The Qualifiers are back! This Saturday Uruguay will face Venezuela, who has frustrated Uruguay, away and at home for the past two Qualifiers tournaments (2006 & 2010).
Venezuela arrived in Argentina Sunday, to prepare for this Saturday’s encounter –– they’ll be using Estudiantes de La Plata’s training facilities for most of the week and then travel on Thursday to Montevideo. Venezuela has already completed a week of training in Puerto La Cruz in preparation for their match with Uruguay, last Wednesday they hammered Moldova 4 -0 in an international match friendly.
César Farías
César Farías, Venezuela’s manager, called up 26 players for this encounter: Renny Vega, Leo Morales, Rafael Romo, Oswaldo Vizcarrondo, Fernando Amorebieta, Roberto Rosales, Grenddy Perozo, Gabriel Cichero, Alexander González, Rolf Feltscher, Giácomo Di Giorgi, Tomás Rincón, Luis Manuel Seijas, Juan Arango, Yohandry Orozco, Edgar Pérez Greco, Frank Feltscher, Mario Rondón, Yonathan Del Valle, Richard Blanco, Josef Martínez, José Salomón Rondón, Nicolás Fedor, Julio Álvarez, Francisco Flores & Juan Guerra
Uruguay meanwhile is going with the same team that played this past Friday in Moscow plus Juan Castilo, Andrés Scotti, Victorino & Abreu. Jorge Fucile who also plays in the Brasileirão, was not called-up, as his Santos side faces Corinthians in the semi-finals of the Libertadores on June 13 & June 20:
Fucile seen here with Neymar is not going.
• Goalkeepers: Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray, Turquía), Martín Silva (Olimpia, Paraguay) & Juan Castillo (Liverpool, Uruguay)
Andrés Scotti & Juan Castillo were the only two domestic league players called up.
• Defenders: Diego Lugano (Paris Saint-Germain, Francia); Diego Godín (Atlético de Madrid, España); Sebastián Coates (Liverpool, Inglaterra); Mauricio Victorino (Cruzeiro, Brasil); Martín Cáceres (Juventus, Italia); Maximiliano Pereira (Benfica, Portugal) & Andrés Scotti (Nacional, Uruguay)
Lugano & Arévalo-Ríos join forces to take down a Russian player.
• Midfielders: Álvaro González (Lazio, Italia); Egidio Arévalo Ríos (Tijuana, México); Diego Pérez (Bolonia, Italia); Walter Gargano (Nápoles, Italia); Sebastián Eguren (Sporting de Gijón, España); Álvaro Pereira (Porto, Portugal); Cristian Rodríguez (Porto, Portugal); Gastón Ramírez (Bolonia, Italia) & Nicolás Lodeiro (Ajax, Holanda)
Luis Suárez scores on Russia.
• Strikers: Luis Suárez (Liverpool, Inglaterra); Edinson Cavani (Nápoles, Italia); Diego Forlán (Inter, Italia), Sebastián Abreu (Botafogo, Brasil); Abel Hernández (Palermo, Italia) & Sebastián Fernández (Málaga, España).
Uruguay vs Venezuela @ El Centenario in Qualification:
Uruguay 5-0 Venezuela • May 23, 1965
Uruguay 2-0 Venezuela • March 17, 1977
Uruguay 4-0 Venezuela • August 29, 1993
Uruguay 3-1 Venezuela • April 2, 1997
Uruguay 3-1 Venezuela • July 18, 2000
Uruguay 0-3 Venezuela • March 31, 2004
Uruguay 1-1 Venezuela • June 14, 2008
Yorugua
0 like
Yorugua
FourThreeThree
Foxfang4
NicoGF
I’d also love to go to the Football Factory on Saturday but do they let in minors? (Not to drink, obviously.)
Report this comment
I don’t know… They’re on Twitter/Facebook and do respond to inquiries.
http://www.footballfactoryny.com/
I’m gonna try to watch Uruguay/Venezuela semi-sober, but will probably be plastered by the time Bolivia plays Chile…
Report this comment
I called and they said yes, I just wouldn’t be allowed downstairs in the bar area but the game is played on the main floor.
