So the moment of truth finally arrived, Uruguay faced Spain –– at long last we were able to ascertain what Uruguay’s true football level is. And the answer is… well… umm can I get back to you on this one? Seriously though – we can sugarcoat it all we want but Uruguay is nowhere near Spain. That much was established by Spain’s 3-1 win over Uruguay.
Cebolla and Cavani in awe of Santi Cazorla's ball control.
Of course friendly matches are simply that – contests which in the grand scheme of things, really mean nothing. The opponent was Spain and that’s important, but despite the loss, this game does serve a purpose, it lets Uruguay, not just the national team coach and players but also the country and supporters know what Uruguay is capable of and what they’re not.
Uruguay will never be Barcelona, just like Spain will never be Barcelona. El Maestro’s game plan has to be commended. Uruguay tried to stay afloat, passing the ball, attempting to pass the ball, keeping up with Spain who was without Xavi Hernandez and Xabi Alonso. Still they didn’t miss a beat because well… they’re Spain.
The first half was a fine display of football, not just from Spain who always give you a superb level of technical, flawless football but also from Uruguay who came back after Cesc Fabregas scored on Muslera in the 15th minute of play. Where the game suffered was in the second half, where these types of “friendly” contests usually suffer; excessive substitutions, lazy passing, etc. And somewhere in the second half, Spain just seemed more technically proficient in their execution. While Uruguay seemed to be suffering from jet-lag and were a bit starstruck because well… it’s Spain.
Fabregas was instrumental for Spain, Mister Chip, that fine source of mindless statistical data, offered that Fabregas now has 22 assists & 12 goals for Spain in 76 appearances, one of those assists gave Pedro his second which essentially sentenced the game –– After that, Uruguay were not coming back.
But there is hope on the horizon for Uruguay, you didn’t come away with the sense that Uruguay will never defeat the likes of Spain… no, the hope is that Tabarez at long last has cast aside the ridiculous over-estimation of draws. While draws provide just as much raw data as a win or a loss, Uruguay 2010- 2011 had become a dull uninspired side in 2012 by settling for draws throughout the year.
The Poland friendly was a positive start but there were positives seen in the Spain friendly as well, El Maestro brought on Forlan near the 70 minute mark, which serves as some type of indication that maybe things are changing for Uruguay’s national team. Now should Forlan be starting or not, well it depends on who you ask, if you ask me, I’ll tell you… no. If you ask somebody else, who knows, their opinion is probably more generous. But besides Forlan, players were brought on, El Chori Castro and Aguirregaray got some game time, and Alvaro Pereira didn’t –– this is good, no not because I think Palito is bad, I think he’s decent to a certain extent, but his inclusion in a starting eleven means Caceres or Cebolla would have been sacrificed. Clearly at this point, Tabarez has to continue with Cebolla and Caceres in his future XIs.
It’s the other positions which now seem a little worrying. Yes the playmaker, whoever that should be, continues to be an afterthought for a Tabarez drawn eleven –– the double-pivot which now includes Alvaro Gonzalez for reasons best left explainable only to Tabarez and the aging shell of what used to be Diego Perez is now a make-shift hope for the best defensive whatever. Add Diego Godin to the shit-pile too if you want and suddenly though, Uruguay seems far removed from the side that challenged for a semifinal spot in the 2010 World Cup and the side that won the 2011 Copa America.
To be fair though, Godin was not really a part of that 2011 side, Coates was. With regards to Coates however, this seems to be out of El Maestro’s control. Realizing however that the future lies with Cavani and not Forlan’s tired show is the correct move. Sure, only time will tell if WCQ games will be won with Cavani in the forefront –– but it’s a move he had to make.
Spain won 3-1 but Uruguay may yet show signs of life, something nobody in 2012 could argue.
Yorugua
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Yorugua
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great article. one thing, lodeiro helped out el ruso more than tata did. tata was kind of a fake winger. trying to be one, but with no success. this means it’s time for carlitos sanchez. on the other hand, of course fabregas showed el maestro the advantage of having a playmaker. we do have one:
as you can see, he had more than 1 good game with la celeste. why 1 bad game was enough to crucify him??? he’s the real deal, the real enganche. the only out-and-out playmaker we got. nobody like him. why not give him one last chance? one last shot? he could be effective as a 60 minute sub, when opponent is tired and unable to man-mark him. and give him space, he will kill you with his creativity, assists, and ball distribution & organization.
