Uruguay’s call-up list for the Spain friendly was announced early in the week, not really a news worthy story by any stretch of the imagination, the call-up list confirms that things will continue as is, and on some level, we all know the more things SHOULD change the more they’ll eventually stay the same…
El Equipo de Memoria, aging fast... does a remedy exist?
Yet despite El Maestro’s best intentions to roll out his tried and tested “Equipo De Memoria” Ad nauseam, his proactivity will be challenged a bit… just a bit. It is Spain we’re facing after all and not The Leonid and Dimitri Brothers Eastern European Furniture Moving Company. It’s Spain dammit, best national team in the planet; European Champions in 2008 and 2012… World Cup winners in 2010, well you know this already, they won everything under the sun and then some.
This is the game El Maestro has been playing in his head since 2010. Since the hand of Suarez and subsequent red-card ruled Suarez out for the 2010 World Cup semifinal. In a perfect world, if Uruguay had all their pieces for the match against Holland: Suarez, Fucile & Lugano, who knows what could’ve happened? Maybe Uruguay would’ve gotten past the Dutch and faced Spain and then who knows? And then the Paraguay vs Spain 2010 match exists to give El Maestro three years worth of the night terrors. Would, a defensively sounder Uruguay been able to defeat Spain in the 2010 final? Who knows… too many what if scenarios here. Holland tried despite Howard Webb’s buffoon-like help and nothing doing, Spain won the match in extra time.
Returning to 2013, returning to Tabárez, it’s a preliminary list of course, some players like Forlán may not be available once the final list is drawn up. In Forlán’s case, Internacional do Porto Alegre now coached by Dunga, has stated that Forlán should sit this one out and maybe stay in Brazil. Strange that maybe it’ll be Forlán who sits this match out (maybe, who knows what will happen?), the last time Uruguay played a friendly with Spain, was way back in 2005, back when Fossati was the manager, a strange August friendly, which Uruguay didn’t take seriously, using it as an opportunity to make 6 substitutions, bringing on Marcelo Tejera after 10 years of non-call-ups, it was a different era back then. Players who looked good in Uruguay’s Primera were considered and taken to Gijón, where the match was played. But Forlán and Pérez played in that match and so did Gonzalo “Chori” Castro. That was Castro’s first call-up, back when he was a dynamic Nacional player… it took him a while to crack a Tabárez coached side, this is in-fact only his third call-up in six years!
Gonzalo Castro in Real Sociedad's 3-2 win over Barcelona.
So there is that, a sense that maybe Forlán not playing means that El Equipo de Memoria is finally forced to age and the substitutions won’t be pronounced, they’ll sort of just happen and before anyone notices, we’ll all be asking ourselves, “How did so and so become a starter?”
And lets give the Old Man the benefit of the doubt, there were some notable additions, although not the kind that will set the world on fire, but Alejandro Silva got his first cap on the senior side, that’s good… right? Who knows if he’ll play, but change is coming… the fact that Castro got a second call-up is admirable. Slowly El Equipo de Memoria is giving way to change. This kind of change is good, sure it’s not great, won’t induce us to do cartwheels but there is hope… I think?
Iniesta: One man wrecking ball and one of the many dangerous players that feature for Spain.
Ultimately this is Spain we’re talking about, a match Tabárez has played and replayed in his head. Sure maybe if Tabárez owned an Xbox 360 or a PS3, he wouldn’t be so over-reliant on the Equipo de Memoria but what are you going to do? Tabárez is old school… and isn’t in a hurry to show all of his cards, he knows we’ll face Spain again in the Confederations Cup, this friendly is only a dress rehearsal to the main event later this year.
If Dunga has his way, Lodeiro & Cebolla will start. If Tabárez has way, take out Cebolla or Lodeiro and insert Álvaro González.
Uruguay’s back-line shouldn’t undergo too much change, Mono, Lugano, Godín and Cáceres, supported by a double midfield pivot of Pérez and Arévalo-Ríos. And then it depends on what happens between now and February, does El Maestro continue with Lodeiro who had one of his best games in a Sky-Blue shirt against Poland or does he go with Ramírez? There’s Cebolla to consider as well. No longer playing with a lead foot on the accelerator, Cebolla has become more reliable, reborn as a hybrid midfield holder/poor man’s playmaker, will he get a start? Upfront, whether Forlán plays or not, Cavani and Suárez will start.
