Argentinos Juniors 0 Belgrano 0
I’ve just returned from a mission in search of one of the great unanswered questions of this or any other time.
No! Not where lies the Holy Grail. Even if it did exist, I’d not be much interested. It would probably be a dusty, battered goblet with a bright light emanating from it, less impressive than the latest i-Pad. If it doesn’t download books, films and music, then what’s the point?
Perhaps, you’re thinking, the reasons for the persistent popularity of Madonna? No, not that either. I know the answer to that one. Many people are simply stupid and/or have no taste. Justin Bieber and the Jonas Brothers suffice to confirm that assertion.
My quest is far more relevant to what lies at the heart of modern society.
The question?
“How is it that a country as small as Uruguay, with a population you could squeeze into a double decker bus and a land area overshadowed by neighbouring giants, Argentina and Brazil, is so bloody good at football and has been for a long time?”
A Secret Within?
I’m not just talking about the baggy shorts and flinging caps into the air era when they won footballing gold at the 1924 and 1928 Olympics. Nor their 4-2 final victory over Argentina in the inaugural World Cup in Uruguay in 1930. Add to that the 1950 World Cup when they stole the Jules Rimet from the Brazilians in their own Maracana stadium in front of 200,000 fans and that they reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and are currently South American champions, knocking out Argentina, Messi et al, on the way to the final where they beat Paraguay. They’ve been continental champions fifteen times, which is more than either Argentina or Brazil. Their dominant club teams, Peñarol and Nacional, have clinched the Libertadores Cup eight times between them, as well as sharing eight runners up spots. They churn out talented players, Diego Forlan, Luis Suarez, Sebastian Abreu to name just a few, like a factory conveyor belt.
Compare them with other footballing nations. England, population 49million give or take a hundred or so. (I know that the Robinsons in Basingstoke didn’t fill out their last census form and the Joneses in Scarborough have gone underground to dodge the taxman so my estimation is a rough one.) One World Cup.
France, lots of people, a lot more than Uruguay anyway – one World Cup.
Argentina, population 40million including some quite good footballers, two World Cups.
The Centenario Stadium
They’re passionate about their football in Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru yet they’ve not got a World Cup between them and barely figure on the list of South American championship winners.
“OK, OK!” I hear you say. You’ve made your point.
I went straight to the heart of the beast – the national team’s training ground just the length of a Suarez free kick from the international airport. Down a dirt track and under a battered, wobbly barrier I encountered thirty or so young men in sky blue shirts in intense training under the chill autumn sun. Five minutes later, when I couldn’t find anyone I was looking for, I realized I was at the wrong training camp. This was first division side, Danubio – the national squad was next door.
When I say national squad, I mean the Under-23s and the Under-20s since most of Uruguay’s top players are shoveling spades full of Euros into their bank accounts in the Europeans leagues.
But what we had here was the bulk of the team that will represent Uruguay at the London Olympics, the first time they’ve qualified since clinching gold in 1928. Does this signify another golden era in Uruguayan football? They nonchalantly suggest that it might.
Also present was The Maestro, the national team manager, Óscar Tabárez, keeping an eagle-eye on his talent as they went through their drills.
“What,” I asked him, “were the major characteristics of the typical Uruguayan footballer?”
“Speed, organization and a deep-seated feeling for the game which comes from being born into a culture that is steeped in football,” was his answer.
He talked at length about the golden eras of Uruguayan football and how he believed they were entering another one, in a more competitive world with more strong teams competing at the top level.
Uruguayans revel in their football history, demonstrated by the monuments to past victories all around and plastered onto Montevideo’s Centenario Stadium. Inside the stadium is their Football Museum, glittering with trophies and adorned with sweat-stained shirts, thankfully in glass cabinets.
Among them was one that made me swoon – the red shirt worn by Geoff Hurst when he scored his hat-trick to win the 1966 World Cup for West Ham and England. Not strictly Uruguayan but a donation I’m sure he made in recognition of their footballing prowess.
I spoke to the director of the museum, Dr Mario Romano, who told me about the importance of football to a small nation, how it permeates every element of society, how young players are aware of their football heritage, the importance of the game to Uruguay.
That evening I went to a restaurant with at least seven screens showing the Copa Libertadores game between Velez Sarsfield from Buenos Aires losing three-one at home to modest Uruguayan outfit, Defensor Sporting.
You could sense something of the joy of the little guy poking the big fellow in the eye – a reliving in different guises of that 1950 final.
But as is usually the case with these quests – the great Kenyan runners, the mighty Cuban boxers, the exceptional Kiwi rugby players – there is no secret, no one magic answer.
The Holy Grail? Geoff Hurst's 1966 shirt.
Hard work, dedication, passion, history, responsibility and strength are values that are bandied about and mulled over and spat out. And undoubtedly they all go some way to answering the question. Let’s be honest, if there were a secret to Uruguay’s success, they were not going to reveal it to me.
I wouldn’t however call my quest a failure. I may not have discovered the secret but I know a lot more than I did and it was fun trying. It also meant I missed what was by all accounts a painfully dull 0-0 draw between Argentinos Juniors and Belgrano.
“They could have played until Thursday and not scored,” my mate Hernan who was at the game texted me.
Elsewhere, the shock of the weekend was Tigre, whose bright star had faded in recent weeks, beating the leaders, Boca Juniors 2-1. Boca now share top spot with Newell’s who thumped Banfield 3-0.
All Boys beat the whipping boys, Olimpo 2-1, Independiente thrashed their local rivals, Racing, 4-1, which led to their boss, Alfio Basile, resigning, while San Lorenzo ended their slump with a 3-0 victory over Godoy Cruz.
Union beat Arsenal 1-0,Lanus triumphed with the same score over Rafaela, Velez beat San Martin 3-1 away to keep in sight of the top while Estudiantes and Colon drew 2-2.