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You’re starting to repeat yourself… 3 of these videos you already uploaded, and one of them in the past week!
Even Nacho is sick of seeing some of these videos –––Get some new material buddy!
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Ahhh yes. This one is good, Nacho shows he has a sense of humor and perspective…. but most importantly you managed to upload something new, not the usual Nacho YouTube highlight reels. Congrats!
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The game, for me, was easier to watch this time around. I enjoyed how we were playing, or at least attempting to. It’s a step in the right direction. Lodeiro looked better, Cebolla (my favorite player) played well, and Cavani is looking more like he does on Napoli.
What I would like to see more of is gargano. I think his place should be cemented in the team as the CDM. He is an intelligent player that can distribute the ball out of the back. The only complaint I have of him is that he is short and I know a lot of you are fans of a tall CDM.
When I started reading the this blog, I did not think much of Nacho but over the last couple of years i have grown to like him, although I don’t know if playing for a second division Spanish team will help his football, or more realistically, if El Maestro will ever give him another chance…
This is what I would love to see:
Maxi—Godin—Lugano—Caceres
————-Gargano————-
–Lodeiro—Nacho—Cebolla–
——-Suarez—-Cavani——
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yayo. yeah i agree with you. it happened the same to me with lodeiro. i didnt like him, but i have to admit he has developed a bit his game. look, now he can defend, and can distribute some. it means lodeiro could help out somewhere in a 4-4-2 diamond formation, sharing the double-five pivot with lets say a taller holding midfielder like freitas when we dont have the ball (or anyone else, even eguren or ruso.. or okay someone short, gargano or ruso). that means an advantage for the team, cause having a player like lodeiro helping out in defensive duties, it adds one offensive player when we got the ball, where he can take a more important role in what he does best. nacho isnt the faster player to defend, but his mind runs at the speed of bolt, like nobody else in south america for sure. spain has xavi hernandez, when he is not there, look, they got fabregas. but we dont use our enganche, doesnt matter where he plays, he’s got the skills, and you cannot teach someone else to be an enganche in the short term, so lets call him.
i agree with yorugua in this very interesting article, that uruguay took this friendly very seriously. we were attempting to pass the ball, and that there are many positives, like tabarez realizing forlan can only be a super sub and if not a starter anymore. even suarez should be replaced by chori castro if he continues to play like the other day.. start suarez, doesnt play like suarez? remove him for chori castro who showed accuracy on every pass he tryied. looked active, like someone who was part of the process for the past 5 years.. and lets not forget ramirez, this team could be very interesting, the lacking piece is a midfielder like busquets. scheme of uruguay HAVING the ball (attacking):
________suarez________cavani
__ramirez_____nacho gonz.____lodeiro
______________gargano/eguren
caceres__________________________mono
___________godin______lugano
________________muslera/sosa
remove any midfielder for carlitos sanchez in the second half. and maybe give zalayeta his last 4 games with the NT. he’s in excellent form, i will ask you to follow him (he’s old, wont reach the world cup, but is in great for ATM and that counts, could give a great hand in the qualifiers as a fake 9 in a 4-3-3, more than forlan for sure). WE NEED TO QUALIFY FOR GOD’S SAKE, IT WOULD BE VERY SAD IF WE DONT PULL IT OFF.. I WANNA GO TO BRAZIL. DOESNT MATTER IF A FIRST ROUND EXIT HAPPENS, ITS POSSIBLE, BUT LETS BE THERE. FIRST STEP TO WIN A WORLD CUP, IS BEING THERE. LETS START WITH SOMETHING, STEP BY STEP AND LETS SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
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Listen to Hand of Pod:
http://handofpod.wordpress.com/2013/02/07/episode-90-previewing-the-2013-torneo-final-wondering-where-riquelme-will-go/
They read one of our questions at minute 56 or so…
