The Rise of Uruguay in World Football

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If one had presumed that Uruguay would make it to the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup, it would have been considered a long shot. They made it in by winning the half spot play-in game against Concacaf's Costa Rica, a wild card so to speak. But at the World Cup we saw the rise of Luis Suarez and the reaffirmation of Diego Forlan, Eguren, Cavani and Lugano. Only Spain could defeat them in the end--and they ended up winning the cup.

Was it an oddity? No. This past summer we saw the same team knock off host-nation Argentina and win the tournament in convincing fashion against Paraguay. Throw in the fact that they went undefeated in 2011, including an away win at Italy, and you know something special is brewing.

Uruguay has always been about passion and defense. I grew up knowing them as "rageros," a word meaning "foulers." Their style was dirty to the point of intimidation. The Uruguay of old that won two of the first four World Cups had been eroded away. Uruguay's position in South America was up for grabs and this allowed teams like Bolivia, Colombia, Chile and Ecuador to advance to the ecumenical tournament throughout the past two decades. Uruguay sometimes made it in, but just by a hair.

The pushover, ragero days for Uruguay are over. After Suarez' crucial handball stop versus Ghana in 2010, everything seemed to change. Forlan's scintilating possession, Lugano's positioning on the pitch and Luis Suarez' nose for goals are only the tip of the iceberg. They dribble around defenses with precision, score sublime goals and win games in style. Luis Suarez' awareness is so impressive that defenders double or tripple up on him, enough so that players like Dirk Kuyt and Carrol, Cavani and Forlan, have room to create dangerous plays. His game transcends seamlessly from club to country and this is the same for other players like Forlan and Lugano. That's the real key to Uruguay. The players always play well, no matter when or for whom.

It's not inconceivable to asume that Uruguay will top Conmebol's qualifying campaign. Also not inconceivable that they could remain undefeated. And, at the end of the day, it's not inconceivable that La Celeste could win the World Cup, in Rio, all over again.

La Celeste wins the Copa America

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An unlikely final, perhaps. Uruguay and Paraguay would decide where the South American crown would go today. Uruguay won it with style, grit, passion and golazos. When the score is 3-0 you know something special happened.

For Uruguay it was Luis Suarez, perhaps one of the best forwards in the world, that really won the tournament for them. Behind him is Diego Forlan, a classy player and top scorer at last summer's World Cup in South Africa. This tandem, coupled with players like Lugano and Perez and with a solid goalkeeper in Muslera, comprised the most complete team in the 2011 Copa America.

The match was thoroughly controlled by Uruguay from start to finish. A near miss in the first 5 minutes where a Paraguayan handled the ball on the goal line brought back memories of Luis Suarez's game-saving handball against Ghana in last year's World Cup. But Suares is a different person now. His speed, agility and soccer intelligence brought the first goal after he unmarked himself from the defender and sent a shot past Villar. He also had a hand (a head, actually) in setting up Diego Forlan's final goal with a superb pass.

This final was also Diego Forlan's return to the big stage. And he did so in style. Two goals to finish Paraguay and give Uruguay its 15th Copa America title. Forlan was a master in midfield today and his goals came with power (first) and simple placement (second).

The always physical Uruguay defense had a similar foe today in Paraguay (South America's Italy). Perez again showed his knowledge of the defense to break up plays and intimidate the opponent. Arevalo and Caceres were pivotal in their roles and, along with Lugano, prevented Paraguay from settling into a rhythm.

Congratulations, Uruguay. You deserved the Copa America today. You also showed us that South America isn't just about Argentina and Brazil, Messi and Robinho, Neymar and Huguain. Uruguay made the semifinals of the World Cup 2010 for a reason and today they showed why they are the top team in Conmebol. Let's not forget that they won the first World Cup in 1930 and defeated Brazil in 1950. Somehow, the feeling of another "Maracanazo" is quite palpable. They already beat Argentina at their Copa America. Right now, with the way they are playing, this Uruguay team could top Brazil in 2014.

