the national championship, he broke out with six goals in two games to guarantee a spot in the Copa America. JinxedPele and Diego Maradona will add star power to Sunday's Copa America final, but they never had much luck in the tournament as players.Recently named the best players of all time in a FIFA survey, the two never won the Latin American tournament. Pele, who won World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970, played in only one Copa America. Although he was the tournament's high scorer in 1959 with eight goals, Brazil didn't even reach the finals, which saw Uruguay defeat Argentina. Maradona, a World Cup champion in 1986, played in the Copa America in 1983, '87 and '89. Argentina didn't finish higher than fourth. Oscar nightThe Copa America final could offer a rematch for Mexican goalie Oscar Perez and Colombian keeper Oscar Cordoba.The two Oscars clashed a month ago in the final of the Copa Libertadores. Perez was in goal for Mexico's Cruz Azul, while Cordoba defended Argentina's Boca Juniors. Cordoba and Boca got the better of the duel, winning the title 3-1 in a penalty-kick shootout. The Colombian keeper made a handful of crucial saves and blocked a penalty kick in the tiebreaker. Another first?Colombian coach Francisco Maturana gave his country its first Copa Libertadores title. Now he can do the same with the Copa America.Maturana was the coach of Atletico Nacional when it defeated Paraguay's Olimpia to win the Copa Libertadores in 1989. It was the only time a Colombian team has won the title. In Sunday's final with Mexico, he has a chance for another first. Colombia has reached the Copa America final only once before, when it fell to Peru in 1975. The Copa America marks a triumphant homecoming for Maturana. After coaching Colombia to the World Cup in 1990 and 1994, Maturana had little success in stints with Spain's Atletico Madrid and the national teams of Costa Rica, Peru and Ecuador. Since taking over just weeks ago, he led Colombia to five straight wins in the Copa America.
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