Life without Forlán does have its disadvantages… while Suárez is Uruguay’s best player, he and Cavani have to start developing a working telepathy as far as the offense goes. London was not easy on the eyes, it was English Breakfast throw-up at best, maybe Lodeiro is the key here, maybe it’s Lodeiro WITH Ramírez? But then what about Cebolla? And of course, Álvaro González exists to throw a monkey wrench into any XI this Blog can conjure up.
At the end of the day it’s just a friendly, nothing more, nothing less… It’s Spain though. SPAIN… Holy Shit, we’re playing SPAIN!
Yorugua
1 likes
Yorugua
FourThreeThree
Foxfang4
NicoGF
i also cant believe we’re playing spain!! for sure the best side.
Report this comment
Yes!! A reversion to the classic cut-out head starting XI. I’d like to think my request for this had something to do with it….
Report this comment
LOL…
You mean the “Pez Head” XI?
It takes a while to assemble, one of the reasons why Forlan almost never makes it on my XI, his crazy hair is hard to photoshop into the XI.
The Football User formations are pretty cool too IMO… very easy to diagram and anyone can do it.
Report this comment
sam if the interview with nacho was shorter i’d have asked you for the translation
did u like it?
Report this comment
he’s now seeking for a new team in europe, but there are offers from bra, arg and mex he might take into consideration.
Report this comment
I still dont like this team…no Silva, no Mora, no Sanchez, no Aguirregaray, no Goicochea, no Sosa?…no shit Sherlock!
I’m happy for Castro, but I can see a good side to Forlan not playing. Suarez and Cavani up front is what got 4 past Chile and 1 against Bolivia when Forlan came off. Im ready to let the Olympics debacle slip because that was primarily ALL Tabarez’s fault for not feilding a strong team to begin with (La Joya, Polenta and Urreteviscaya would have been better options).
But the article is right in noting that back then local players got a look in to the national team unlike now. Sebastian Viera was with Nacional when he became “El Angel del Arco” with La Seleccion, Chori was with Nacional too and so was the mercurial OJ Morales, Carlos Bueno was at Penarol when he was getting called up so was Joe Bizera, Carlos Diogo, Cebolla Rodriguez and Diego Perez. Malaka Martinez was at Wanderers and the likes of Omar Pouso and Nacho Gonzalez were at Danubio while Lolo Estoyanoff was at Fenix. All of them got a chance with la seleccion while playing football in Uruguay. At the risk of sounding unpopular (yeah I know too late!) I would prefer the likes of Hector “Romario” Acuna instead of Emiliano Alfaro. Acuna was a little gem for El Tanque and single handedly took a small team upwards. I’m not saying flood the team with local players, I’m just reiterating a good point mentioned in the article that local players were given a chance in friendly’s and even qualifiers (Fabian Canobbio was at Penarol when he made his debut for Uruguay against Colombia in a qualifier) where as now it’s not the case. Friendly matches are the perfect time to try out new players because Uruguay are fast becoming like France in 2002 or Italy in 2010…a spent and tired force. Hopefully it’s not the case.
Report this comment
I’m not too sour on Alfaro, I know he plays in the middle east and all, but he’s short and stocky, has the low gravity thing going for him… not trying to be funny, but could be an asset on a team. I’ll agree with you, not sure why he’s being capped for the NT, there were things I liked about his game when he was playing with Lazio, would like to see him play for either Peñarol or Nacional before passing on him.
Report this comment
Latest on Forlan… apparently has a toe injury.
http://quenonino.com.uy/habra-que-esperar-para-ver-si-diego-llega-al-partido-frente-espana/
Report this comment
Can anyone explain why it is in Qatar?
Report this comment
Not really… But I’ll take a stab at it, I think it has to do with the fact that Spain charges $2 million to play. So rather than host Uruguay out of pocket, Qatar pays the $2 mil, and Spain is happy… At this point the Spanish federation could care less that Uruguay is the opponent.
I’m still astonished that Puerto Rico paid the $2 million to bring Spain to Puerto Rico last year!
Report this comment
Coates looked awful again. I mean…..not playing regularly I understand but this guy looks lost…beyond lost.
If Pablo Montero were deceased he would be turning over in his grave and still play with more heart and skill than Coates. I realize there are not a hug amount of resources and like Brazil going all out to develop defenders after 1982 WC….. well Uruguay is now striker crazy but you would think 1 guy would be developed with some Lugano in him?
Rodriguez at Torino has been playing well…can he be worse than Coates?