Messi's not enough: Argentina crashes out of Copa America

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If Messi was to finally break through with the Argentine national team and solidify his place as the true heir of Diego Maradona, he will have to wait a bit longer. Argentina was stopped flat today by an Uruguayan side that never let up. In the end, it was ultimately Muslera that gave Uruguay the win, even though it had to be through the penalty spot.

Things looked difficult for Argentina from the start. Uruguay attacked with conviction and defended with man-marking to such an extent that the first yellow was given to Perez within the first 5 minutes. He would score in a nice follow-up to a great header thanks to a perfectly-placed Diego Forlan free kick.

Argentina rebounded. Fast and secure. It would be another magical play by "la pulga" Messi to serve Higuain for a solid header past Muslera. But then the Uruguay defense woke up. And when it comes to defenses in South America only Paraguay can claim to top them. It's also true that Uruguay can be very physical and this serves to break up the short-pass plays of Messi, Mascherano, Di Maria and Aguero.

But there were several missed opportunities. Mostly in the overtime. And at least one that Messi should have put away. He knew it when he crashed onto the grass with his face down in partial psychological agony.

The penalty shootout would be about Muslera once more. He had come up with wondrous saves and this wore down on the Argentine kick takers. Messi wouldn't fail but Pastore and Tevez weren't resolute in their chances. For Pastore, the ball miraculously bounced in. For Tevez, Muslera guessed correctly and sent Uruguay to the semifinals.

Now it is obvious that this Argentine side lacks the defense to stop players with significant talent. This is clearly evident when one of your starters, Gabriel Milito, doesn't see the pitch as much with his club team--Barcelona. Is Messi really enough for Argentina? Maybe the team requires more than just Di Maria. Clearly there is a lack of depth in the attacking midfield to complement Messi's considerable talent. In Barcelona he has Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets. Mascherano, Gago and Pastore don't quite measure up. So yes, Messi's not enough for Argentina. And until they build a structure around him, he won't have the international success that Diego Armando Maradona enjoyed.

Breaking history: The Semifinals

There are favorites in every tournament, the usual suspects: Brazil, Argentina, France, Italy, Spain, Germany. Always on the horizon is Holland, the one team many claim the best nation never to win a tournament. Of the above only Germany and Spain survive. Uruguay is reliving its glory days of 40 years ago with its first semifinal berth since 1970.

Certain patterns always emerge during World Cup cycles. For the past 36 years, for example, no team that has won the cup has lost a single game. Only one team in the 80 year history of the World Cup has won the title after losing a match: West Germany. Curiously enough, it was against fellow-finalists Hungary in 1954 and against the recently-deceased East Germany in 1974. So, contrary to previous posts, it actually is possible for a champion to lose during the tournament. The question is this: will it be Germany or Spain? As the saying goes, there can be only one.

It will be Klose-Podolski-Ozil versus Xavi-Iniesta-Villa. Germany may be fast, impressive and young. Spain, however, is a more complete team. All of Spain's players are world-class individuals. Germany can't say the same, although their collective spirit has dismantled soccer powers like Argentina and England. Do remember, however, that the Germans were pushed to the brink by Ghana and were deflated and defeated by Serbia during group play. Spain has been less than impressive during this tournament except during the Honduras game and the first half versus Chile. Germany must contain the considerable power of Spain's attack and exploit the so-far sub-par performances by Puyol and Pique, as well as Sergio Ramos' frequent excursions into the offense. Spain needs to score, plain and simple. Torres may not start the match due to lack of form.

