EAST RUTHERFORD, N. J. -- Arturo Vidal knows Argentina inside out. The Bayern Munich midfielder's career for Chile at the international level has been defined by games against La Albiceleste and the latest episode in MetLife Stadium on Sunday in the final of the Copa America Centenario will be just the next installment.
Speaking on Friday, Vidal urged Chile's players to play the "game of our lives" and defeat a rampant Lionel Messi-led Argentina to retain the trophy La Roja won fewer than 12 months ago against Argentina in Santiago de Chile.
"El Rey" Vidal's history with Argentina goes back a long way before that, however.
Back in the 2007 Under-20 World Cup, Chile -- led by Vidal -- was defeated 3-0 in a tempestuous semifinal against Argentina. The fact Chile reached the semi boded well and began talk about the new batch of Chilean players.
During the match, though, two Chilean players were sent off -- one of whom was Gary Medel -- and six received yellow cards, including Vidal. Afterwards, there was a minor diplomatic incident as Chilean players, feeling hard done by the referee, fought with Canadian police.
It blew over, but we could see up to 10 or players involved in that match in Toronto featuring on Sunday in MetLife Stadium, which is testament to the strength of that particular generation for each nation. They include Alexis Sanchez, Medel, Mauricio Isla and Vidal from Chile and Sergio Romero, Ever Banega, Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero from Argentina.
"We are two teams that know each other and respect each other," Argentina's Lionel Messi said on Friday. Vidal said much the same: "We know them very well."
Argentina has been among the world's very best since that 2007 game, while Chile has risen beyond any reasonable expectation and shattered its glass ceiling by capturing the Copa America last year.
There may be a hint of irony that three Argentine coaches -- Marcelo Bielsa, Jorge Sampaoli and now Juan Antonio Pizzi -- have guided it on its ascent, but that won't bother Chileans, especially as right now it is not so ludicrous to suggest that in a strong CONMEBOL, Chile against Argentina is currently the most emotive game, even if Brazil against Argentina will always have the clasico tag.
When the pressure was on Messi at last year's Copa America to help Argentina win the country's first major trophy since 1993, it was Vidal's Chile that stood strong in its way, bringing La Roja its first success in the competition.
And when Argentina swatted United States aside without so much as breaking into a sweat, the talk quickly turned to a matchup against Chile. In the Argentine press, "revenge" was a widely used word when the final was set, with the headline in the Ole newspaper reading "Chi-Chi-Chi, Leo-Leo-Leo," combining the chant widely used by Chile fans with a reference to Messi, almost suggesting the game is Chile versus Messi. It contained more than a little hint of a threat about it, with Messi in better form than he was in the last Copa America.
In the final at Estadio Nacional in Santiago de Chile last year, Argentina was favorite, but after a hard-fought game in which Chile had been slightly the better team, La Roja took it on penalties. It was a huge blow for La Albiceleste, with the trophy-drought continuing despite the national team boasting perhaps the game's greatest player in Messi.
"We've earned respect and everyone knows it," Vidal said on Friday. "With a lot of effort we've been in two finals, in two World Cups and we're hoping for a third World Cup."
Argentina got a little bit of revenge back in the group stage of the Copa America with a comfortable 2-1 victory, but Messi didn't play, and Vidal stressed that Chile has gone forward since then, defeating Mexico and then Colombia in a combined aggregate score of 9-0.
"[Argentina] beat us in the midfield, as well as being better than us almost all the game," Vidal said in reference to the group-stage game. "They took advantage of the situations we didn't finish, but we are coming [into the final] with a lot of confidence. We hope to play the game of our lives. ... There is no national team in the world that plays like Chile. Watching the Euros and the Copa America, there is no team that presses from the first minute."
The midfielder did, however, warn that Messi should be treated with extreme caution, adding: "We know how he plays. In the game and with his talent, he can change anything. We have to mark him tightly and not given him space."
Once again, logic says Argentina will win, but Chile can't be discounted. And the new kids on the block will be hoping to strike another blow against the established elite, as well as the best player in the world.