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Diego Perez, Diego Godin and Maxi….. are ridiculously useless. Godin really gives me a head ache to watch. Spain is in a class of their own, but between Muslera’s botch and Godin’s 3 or 4 horrid clearances the outcome could have been different. AND I am huge fan of Cavani on Napoli but, when he puts the national jersey on he is somewhat comical when it comes to his first touch on the ball…. Suarez gave him at least 3 passes that should have been shots on target but looked more like a cartoon character that can’t control his legs. Tata is well Tata…. Lol I really am not sure what his purpose is out there. I know Tabarez is in love with Lodeiro but I think its time to let that go…. And lastly after 65 minutes his first switch was Arevalo for Perez, this is one of those subs that really makes me question what runs through Maestros mind. Another game passes that I truly believe that Tabarez needs to be replaced. After all is said and done we played a competitive game and the only player that showed some real value was easily Cebolla. I know the big talk on La Celeste Blog is always surrounding Carlos Sanchez and Nacho to be given another chance and I have always been a big fan of El Tanque…… Truth of the matter really is. Other than Suarez, Cebolla and Caceres I don’t believe any of the coach or players have impressed me enough to lock down a starting job. The lack of effort and “Garra Charrua” from 60 minutes on was truly demoralizing as Uruguayans. Which is terrible given the fact we are reigning Copa America champs and a 4th place finisher. WE NEED TO GET OUR S**t together ASAP…
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What are the logical reasons behind Nacho’s choice for a playmaker ahead of Gaston? Having a few good games for Uru 5 years ago and settling for a mid-table Segunda club doesn’t bode well with a playmaker role for a team which still aspires to be in the world elite. Gaston is a Del Piero in the making not to mention that he is 8 years younger than Nacho. I know he’s a lot of work in progress but he CAN be a Forlan 3.0 for Uru, a level Nacho will never reach
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Re. Tota’s role in the squad – we simply DON’T HAVE a solid right footed winger do we. Urreta and Viudez simply aren’t good enough – yet. Although Tota himself’s been employed as a holding midfielder for Lazio for the last 6 months or so. And did reasonably well btw.
Now, Chori seems to be both-footed (at least he scored his last 2 goals for Sociedad playing down the right) – considering his shape as of late, he deserves a starting position as a RM. He’s better equipped as a winger, and Tota (wish him speedy recovery!) is better suited for what Eguren used to do, a sub CM for either Gargano or Rios.
As much as I admire el Ruso, he is a liability right now…
Sosa
Mono – Lugano – Caceres – Palito
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If after this game T does not select Carlos Sanchez forget it how he can not recognize the need for a right midfielder who is playing so well is beyond me. He continues to select Gargano and el Tata who to me don’t fit . Caceres is a beast and could play as CDM. Fucile who is no recovered should be an auto selection. Britos as well especially how well he has been contributing at Napoli, another player is Polenta thus allowing for el mono to say good bye. El Ruso is done. For a game like the one played it was obvious that with a player like Nacho or even Recoba making cameo appearance in the 2nd half when Lodeiro disappeared we could have taken over because I did see deficiencies in the Spanish which can be exploited with the right players in place
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I do agree on the Gaston ordeal…. but he seems to have an injury everytime the seleccion is made…another note to make is that is Tabarez keeps starting the same 11 it shows no threat to Mono, Ruso or Godin… if you rely on players that play sub-par than there is no threat to them of being replaced. thats why a team like Spain is always in top form. Iniesta, Xavi and Villa are usually top choice but when you have Del Bosque calling in Pedro, Fabregas, Isco and Mata..the usuals know they better be on their A game or else you have young fresh players ready to take over. Other than Palito who really has been overthrown with there weak play? No One….Tabarez needs to realize when he shakes things up like he did with Arevalo in 2010 players seem to tighten up. i have watched the matched 2 times now and Godin and Mono are by far the weakest link on the pitch. As the Torneo Clausura approaches and Libertadores i think we all need to take a good look at Penarol, Nacional and Defensor and see what could help us improve… Again Scotti and Seba for every friendly really annoys me that he wastes the sub situation.
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Another great analysis Yorugua!
It seems like Tabarez simply doesn’t want to be unpleasant to his Old Guard, who have been so loyal to him and La Celeste, the guys who are passed their prime but who, of some reason, still believe that they could perform. Maybe Maestro is a left winger politically, but in terms of coaching and especially selecting he is exremely conservative. How many new players has he introduced during the last years?… 2009, Muslera (after long consideration) and Lodeiro. 2010, Arevalo. 2011, Coates (who is now out of favour but probably it is now OWT’s fault), Tata and Gaston. 2012, Chori (who had been selected some years before). That’s basically it. There were also some really strange selections like one of Flaco Fernandez, who is definitely not a NT material.