Report this comment
Uruguay 4 – Venezuela 1. All the Forlan haters on the blog can line up to suck it nice after he nets a couple.
Report this comment
i wish u are right izzy
just dont see it happening bro
Report this comment
Consider Venezuela’s results eleven months ago at the Copa America and their results since in WC qualifying:
Copa America (neutral territory)
BRAZIL 0-0
ECUADOR 1-0
PARAGUAY 3-3 (V scored twice in last 2 minutes)
CHILE 2-1
PARAGUAY 0-0 (lost on pens)
PERU 1-4 (meaningless third place play-off)
World Cup Qualifying
Bolivia (h) 1-0
Colombia (a) 1-1
Argentina (h) 1-0
Ecuador (a) 0-2 (at an altitude of 10,000 feet)
Overall in competitive matches (i.e. without the third place pay-off) their record is:
Played 9 Won 4 Drawn 4 Lost 1 Goals For: 9, Goals Against: 7.
That’s why I’m feeling really nervous!
Report this comment
my reply to that is take a look at our record. They should feel nervous not us.
Report this comment
I’ll admit I was nervous before the games against Chile and Italy last fall, still turned out fine. I’m sure we’ll find a way to deal with Venezuela and Peru.
Report this comment
A video dedicated to Yorugua:
“Solo puedo besar dos escudos: el de Peñarol y el de Uruguay”
Thumb up if you support Diego!
Report this comment
http://www.subrayado.com.uy/Site/News.aspx?NiD=12743
listen to tabarez press conference.
btw guys, would u like us to translate the interview with martina graff, the model?
Report this comment
I’ll translate it if someone could pass me the link. I could watch her all day.
Report this comment
martina graf interview: http://www.lacelesteblog.com/?p=6326
thx fox! u are really cool.
Report this comment
Or you probably prefer this?
Report this comment
AussieCeleste, those stats are pretty terrifying. Venezuela said today that they’re coming with their hearts in their hands and a knife between their teeth.
I say: …: http://stagevu.com/img/thumbnail/ynmypzthknaebig.jpg
Report this comment
I agree with Izzy: Venezuela’s recent results are highly impressive, but so are ours, and our player group is superior.
The problem we have is that Tabarez shows a bit too much loyalty to Forlan and Lugano, when in fact they are both players who are coming back from a lengthy lay-off.
By the way, how come there are so many articles about transfers for our players currently? In the last 24 hours I have read rumours of:
Arevalo-Rios to Palermo
Cavani to Juventus
Suarez to Juventus
Ramirez to Man City / Tottenham / Liverpool
Palito to Chelsea.
All apart from the first look like agents trying to create artificial demand.
Report this comment
Qualifiers Preview….
http://thezagueiro.blogspot.com/2012/05/south-american-world-cup-qualifiers.html
Report this comment
@AussieCeleste –– regarding transfers… I don’t think Suarez is moving anymore ––– if Liverpool hire Martinez, it’s probably to better communicate with Suarez.
Arevalo-Rios, I think Stefan from the Podcast told me that his wife is actually Mexican, so she has a big say in where he plays ––– she didn’t like Brazil when he was in Botafogo, a big reason why he’s in Mexico. A move to Palermo would be surprising.
Cavani, Napoli wants to break the bank on this move, don’t think Juventus will pull the trigger…
Ramirez & Palito are the only two names that might move with Palito maybe moving to EPL. Ramirez might move to bigger Serie-A side.
Report this comment
Weird video, don’t know what it’s goofing on “Venezuela” • “Uruguay” or Rodrigo Romano?
Report this comment
Anyone remember 31 March 2004?
Our 3-0 home defeat to Venezuela at the Centenario eventually cost us 2006 World Cup qualification. That is a mixed blessing: a team of Montero, Lugano, Forlan, Perez and Recoba might have gone far, and started the resurgence 4 years earlier. Although I believe we had to sink to rock-bottom with defeat to Australia in 2006 in order for the Tabarez project to begin.
Anyway, in March 2004 we played kamikaze football, and after falling 1-0 behind after 19 minutes conceded breakaway goals on 67 and 77 minutes to fall to our most humiliating result. It later turned out that a 2-0 victory would have given us automatic qualification, and sent Paraguay to the play-offs against Australia.
