Argentina are the joint-most successful team in Copa América history with fifteen titles, tied with their rivals Uruguay. The South American tournament was previously known as the South American Championship, with the first edition taking place in 1916. It was from 1975 that the Copa América moniker was officially used. It was in 1921 that they won the title for the first-ever time. They are also the only team to win the title three consecutive times (1945–1947).
Let us now look at the 5 best Argentina goalscorers in the tournament's history.
Ángel Labruna
Ángel Labruna was considered as one of the best South-American footballers of his generation. He was a part of River plate's legendary La Máquina (The Machine) team, and had scored 564 during his 22 year career as a footballer. His 294 league goals also make him the 2nd all-time top scorer of Argentina's Primera División. With the national side, he has won the Copa América twice in 1946 and 1955. Labruna scored 17 goals in total for Argentina, with 10 of those coming in the Copa tournament.
Herminio Masantonio
Herminio Masantonio was a former Argentine striker that was active during the 1940's and 1950's era of football. He played the majority of his career at Argentina side Huracán, where he spent over 12 years. Masantonio also had short stints at other clubs like Defensor and Banfield, before once again coming to Huracán for one final dance. The striker scored an incredible 21 goals in just 19 games for the Argentine national side, during a 7 year national stint. In the Copa América tournament,Masantonio had scored a total of 11 goals.
Lionel Messi, José Manuel Moreno, Gabriel Batistuta
Three players are grouped together, with all of them scoring a total of 13 goals in their Copa América careers. Leo Messi is the one player everyone knows in this list, and the GOAT of football is surely bound to score in the upcoming Copa tournament to place himself as Argentina's second best goalscorer in the tournament's history.
José Manuel Moreno was popularly known as El Charro, and was an Argentine inside forward who rose to prominence during the 1930's footballing era. He played for over half a dozen clubs, with the most notable one being River Plate. Some of football's greatest legendary players like Diego Maradona, Pelé and Alfredo Di Stéfano consider Moreno as one of the best footballers ever. Moreno was also the first footballer ever to have won first division league titles in four countries.
Gabriel Batistuta on the other hand, was of the most popular and best players in the world of the 1990's. He was popularly known as Batigol, and was a nightmare for all defenders at the time. Batistuta scored 248 goals during his 16 year career, with 56 of those coming for Argentina in just 78 appearances.
Norberto Méndez
The player in first place might be an absolute shock and surprise for all readers. Norberto Méndez might not be a popular name, but this legendary Argentine striker is not only Argentina's top Copa América goalscorer, but the tournament's greatest ever goalscorer with 17 goals.
He was an inside forward who spent the prime years of his career at Argentine clubs Huracán and Racing Club. This was followed by a stint at Tigre, before coming back to Huracán for one final stint. He scored a total of 19 goals in 31 appearances for Argentina. Méndez will forever have his name etched in the history books of South American Football, as one of their greatest ever talents.
