The Argentines still hold the joint overall lead with 14 Copas but the last of these titles came in 1993.
Somewhat surprisingly, it is Uruguay who are the only team to match La Albiceleste's record with Brazil lagging behind in third with eight victories.
Brazil's record actually includes four wins from the last five editions and it is fair to say that the Selecao place much more emphasis on the competition than previously.
In its early days, the Copa America - which predates its European equivalent by 44 years - was seen largely as a spat between the two sides of the Rio de la Plata - namely, Argentina and Uruguay.
But it is now very much part of Brazil's football calendar, and especially so in this particular four-year international cycle.
For, Brazil - as hosts of the World Cup in 2014 - have qualified automatically for it and so the Copa America will provide a rare opportunity for them to play competitive matches.
However, the Brazilians traditionally find it tough in Argentina, having won only two competitive matches there - although the last of these did come as recently as 2009 in the World Cup qualifiers.
Argentina will be looking for revenge for that loss - and also for defeats in the Final of the last two editions of the Copa America in 2004 and 2007.
But the feeling is that, with Lionel Messi pulling the strings from midfield and Gonzalo Higuain up front, the Argentines have a good chance of ending their drought. It will come as little surprise that Argentina's weakness remains their defence.
By contrast, Brazil fans are still wondering where the joga bonito - the 'beautiful game' - has gone. Kaka spent much of last season sidelined by injury while youngster Neymar has shown only fleeting glimpses of his genius.
Overall, the current Brazil team is more closely represented by the likes of Chelsea's Ramires, an uncompromising tackler - and it all feels far too pragmatic to be Brazil.
Indeed, the South American team which, perhaps, excited the most at the last World Cup was Uruguay - and Oscar Tabarez's side went further than both Brazil and Argentina by reaching the semi finals.
Since then, Luis Suarez - unfairly lambasted and yet deservedly punished for his instinctive goal-line save in the quarter final against Ghana - helped Liverpool to recover in the second half of last season.
And the Uruguayan resurgence was further in evidence by the country's most successful club, Penarol, reaching the Final of the Copa Libertadores.
It is the first time since Newell's Old Boys in 1988 that Uruguay has provided a representative in the Final of the South American equivalent of the Champions League.
Penarol - locked at 0-0 with Brazil's Santos after the first leg - are looking for their first Copa Libertadores since 1987.
With the Big Three having dominated the competition throughout its history, the record of the other South American teams is pretty weak.
Peru and Paraguay have just two wins apiece, the last of which came in 1975 and 1979 respectively.
Colombia and Bolivia have won the Copa once but both had home advantage when they did so and, perhaps most surprisingly all of all, Chile have never won it.
Nevertheless, the marathon round-robin World Cup qualifying groups have raised the standard of play across the continent and the invitees also usually provide strong competition.
This time, the invitees - Mexico, for an eighth time, and Costa Rica for a fourth appearance - are both from the CONCACAF region.
Los Ticos were not originally invited but stepped in quickly once Japan withdrew, citing difficulties with European clubs in getting their players released.
The pair should perform creditably having already been in competitive action this summer in the 2011 Gold Cup, and both will fancy being among the eight teams who progress to the quarter finals.
Group winners, runners-up and the best two third-placed teams will contest these final stages.
ESPN will provide live coverage of every match in the UK. Kick-off times below are BST and based upon the 24-hour clock.
GROUP A
Colombia (7 points) and Argentina (5 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Costa Rica (3 points) and Bolivia (1 point) are eliminated.
| Date | Venue | |
| 2 July | La Plata | ARGENTINA 1-1 BOLIVIA |
| 2 July | Jujuy | COLOMBIA 1-0 COSTA RICA |
| 7 July | Santa Fe | ARGENTINA 0-0 COLOMBIA |
| 7 July | Jujuy | BOLIVIA 0-2 COSTA RICA |
| 10 July | Santa Fe | COLOMBIA 2-0 BOLIVIA |
| 12 July | Cordoba | ARGENTINA 3-0 COSTA RICA |
GROUP B
Brazil (5 points), Venezuela (5 points) and Paraguay (3 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Ecuador (1 points) are eliminated.
| Date | Venue | |
| 3 July | La Plata | BRAZIL 0-0 VENEZUELA |
| 3 July | Santa Fe | PARAGUAY 0-0 ECUADOR |
| 9 July | Cordoba | BRAZIL 2-2 PARAGUAY |
| 9 July | Salta | VENEZUELA 1-0 ECUADOR |
| 13 July | Salta | PARAGUAY 3-3 VENEZUELA |
| 14 July | Cordoba | BRAZIL 4-2 ECUADOR |
GROUP C
Chile (7 points), Uruguay (5 points) and Peru (4 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Mexico (0 points) are eliminated.
| Date | Venue | |
| 4 July | San Juan | URUGUAY 1-1 PERU |
| 5 July | San Juan | CHILE 2-1 MEXICO |
| 8 July | Mendoza | URUGUAY 1-1 CHILE |
| 9 July | Mendoza | PERU 1-0 MEXICO |
| 12 July | Mendoza | CHILE 1-0 PERU |
| 13 July | La Plata | URUGUAY 1-0 MEXICO |
QUARTER FINALS
| Date | Venue | |
| 16 July | Cordoba | COLOMBIA 0-2 PERU aet. |
| 16 July | Santa Fe | ARGENTINA 1-1 URUGUAY aet. URUGUAY won 5-4 on pens. |
| 17 July | La Plata | BRAZIL 0-0 PARAGUAY aet. PARAGUAY won 2-0 on pens. |
| 17 July | San Juan | CHILE 1-2 VENEZUELA |
SEMI FINALS
| 20 July | La Plata | PERU 0-2 URUGUAY |
| 21 July | Mendoza | PARAGUAY 0-0 VENEZUELA aet. PARAGUAY won 5-3 on pens. |
THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF
| 23 July | La Plata PERU | 4-1 VENEZUELA |
FINAL
| 24 July | Buenos Aires | URUGUAY 3-0 PARAGUAY - see tournament report here. |
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