By Mirror Football in Mirror Football Blog
Published 12:09 27/07/11
Uruguay are the form team in the world game following their Copa America triumph last weekend. Here guest blogger and South American football expert Euan Marshall looks at their remarkable rise...
In all my time watching the Copa America, I have never seen a tournament as unpredictable and widely publicised as this year’s. Naturally, with the increased attention came more criticism, the early group matches did not deliver many goals (an average of two per game during the group stage) with the majority of sides playing a defensive style.
However things really started to catch fire as the knockout phase approached, with the elimination of Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Colombia in the space of just two days. Uruguay were left as the clear favourites and strolled to their historic 15th Copa America title, brushing aside Paraguay in the final and winning 3-0. Undoubtedly, the best team triumphed.
What with their performance in the 2010 World Cup and now this Copa America victory, it is clear to see that Uruguay are currently the best team on the continent. What makes them so effective is that they have the complete package; fabulous individual talent, a solid team ethic and a coach with genuine tactical nous. Combine this with some good old garra charrua (Uruguayan term for a victorious spirit in the face of adversity) and it’s no surprise they waltzed to victory in Argentina.
Coach Oscar Washington Tabarez is a genuine class act. Known as El Maestro, he has been integral to Uruguay’s resurgence on the national scene since he took control in 2006. As we saw at the 2010 World Cup, he is a genius when it comes to tactics and is not afraid to make changes if things are not going well. He approaches every game with a unique approach, using a certain strategy to prey on his opponent’s weaknesses and attempt to neutralise their threats. In this Copa America alone, Tabarez sent out Uruguay with five distinctly different shapes in their six matches, ranging from 3-4-3 to 4-4-1-1.
Uruguay also possesses the stunning individual quality required by the world’s best sides. In goal the much-maligned Fernando Muslera of Lazio had an excellent tournament, putting in a particularly heroic performance in the quarter final against Argentina. He certainly would have been the best goalkeeper of the tournament had it not been for Paraguay’s Justo Villar, who near singlehandedly took his country to the final with his vital saves throughout the month.
In front of Muslera, captain Diego Lugano was marvellous in the centre of defence and was flanked by some excellent performances from Best Young Player winner Sebastián Coates. The 20 year-old was one of the real standouts in the squad, performing superbly against Chile when he was asked to play as a sweeper in the centre back trio. Coates is a prime example of the progress that Uruguay have made since Tabárez came in, as after impressing with the under 20’s team hewas fast-tracked into the senior side along with several others and played a big part.
In the midfield, Tabarez’s trusted duo of Diego Perez and Egidio Arevalo Rios were a feature of every line-up (except from the semi-final against Peru, when Perez was suspended) in front of the defence. Their hard-hitting and energetic style was extremely effective in breaking up play and they were absolutely central to all of Tabarez’s systems. On the left we saw several stunning performances from Álvaro Pereira, whose superb engine and stamina gave Uruguay a real threat down that flank and also an extra goal source.
The true stars were the forwards, as Diego Forlan and Player of the Tournament Luis Suarez were consistently outstanding. Before the tournament Uruguay were expected to play with three men up front, but with the injury to Napoli’s Edinson Cavani in the match against Chile, it was left to just two.
Forlan offers such an important contribution to this Uruguay squad, as with a midfield that lacks creativity, Forlan will often drop off from his forward position to act as the playmaker in the midfield. He struggled to find the net for most of the tournament, but his movement and link-play was spectacular throughout. He even managed to rediscover his goal scoring form at just the right time, scoring twice in the final.
Finally, the fantastic Luis Suarez. His intelligence and off the ball runs in the final third made him almost unplayable for the opposition defenders, with the vast majority of Uruguay’s goals involving some contribution from the Liverpool man. Another important role that he played was in frustrating defenders and drawing fouls and yellow cards, something he can do better than anyone else in the game.
In the space of a year, Uruguay achieved a fourth place finish at the 2010 World Cup, domestic giants Penarol made it to the final of the Copa Libertadores (the first Uruguayan side to do so in 23 years), and they have now clinched their 15th Copa America trophy - a South American record. All of this alludes to the fact that Uruguay have once again returned to prominence on the world stage and that the two-time world champions may well be entering into a new golden age.
Most of this progress can be credited to Tabarez, as it was his determination to overhaul the youth setup that helped nurture such talents as the aforementioned Coates, Nicolas Lodeiro, Abel Hernandez and Bologna’s Gaston Ramirez, all of which have been integrated into the full senior squad. This is a process that will keep producing stars, with names like Diego Polenta and Adrian Luna set to be the next stars to make the step up.
With Uruguay what you have is an excellent system with solid foundations, not just a talented generation of players that will come and go. If there remains anyone still doubting their credibility, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil should change that. With the ‘Tabarez project’ in full swing, who would bet against them?
SourceTabarez assembled a composition of experienced and talented players who, well organized, give everything for their shirt and definitely El-Pistolero was their talisman to win their record 15th championship. We'll hear more of this team in the future.