I have always been a defender of Maestro, bearing in mind all the success of 2010 and 2011, but I would now prefer another coach with another vision of players and selection. Of present Celestes I would definitely keep Suarez, Cavani, Gaston, Cebolla, Muslera, Caceres, maybe Lodeiro, Chori, Aguirregaray, Godin, Palito, Gargano. The rest could easily be replaced, sooner the better. But as soon as Tabarez is in charge, we will most probably not see many changes and Ruso, Arevalo, Forlan, Lugano will all go to Brazil – or not, if they lose play offs to Australia (not an unlikely scenario at all).
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I think everyone whether they agree with his tactics/philosophies or not, will agree that El Maestro is the best manager for Uruguay.
I’ve had my problems with him throughout the years, not so much in terms of his tactical IQ, lets face it Tabarez knows more about football than anyone in Uruguay ––– but like you said, his conservatism, some might say timidity at times is one of his more frustrating qualities.
This past friendly & the Poland friendly have shown me that Tabarez will fight to the end, the Qualifiers haven’t started but I think Uruguay will be ready. Whether they qualify is a whole different story. And I’ll tell you why. If the future is Cavani, Cavani has to be ready, even one comment in here said, sometimes Cavani’s finishing on the NT is awkward –– maybe his timing is off, who knows, simply put, we’ll see what Cavani can give us in the Qualifiers, if the plan is indeed to phase Forlan out and to make Cavani the second centerpiece to build around.
I hope it all goes well for Uruguay, Cavani, Tabarez… but the reality is, at this stage in the game, it’s a risky proposition, Cavani didn’t really play in that many qualifier matches in the 2010 campaign –– a few minutes here and there, his play resulted in the monumental penalty Forlan took, but it was Forlan who took it not Cavani. What all this means is that Tabarez has a major job, he has to instill confidence in Cavani in a sky-blue jersey that doesn’t have the Lete logo and an “N.”
With Uruguay there’s always added pressure, everyone is watching, the players are aware of the history of the NT – so the psychological boundaries are created by the players, families and country.
A lot of the players have already passed the test, 70% of El Equipo de Memoria, and this is what Tabarez is betting on. We see rust, Tabarez sees guys who won’t break.
My whole thing is that after September and October we saw not only that they broke, but they gave up without a fight.
The key for Tabarez is to recreate the “garra” – and like Hollywood is doing nowadays “re-boot” it. So these next couple of months may be the most interesting months of Uruguayan football we’ll be privy to since June/July of 2010.
I’m not saying it’s going to end with a World Cup Qualification, but hopefully when it’s all over, Uruguay will at least recover their garra. Sure we all want a World Cup berth because most of us have lived through many disappointments (94, 98, 2006) but recovering Uruguay’s fighting spirit at this point in time is more important. What’s at stake is history, pride… the rejuvenation of garra is key, and it may be that in this moment in time, as much as some of us may not like the idea, that Tabarez is the only man who can accomplish this goal.
We’ll see.
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I have only been able to watch the first half so far, but was somewhat impressed. Uruguay was overall more dangerous and had Cavani been on his game, they could have scored up to three additional goals. I continue to be disappointed by our passing and ball control skills, but our passing did improve after the first 10-15 minutes of the 1st half. There was also a fair amount of pelotazo, but I am starting to think of that as not a bad thing – if delivered accurately. Lucho has turned several pelotazos into sensational goals with Liverpool, and there were a few in this game that, if they had been delivered with more precision, could have become goals. And why Cavani is Dr. Jekyll at Napoli but Mr. Hyde with the celeste vexes me greatly.
Apart from the fact that all of the Spanish players are world class, a major advantage that they have that no other highly-ranked international selection have is the fact that the majority of the starting lineup plays together on the same club team – Barcelona. Because of this, the core of the Spanish selection in essence trains together year-round while all other selections have much more heterogenous starting elevens and, therefore, much less cohesion and familiarity with one another.
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Kagelmacher is establishing himself as a solid RB for Monaco which with new Russian money and new signings will surely be a contender to PSG in the next season. For one he’s certainly better in the air than Mono, and is younger and faster. I really wish Gaston went back to Italy, he’s too injury prone for PL and we do need his spark now as Forlan has all but faded. Rolin needs a starter role for Catania, and Godin keep disappointing for la Celeste while being a superhero for Simeone, buggered if I know why…
Not feeling it for C. Sanchez yet, I do think Viudez or Urreta could be a better investment, the former if he signs up with a decent club, the latter if he establishes himself an unchallenged starter for Benfica. Gargano over Rios (better club and CL experience) and Sosa for Muslera’s backup.