Every time I watch Caceres, and I do not know if he is playing out of position but he ducks when a cross is coming to him to allow the player behind him to score on a corner? WTF is that?
Diego Polenta cannot even get called back up to genoa, who are relegation fodder this year and so desperate they purchased Ruben Olivera from Fiorentina.
My father says he has seen him play before and that he is slow. Is he slower than Lugano?
Just FYI… Uruguay beat Cjile as Bueno is finally healthy and they had their 2 best defenders back. To lose only 1-0 to Columbia, who have kids who look like they would fit right in with Ghana’s NT….as I am in my 40′s and some of them look older than me…. but to only lose 1-0, even if the result does not tell the whole story…is something that should at least tell you that this team is not a total nothing.
These guys are tired and lack great depth but still beat a decent Chile team.
I hope they do not just mass sell these players …so they can go rot on some bench in Bulgaria or Greece or Serie B or La Segunda Division.
Report this comment
recobenzo, rolin is a good defender for example
alejandro gonzalez in peñarol too (he defended against neymar very well). freitas could play as holding midfielder and as a central defender too. i think we do have a pretty decent team, if we just selected the correct players.
Report this comment
There simply is no alternative to Alvaro Gonzalez because we have NO decent right-footer wingers on the squad! Arevalo is a bone cruncher not a winger, and Viudez and Urreta are a lot of work in progress… Sadly, Gonzalez is used more as a DM for Lazio than a RM this season and we have no shortage of that on the team. Cebola can’t get 30 minutes a game at Atletico lately, Chori could outrun him blindfolded. It’s a tough choice between Gaston and Lodeiro for a playmaker (neither plays well on the left wing) but I suppose each could get own 45 minutes to prove their worth to el Maestro. Mono’s best days are over, he relishes himself against the likes of Vitoria Guimaraes, but every time he’s put up against a decent striker at CL, he’s always the flop of the game. So we need the Universal Soldier on the right this time. My squad (4-4-2 worked well against Poland):
Muslera – Lugano, Godin (he was horrible against Bilbao but let’s hope it’s just a hiccup in the overall solid season), A. Pereira, Caceres – Arevalo, Gonzalez, Chori, Gaston – Suarez, Cavani
options: Gargano or Ruso for Arevalo
Report this comment
One thing that REALLY ticks me off – Where THE HECK is plan B for Muslera absence… Title-winning Sosa is worse than a sub for bottom-dwelling Queretaro? Goico played like a hockey goalie without a club against Bologna and definitely missed basic shot stopping schooling, but why on EARTH MUNUA AND SOSA AREN’T INVITED???
Report this comment
Exactly! That’s my point! As much as Sosa and Goicochea deserve a call up neither will ever get called up so lets use Silva as an example for all intensive purposes. If youre going to play a friendly why not use your 2nd choice keeper? You know your first choice is good, you know he has standing in the team, but what happens if he gets injured or red carded? You have Silva who has only played 1 game at international level in the 5 years he has been with the national team and that was against Algeria who are the Rampla Juniors of Africa, and then you have Castillo who has experience at international level but no game time for his club, and a goalkeeper who is out of form is WAY more noticable than a striker or defender out of form! And seeing as Castillo is unwanted by his club…why the hell call him up for the national team!!! There is no plan B which is what seems so stupid to me. When Carini was injured Munua stood up and did a firm job because he had international experience! There always needs to be a plan B no matter what. Tabarez is a bit all over the shop sometimes!
Report this comment
http://www.footballuser.com/formations/2013/01/630675_Uruguay.jpg If el Maestro had called-up Malaka I´d start him over Papelito as RM. If Forlán doesn´t recover, Cavani.
Report this comment
I love Forlan….. Tabarez as well but Forlan needs to be content with being the new Loco. If a goal is needed than bring him on after 60 minutes of play. Uruguay cannot go another game with Cavani playing out of position. After his unbelieveable play in Italy he deserves to play his ideal position. I also believe to start Gaston and Lodeiro. Anyone thinking to bring in a local player needs to watch last years apertura…yikes! If were going by the local players Olivera should be inserted for Cavani lol. I truly belive if Forlan does not start Uruguay will win. With Forlan, Gargano , Cebolla and Gonazalez coming off the bench. never gonna happen though.
Muslera
Maxi Lugano Godin Caceres
Arevalo
Perez/Gargano
Lodeiro/Gozalez Gaston/Cebolla
Suarez
Cavani/Forlan
Report this comment
And how is it that Silva is not on the list??
Report this comment