And Then There Were None: Uruguay Bow Out And End South America’s World Cup Hopes
July 7th 2010
A brave, and under strength, Uruguay became the final South American team to be eliminated from the FIFA World Cup last night, going down 3-2 to the Netherlands. And it was some achievement for a nation of just three and a half million people.
With Luis Suarez, captain Diego Lugano, Jorge Fucile and young playmaker Nicolás Lodeiro unavailable, it was going to take an almighty effort to pass the efficient Dutch in Cape Town. It proved a bridge to far for Oscar Tabarez’s men.
"When we look back, we can say we were among the four semi-finalists, the other three are powerhouses of Europe," said Tabarez last night. "I´m proud of the team. They´ve played on an equal footing with the other team. You couldn´t ask for more from these players.”
"Uruguay played with great dignity,” added the country´s President Jose Mujica. “It was a beautiful game. Five minutes more and we might have drawn.”
In October 2009, Uruguay went into the final round of CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying against an Argentina side in total disarray. Victory would not only secure there place in the first ever World Cup on African soil, but condemn their old rivals to a play-off against Costa Rica.
La Celeste were clear favourites going into the match, but a rigid and disciplined Argentina performance resulted in a single goal victory for Diego Mardaona’s men that night in Montevideo. Uruguay had ´bottled it´, abandoning the attacking football that had took them to the brink of qualification as the gamed descended into a slug-fest, typified by the overzealous approach of Martin Caceres, who was eventually dismissed.
"They have been able to get up again after falling badly,” Tabarez said, alluding to that defeat, after his side secured a second-round clash with South Korea a fortnight ago. “As a coach it is very satisfying to see how the group has evolved.”
It was a signal of Uruguay’s intent: the 63-year-old had formed a solid group over the last couple of years and clearly had high expectations of his side. With Diego Forlán and Suarez, Diego Godin and Lugano, and Arevalo Rios and Diego Perez, La Celeste’s spine was fit to do battle with the best around. Perez, in particular, was one of the stand-out performers of the tournament. The Monaco man was indefatigable, committed and disciplined throughout the entire tournament: a desire that encapsulated the spirit of La Garra Charrúa.
“We’ve set out to win every game we’ve played,” said a disappointed Rios last night. “We’re still sad at missing out on the Final but we’re aiming to hoist the Uruguayan flag as high up as possible.”
With the majority of the squad on the wrong side of 25, Uruguay will no doubt have to look to the new wave of talent if they wish to build on their success in Brazil in four years time; but with the likes of Nicolas Lodeiro, Martin Caceres, Godin, Edinson Cavani and Suarez set to head into the tournament at the peak of their careers, and with a third place play-off to contest against either Spain or Germany this weekend, both the immediate and distant future is looking bright for the Sky Blues.
Rupert Fryer
« Return to blogs
Winter Of Me
:::2010-07-14 19:29:59
Excellent article, yeah despite Forlan´s best effort, at 31 years of age, he´ll be 35 in 2014... if Uruguay insists with Forlan in 4 years they´ll be repeating the mistakes of the ´94 & ´98 Qualification campaigns where they continued to call-up a way past his prime Enzo Francescoli and missed out on those World Cups.
« Return to blogs
Catch up on the latest Ramble by clicking below. You can stream through our media player or subscribe through iTunes.