Muslera
Caceres – Lugano – Godin (Rolin) – Palito
– Gargano (Rios) –
Chori (Tota) Cebolla
– Gaston (Lodeiro) –
Suarez Cavani (Forlan)
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you are calling “tata” gonzalez, “tota”. lugano is “la tota” ahaha.
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Australia will not be a playoff opponent…It will be someone way worse, who the NT will underrate and someone will claim that it is “Our Destiny” to be in the WC.
I like the Rolin idea……he has played well …when played at Catania.
What is the coach going to do….never replace any players, I mean this is getting stupid and beyond arrogant. He has done great to rebuild the system from the ground up but that does not mean he is a Supreme Court judge and has the job for life. He can hope all he wants that that things will be fine…… and like many coaches in many sports….He wants to win HIS WAY, and he will gladly Lose his way, as long as it is his way.
These type of games are the ones you can bring anybody…..and see how they mesh with what you have, if not better. I agree…what is the point of Seba (Who I like) and Scotti (Who I could care less about) being on the team?
I was not surprised that Suarez was off. 90 minutes…non stop motor basically playing 5 game sin about 18 days….One as a winger, going up and down the filed…defending against Arsenal. The guy is the energizer bunny but he will be useless come WCQ without some understanding that he needs rest.
Godin? He plays up and down at AM….but when he is down, he always seems to be the Flop of the Match. I mean no defender is perfect….. but if that stupid ending to the Paraguay game does not happen, beacuse these guys cannot just kick the freaking ball out of the area,,,,or dribble it out..I mean is it that hard to do that, even for a defender? And if Godin does not do an OG…….they are looking at being about as comfortable as ever…since the WCQ turned into this Gulag.
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lots of interesting comments. love to read those.
there is no time to be so emotional for us though ! “bring nacho”, “sack tabarez” these things are history for me . they added no value to the final product.and they wont happen I guess !!you don’t need a knee jerk overhaul, just 1 or 2 pieces missing from the jigsaw !
I do hate the criticizing of cavani though. you can’t expect exceptional things from him when you don’t have a fluid system or support range . napoli has hamsik who is undoubtedly one of the best midfielders I have seen in creativity and penetration.and not to mention Inler ,a ball winner .he reminds me of perez of the south africa world cup.
more over its the system they play more fluid , more aggressive. Napoli rely on counter attack bit similar to us. but when they counter attack its a piece of skill, which we don’t have. they move so fast and on the ball they have the vision and off the ball the movement.
but when we move it takes to much time to attack opposition box even if nacho comes I doubt he could survive ! Its not a matter of nacho its a matter of your 10 players all moving fluidly and intelligently .
cavani himself is a genius ya he is a genius. last 3 seasons he has proved that . if he wasn’t that man city wont prepare to spent ridiculously for him in the next summer and world class scouts wont waste their time watching him.
tabarez doesn’t need to kick cavani he just needs to give a kick in his own head.bring a more fluidity in the system and bit more aggression and movement while attacking opponents.
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agreed, very interesting comments all around. pleasure to read article & comments. this website is getting really interesting now. keep on coming, and make it active. the key to me, is that tabarez stops “playing with the ID of the player” playing with names doesnt work. we should have learnt from the olympics. “not performing? bring next guy”. thats it. that includes suarez, cavani, anyone. even tabarez, but i hope he realizes it soon, and its not him who’s sacked once and for all.. i still got hope on this team. of course, start with the greatest names, but if they are not showing what u expect to, whats the point?
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Well i will say this…. nothing would be more of a storyline than having to play Qatar in the 5th seed playoff. I wonder how Sebastian Soria would feel about playing La Celeste…..i’ve seen a couple of his games… pretty awesome of a player that we missed out on.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvHSGf7UxlE
URUGUAY VS SPAIN 1ST HALF
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCZUm3iUUPk
URUGUAY VS SPAIN 2ND HALF
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godin risked a lot, muslera was a flop, suarez & cavani not performing since olympics.. begin the match with names, with the best players available okay, but if they are not playing like you expect they should be, remove them.. stop playing with names, please tabarez. do not wait good players so much.
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