Meanwhile In Moscow: Uruguay, El Maestro Tabarez’s Lesson

Tabarez, an image that speaks for itself. Few things are as thrilling as winning a match at the last minute, especially if it’s a World Cup game – and even more, when you are fighting against a hideous disease. Oscar Washington Tabarez, the coach of Uruguay, raising his hands up to the sky after Jose Gimenez’s late goal to Egypt is surely the best image of these initial World Cup days.

The 71-year-old Uruguayan manager is affected by the Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the nervous system. Tabarez is barely able to walk, to the point that he needs to use crutches or sit on a wheelchair. But this didn’t prevent him from participating to his fourth World Cup as a Celeste coach. Needless to say that his players will push even harder during this tournament, in honor of their brave trainer.

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Oscar Washington Tabarez, better known as El Maestro, is coaching Uruguay at a World Cup for the 4th time, despite suffering from a hideous disease

On the banks of the Rio de la Plata, Tabarez is simply known as El Maestro. A smart, well-educated man, who could have decided to give up when he was diagnosed with his disease, also because his latest Copa America participation had ended pretty badly. But no, he kept going instead, continuing to rely on his core players, and adding a few young talents.

During yesterday’s debut match with Egypt, he deployed Rodrigo Bentancur and Giorgian De Arrascaeta, two of the youngsters he relies more on. However, both talents didn’t impress much, maybe paying the toll of a World Cup debut. The pressure of El Mundial can make even the more experienced players quiver – which is exactly what happened with Luis Suarez and his missing chances.

But that was not the case of Gimenez, whose powerful header made Tabarez rejoice like a little kid. That’s the magic of football. The magic of the World Cup.

It was a though debut for the Celeste, and that was to be expected. Hector Cuper’s Egypt are a well-organized squad, whose counterattacks can be lethal. But yesterday they did feel the absence of Mohammed Salah, whom Cuper preferred to keep on the bench – as he is still recovering from the injury he suffered during the recent Champions League Final.

In the end, Gimenez’ head made it for Uruguay, which can now look with optimism at their future days in Russia. Beating Saudi Arabia next Wednesday could mean booking an early ticket to the Round of 16. But since their next opponents could be Spain or Portugal, the Celeste will need to do more than what seen yesterday.

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Luis Suarez failed two easy chances to bring Uruguay ahead in their Group A opening match with Egypt. Even the most seasoned players can feel the World Cup pressure!

Uruguay traditionally suffers in the Group Stage, but becomes very dangerous in the knockout phase. Tabarez will need to get the best out of his two-man attacking line, Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez, even if yesterday the biggest disappointments were his side midfielders, Nahitan Nandez and Giorgian De Arrascaeta. On that note, for the next game the Maestro may opt for Genoa’s midfielder Diego Laxalt, to create more push and pressure on the left flank.

But for the time being, Tabarez can be happy with the three points snatched out of Egypt, also knowing that he can feature one of the best pair of center backs in the tournament: Not only Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez confirmed to be a pretty solid defensive wall, but they also showed they can be very dangerous when pushing forward – as Godin had already taught Italy four years ago…

Uruguay’s World Cup dreams are strictly depending on the tow center backs’ performances. Sometimes the best defense is just…well, defense.

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A very cohesive group – here celebrating Jose Gimenez’s late goal – could be Uruguay’s added weapon at World Cup 2018. Players will have one more reason to give their best: Honor their coach Oscar Tabarez’s courage


MATCH REPORT

June 15, 2018 – World Cup Group Stage Pool A
EGYPT-URUGUAY 0-1

SCORER: 90′ Gimenez

Egypt EGYPT (4-2-3-1): El Shenawy; Fathi, Gabr, Hegazy, Abdel-Shafi; Hamed (51′ Morsy), Elneny; Warda (83′ Ramadan), Abdalla, Trezeguet; Mohsen (63′ Kahraba) (El Hadary, Ekramy, El Mohamady, Gaber, Salah, Ashraf, Hamdy, Shikabala, Samir) Coach: Cuper
Uruguay URUGUAY (4-4-2): Muslera; Varela, Godin, Gimenez, Caceres; Nandez (58′ Sanchez), Vecino (87′ Torreira), Bentancur, De Arrascaeta (59′ Rodriguez); Suarez, Cavani (Martin Silva, Campana, Stuani, Gaston Silva, Pereira, Laxalt, Gomez, Coates, Urretaviscaya) Coach: Tabarez

REFEREE: Kuipers (Netherlands)
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Trezeguet, Hegazy (M); Extra Time: 1st Half 1′, 2nd Half 5′

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Translated by Matteo Carnevale