On the other side of the coin (tomorrow's semifinal) are Holland and Uruguay. These two teams are unbeaten. Uruguay has been particularly impressive after defeating Mexico, South Korea and South Africa following a 0-0 draw versus ill-fated France and a controversial win against African darlings Ghana. Keep in mind that Fucile may not play (injury) and Suarez is unavailable due to suspension after his goal-line handball at the end of extra time versus Ghana. The team is tired and stretched after their quarterfinal game, although with plenty of confidence. The Netherlands have steadily grown stronger throughout the tournament. No multi-goal demolition of their opponents, no flashy forwards like David Villa, just a solid squad that has addressed its shortcomings in defense and that has taken care of things in the midfield. Wesley Sneijder, "Best Player of the Tournament" candidate derailed heavily-favored Brazil thanks to his partner in crime--Arjen Robben. This one-two punch along with Van Persie, Dirk Kuyt and Huntelaar may be too much for a weakened Uruguay defense. On the other hand, Uruguay has a knack for major upsets (Maracanazo in 1950).

Four games are left. Only one can be crowned champion. Were Uruguay and Germany to lose, we would have a first-ever champion, something that has not occurred since France won the tournament in 1998.

Enjoy.

World Cup Memories: Uruguay

La Celeste. Enough said. Yes, these days Concacaf teams were hoping to land this South American team in their group. Yes, they haven't made much noise since 1970. But still, they were the original World Cup champions in 1930 against Argentina. They are also the only ones to win a major tournament in Brazil. That was 1950, the first World Cup after World War II and the final was in Rio de Janeiro at the famed Maracana stadium. It ended 2-1 in favor of the Uruguayans, silencing a football nation that would have to wait another 8 years before its first title. Added to two World Cups are 14 Copa America titles and a 4th place in 1997 Confederations Cup. They last won a major tournament in 1995, which they hosted and won on penalty kicks against Brazil.

Outside of its constant battles versus Brazil and Argentina in games that are usually "clasicos," Uruguayan football is much more about harsh defensive tactics and clogging of the midfield. Their club teams include Penarol, Nacional, River Plate (the other one), among others. The "Charruas" these days are in the constant mix of mid-table South American teams. If it had not been for a miraculous penalty in Quito, it may be Ecuador or Costa Rica we are talking about here.

Uruguay participated in Mexico '86 but I only remember that they were there and not much else. The team lost to Denmark in the group stage and tied both Scotland and eventual-finalists Germany. A date with eventual-champions Argentina ended their run. I remember them in Italia '90 when Fonseca and Bengoechea were playing. Then there's the Uruguayan master... Enzo Francescoli. For that World Cup, I had a booklet that included all the players for all the teams and Uruguay happened to have some legible names for a then-11-year-old. On that World Cup, they squeezed into the round of 16 as 3rd place simply because at that point wins still counted for only 2 points (instead of 3 today). Their group included Spain (group winners), Belgium and South Korea. They tied Spain, lost to Belgium and won against the Koreans. Hosts Italy were too much in the round of 16; they lost 2-0.

Uruguay would go on to to miss both USA '94 and France '98. They would make a comeback in 2002 after winning the playoff against OFC's Australia (incidentally, they lost this match for the 2006 tournament). Uruguay landed in the group of death: Senegal, France and Denmark. Although Senegal were newcomers, they exploded onto the scene with their shock-win against then-champions France. They would actually go on to tie the Senegalese and also France, forcing a must-win for the defending champions on their last match. The game against the Danes was fantastic (this was their opening match) but their game versus Senegal was a hard-fought 3-3 battle that nearly ended the African team's chances of reaching the ground of 16. Very cool goal by Forlan.

In 2010 they are in the group with Mexico, South Africa and once again with France. There's no surprise team unless South Africa realizes they must win as hosts. Mexico and France are known foes. Uruguay boasts Diego Forlan of Atletico Madrid along with Sebastian Abreu of Botafogo, Eguren and Godin of Villarreal, Caceres of Juventus, Luis Suarez of Ajax and Diego Lugano of Fenerbahce. It's a wealth of talent and a credit to being in the tournament. Most of their players play abroad and are well-known throughout the world. I can see them sneaking into the round of 16 if Mexico doesn't deliver or even if France crashes out early once more.

I leave you with goals from the 2002 game with Senegal. Enjoy.