Uruguay lead the way

Uruguay beat South Korea 2-1 yesterday to become the first team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup quarter finals. Ajax’s prolific striker Luis Suarez netted twice to move above compatriot Diego Forlan in the scoring charts. No matter what the competition now holds for Oscar Tabarez’s side, they are sure to improve on their current position of 16th in the FIFA rankings, and should move above 12th to surpass their highest posting ever.

Of course, Uruguay’s glorious history pre-dates FIFA rankings. They are one of the most successful international teams of all time, with 2 World Cups, 2 Olympic Games and 14 Copa America titles to their name.

This year, La Celeste is hoping to emerge from the driest spell in the nation’s history. Uruguay’s last trophy came in 1995 in the Copa America and, since then, they have struggled to even qualify for the World Cup, let alone make an impact. South Africa 2010 represents the first time the South Americans have got beyond the last 16 since 1970.

Uruguay won the inaugural FIFA World Cup on home soil back in 1930, and caused one of the biggest upsets of all time to repeat that feat in 1950 by beating Brazil in the famous Maracanazo match. They could even have accumulated more world championship titles if they hadn’t opted to boycott the World Cup in Italy 1934 and then again in France 1938 when they were at the pinnacle of their powers. A protest at the poor European turnout at their competition in 1930, and then anger in 1938 at what they saw as the reneging of a gentleman’s agreement to hold the competition alternately in South America and Europe, meant that the very first champions did not get to defend the Jules Rimet trophy, and they did not return to the world stage until 1950.

Since then, the World Cup has brought mixed fortune for La Celeste, and their form over the last twenty years points to a general decline. Perhaps this is not surprising given the fact that, with a population of under 4 million people, Uruguay is a small fish in a very big footballing pond.

Much was expected of the last generation of stars, but the likes of Alvaro Recoba and Paolo Montero, who both enjoyed glittering club careers in Italy’s Serie A, were unable to inspire a renaissance. Diego Forlan was also a member of that group, and it is the Atletico Madrid veteran who is at the heart of the current team.

They barely made it to South Africa, qualifying via a narrow play-off win over Costa Rica. But Oscar Tabarez has improved the team considerably, and they seem to be evolving as the competition goes on.

For the drab opening 0-0 draw with France, Uruguay were set out in a 5-3-2 formation, utilising wing-backs to contain their opponents in wide areas. Obviously it did little for their attacking game, and since then they have converted to a 4-3-1-2 shape, which allows Tabarez to play to his strengths and field his three most potent attacking weapons.

Despite what we saw of him for Manchester United in the Premier League, Diego Forlan is a goal machine who regularly competes for the Pichichi trophy in Spain’s La Liga. Quite incredibly, Uruguay have found an even more prolific forward to go alongside him in Luis Suarez, who was the only player to outscore Lionel Messi in a top flight European league this season as he hit 49 goals for Ajax in all competitions. Forlan is operating in behind Luis Suarez and his new international partner Edison Cavani, a tall, powerful centre forward who, at 23, is already starting to live up to his huge potential with Sicilian club Palermo.

After Uruguay took the lead against South Korea on Saturday they took a backward approach by defending in their own half and invited Huh Jung-Moo’s side back into the game. If they are going to beat Ghana in the quarter-finals, they have to be wary of this tendency to protect the lead and remember where their strengths lie.

If they play to their potential, they should cause The Black Stars all sorts of problems. The South American teams continue to set the benchmark in this tournament, but while Argentina and Brazil draw the world’s attention, it is Uruguay who look the most likely to sneak their way into the last four.