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Uruguay Camp Focus - Heroes’ welcome awaits returning La Celeste
As the Uruguay players return to Montevideo airport to be greeted by a rapturous reception, it seems difficult now to believe that, prior to the world cup, Oscar Tabarez did not enjoy the universal backing of football fans in Uruguay. His relationship with the country’s football federation had become increasingly fractious, while certain club chairman, such as River Plate’s Juan Josè Tuduri, questioned his suitability to lead his team in South Africa, declaring: “We can’t go to a World Cup… with a Coach with no direction that didn’t plan the last encounters well.” That Uruguay endured a stumbling qualification campaign, in which Tabarez used 37 different players, several curious formations, and only scraped through to the finals via a play off hardly helped his cause. His contract as Head Coach was due to expire after La Celeste’s world cup campaign, and his future as it stands is decidedly uncertain. Tabarez is eager to stay, but understands that his time may be up: “from this evening (Saturday), my contract is at an end and I am no longer national team coach. Everything will depend on the offers that may be proposed."
If he does leave however, El Maestro can do so with his head held high, having cemented his reputation as one of Uruguay’s most successful ever coaches. He has far surpassed the expectations of virtually everyone in leading La Celeste to their first final four finish since 1970, answering all of the critics along the way.
Pretty much every disputed issue regarding tactics and team selection has been vindicated. Having used four goalkeepers during qualifying, Tabarez settled on Lazio’s Fernando Muslera, who duly had a superb tournament (a shaky display in the third place play off aside), proving a reassuringly safe pair of hands when needed and was the hero in the quarter finals with two penalty saves in the shootout with Ghana. Porto’s Jorge Fucile was another player whose popularity with fans had dipped after a torrid season at Porto, but El Maestro kept faith with him and was repaid with a string of fine, energetic performances from the left back, who showed dangerous attacking qualities in addition to some expertly timed saving challenges and great covering defending. Eyebrows were raised when Penarol’s Egidio Arevalo Rios returned from the international wilderness (he played just 44 minutes of Uruguay’s qualifying campaign) at the expense of more glamourous, Europe-based stars like Jorge Martinez, to start La Celeste’s opening Group A game. However, the 28 year old made himself one of the stars of Uruguay’s world cup with some terrific games in a midfield holding role. The epitome of calm, he barely misplaced a pass all tournament, protected the back four superbly, and allowed the front three to thrive, earning himself a move to Europe, with AEK Athens, relatively late in his career.
Tactically, El Maestro, eager not to lose his first game, deployed a cautious 3-4-1-2 against France, but then, in a masterstroke, adopted a 4-3-1-2 for the rest of the group stages with Diego Forlan operating in the hole. The clever, talismanic Forlan was the creative hub of the side, and inspired Uruguay’s breeze past South Africa and Mexico into the knockout stages as group winners. It has to be said that La Celeste were not without a slice of good fortune – their route to the semi finals managed to avoid all of the “big” footballing nations, while they got out of jail when Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan missed a penalty in the last minute of extra time in the quarter final. Nevertheless, numerous Uruguay players emerge from South Africa with their reputations enhanced. In addition to the unlikely triumverate of Muslera, Fucile and Arevalo, right back Maxi Pereira won plaudits for his fearless, marauding displays. Diego Perez, of Monaco, was the heartbeat of the midfield, channelling Roy Keane in his dyanmism and boundless energy, not to mention the ferocity of his tackling. Luis Suarez will rightly or wrongly, be remembered as a pantomime villain for his goal line handball and subsequent celebrations against Ghana, but his three quality goals underlined exactly why Ajax rate the young marksman in the £30 million bracket.
Rising above them all, however, was Forlan, the first Uruguayan Golden Ball Award winner since Jose Nasazzi at the inaugural world cup finals in 1930. No player exerted more influence on their team’s fortunes – at times, Forlan WAS Uruguay, practically carrying La Celeste on his shoulders. Showing a fearless readiness to shoot from anywhere, at any time, which brought him five goals, and outfoxing defences with his turns, dribbling and eye for the runs of his strike partners, Uruguay depended on the Atletico forward, and he clearly relished the responsibility.
At 31, this is likely to be the last we see of Forlan at the world cup finals. Like Tabarez however, the tournament has provided a glittering last hurrah to an illustrious career. Between them, these two men have dragged a tiny nation of just over three million people back into football’s elite. While they will likely move aside, youngsters such as Suarez, Martin Caceres, Edinson Cavani and Nicolas Lodeiro should ensure that the Uruguayan’s football renaissance does not end in South Africa.
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