And what a comedown that Venezuela debacle was: just four months earlier Uruguay led Brazil 3-2 in Curitiba until a late, late equaliser by Ronaldo.
Report this comment
My god. I never knew that had happened. Even worse was that Venezuela actually managed to tie during that debacle. I remember that result really pissing me off. We had the game won.
Report this comment
I have just seen La Celeste’s last rival Russia thrashing Italy 3:0.In Zürich.
So 1:1 In Moscow was not for Uruguay bad result.
I am sure tomorrow will be a happy day for Uruguay.El Pistolero has fully charged his guns.And El Matador has sharpened his sword.
Report this comment
Part of me thinks that Italy’s 0-3 loss was a consequence of all the scandals that are hitting the team just before Euro 2012 – although 1-1 against Russia in Moscow is not bad at all.
Too bad the Russians went Marcell Jansen on us and scored just a few minutes after Uruguay had done so. Knowing what Russia did to Italy today, I’m glad we managed to hold the draw.
Report this comment
Vamo!! Arriba Uruguay!!
Report this comment
El Centenario pitch (cancha) conditions:
http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/225248/la-cancha-del-centenario-esta-de-un-70-a-un-80/
Report this comment
This is important for us, we need to win. Argentina and Brazil ruled for far too long. Now its time for a country with hope,dreams and talentosos! Uruguay were never taken seriously, heck my brother still doesn’t take them seriously. Even though we beat Argentina and won the Copa America on Argentinian ground. This match starts in 4 hours and 15 min, its not gonna be easy nor hard. Our front just have to keep playing their normal game, and that will surely lead to a goal. I don’t care who scores as long as it counts for us. An own goal by Venezuela, Muslera scoring a goal from his own half. It doesn’t matter!
Report this comment
Well, that was poor.
Here in Australia we are lucky to still have Setanta Sports, so I watched Bolivia v Chile and then the first hour of Argentina v Ecuador (on SBS terrestrial TV) before Uruguay v Venezuela.
In defence of the team, these games at the end of a long European season are hard, as several Euro 2012 warm-ups have shown.
But most of what went wrong could have been addressed, but Tabarez was too conservative.
Palito’s assist for Forlan was excellent, but apart from that he was hopeless, as were Maxi Pereira, Diego Godin, Diego Perez and Diego Forlan (apart from a good run and finish for the goal). Lugano and Suraez and Cavani were average and only Caceres looked really good.
In 2010 we could sacrifice Cavani in order to get the best out of Forlan, and at the Copa America we didn’t have to. But in 2012, we’re sacrificing the wrong guy: it’s as if in 2012 England sacrificed Wayne Rooney so that Teddy Sheringham could play where he wants.
We had no pace. We had no creativity. It was dismal.
And in the circumstances, what does Gaston Ramirez have to do to get on the pitch? El Maestro’s “solution” was to send on Abreu, who is even looking past-it at Botafogo.
We have tough times ahead of us in World Cup qualifying now.
We play Peru at home with this jaded, ageing line-up in one week. Our best and quickest young players then miss an inter-season break to go to the Olympics, and then in September we have a match at high altitude in Colombia followed by Ecuador at home. Then four weeks later we go first to Argentina, then play Bolivia at extreme altitude.
Tabarez has got to do something now, because we could very easily lose 3 of those four games, especially if he keeps sending out Dad’s Army.
After 30 minutes today, I was thinking how stereotyped we have become and how easy it was for Venezuela to wipe us out as a creative threat. Worse still, Abreu was the only striker on the bench.
And I was thinking how easily Tabarez could have wrong-footed them.
They were set up in anticipation of us having Cavani and Suarez out wide, Forlan at 9 1/2 and Palito, Ruso and Arevalo Rios in midfield.
The way to beat them was probably to use Cavani as a proper number nine, with Forlan and even Suarez on the bench and then to play both Ramirez and Lodeiro behind the striker.
Teams can stop us playing too easily at the moment. We might need a midfield after all.
Report this comment
excellent comment, great finish “We might need a midfield after all”. thats what yorugua’s been saying for so long.
Report this comment