AT A GLANCE: Uruguay
by FOXSports.com
2002 Qualification: Finished 5th in CONMEBOL final group. Defeated Austalia 3-1 on aggregate in home-and-home playoff.
Appearing in 10th World Cup Finals: 1930, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1990
Best World Cup Performance: World Cup Champions (1930, 1950) Overall World Cup Record: 15-14-8
Major Honors: World Cup Champions (1930, 1950); 13-time Copa America Champions
Manager: Victor Pua (URU)
Stars: Alvaro Recoba, (F, Inter Milan); Paolo Montero, (D, Juventus);
Group A Opponents: Denmark, France, Senegal
Approx Odds to Win World Cup: 100-1
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
| Other Group A Profiles |
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G Fabian Carini, Juventus (ITA)
D Alejandro Lembo, Nacional (URU)
D Paolo Montero, Juventus (ITA)
D Pablo Garcia, Venezia (ITA)
D Washington Tais, Real Betis (ESP)
M Nicolas Olivera, Sevilla (ESP)
M Gianni Guigou, Roma (ITA)
M Fabian O?Neill, Perugia (ITA)
M Alvaro Recoba, Inter Milan (ITA)
F Dario Silva, Malaga (ESP)
F Sebastian Abreu, Cruz Azul (MEX)
MYTH MAKERS SEARCHING FOR A NEW LEGEND
Uruguay are football's great lost power. To someone growing up in the 1940s or 1950s the name Uruguay meant footballing excellence; it meant skill and verve.
Uruguay were the first South American masters of the game. First they came to Europe and beat the Europeans at the Olympics, then they invited the Europeans to South America and beat them there as well - but this time it was for the first World Cup.
Afraid of losing their best players to Italy and Spain they largely ignored the 1934 and 1938 contests, but at the first tournament after the Second World War they re-emerged and won again, beating Brazil in the Maracana Stadium in front of 200,000 partisan fans.
Uruguay were mythical, they were legendary, they were unbeatable. Then they disappeared off the face of the football world.
Uruguay still have a great record in the Copa America, and they have qualified for their share of World Cups down the years, but a football fan today is as likely to identify Uruguay with the violence of the 1986 version as they are with the sublime skills of Schiaffino, Cubilla or Francescoli.
Uruguay are no longer at the forefront of South American futb?l - in truth they are very much a middling side, well below the standards set by Argentina, Brazil or even Colombia. But at least they are going to Korea.
The last of the 32 teams to reach the finals, Uruguay did not have the hardest or most convoluted qualification. Far from it, by virtue of finishing fifth in the South American section they were awarded with a play-off against Australia, a relatively straightforward route.
Uruguay did have to play 18 games though, just to get that far. And when you add on the two-legged play-off, and tens of thousands of air miles clocked up flying between Montevideo and Melbourne, the whole hyper-extended nature of modern World Cup qualification becomes clear.
It was also an incredibly tight qualification. Uruguay only edged out Colombia by one goal, and while they eventually scored three goals against the Australians in Montevideo's famous old Estadio Centenario, the one-nil defeat they suffered in Melbourne meant five sleepless nights for most Uruguay fans.
Uruguay seemed to struggle to score enough goals, only netting 19 in 18 qualifiers. On the other hand though, Uruguay do not concede many goals - even Argentina conceded more than Uruguay's paltry 13.
It is strange then that Uruguay's undoubted star player, Alvaro Recoba of Inter Milan, is an attacker. Reputedly one of the highest (if not the highest) paid players in the world, Recoba has the talent to turn any match he plays in. He has electric pace, and a remarkable touch on the ball, that come together to make him one of the most feared attackers in Europe.
It has not always been this way for Recoba though. He may well be sitting at the top of the Italian Serie A, and his goalscoring record since March has been outstanding, but going back only 18 months he seemed to be the odd man out at Inter.
Stories abounded that Recoba was up for sale, and at a low price. He was supposed to be going to Liverpool one week, the next he was going to Celtic, then he was going back to South America or he may have been staying in Italy, but certainly not at Inter.
But he stuck it out, gained a regular place (and a real passport) when Vieri and Ronaldo went down he came on massively. With a fully firing Recoba, Uruguay have a good chance of success in Korea. But on his own Recoba will be able to do little - he is no Maradona or Pel?.
So who does he have with him? Standing dominant in defence is Paolo Montero of Juventus. Three or four years ago Montero was regarded as one of the strongest, toughest, most uncompromising defenders in Europe. Today he is slower, and less mobile, but nonetheless still as imposing as ever.
Unfortunately for the Uruguayans he is also seriously injured - his knee ligament damage should be cleared up by mid April, but no one recovers fully from that type of injury so fast. Without him Uruguay will not be serious contenders. With him, Uruguay will have a chance.
After Recoba and Montero, Uruguay will look to the likes of Gianni Guigou of Roma, Walter Pandiani of Deportivo and Dario Silva of Malaga to pose problems. But though these players possess lots of ability, they are not regarded as being part of Europe's elite. They will be hard to beat, not unbeatable.
So a decent, solid side has reached the World Cup Finals. They cannot be classed as probable winners, but how far can they realistically go? Drawn in a tough group, alongside Senegal (recent runners' up in the African Cup of Nations), Denmark (who so nearly eliminated Brazil four years ago) and World and European Champions France, you have to wonder whether the Uruguayans will even reach the Second Round.
It will be vitally important that Uruguay defeat Denmark in their opening game in Ulsan - a loss here, and they are as good as out already. If they can win (or at least avoid defeat) Uruguay will then face their biggest test, the mighty French in Busan. It will be a big achievement for Uruguay to stop France winning, and a draw is the best they can hope for.
So two games in, Uruguay can hope for four points at best, but more realistically will be looking at only one or two. That makes the final game against Senegal do or die.
It is possible for Uruguay to get through, but they will get no further than the second round. Lying in wait for the second Group A qualifier is the winner of Group F - and that almost certainly means England or Argentina.
Even if Uruguay somehow get past that hurdle, next up come Brazil, and then the French again. This is not going to be a competition Uruguay is going to win.
Two World Cup victories is something England and France cannot claim. It is something that only Argentina have been able to achieve in the last 20 years. It is remarkable for a country so small and so long off of the main stage of football.
It is not an achievement Uruguay is going to add to this summer. Instead of counting success in terms of the overall victory though, most Uruguay fans would settle for progress to the last 16.
It is a long way back to the top of the football ladder. As Uruguay are still down on the bottom rungs, taking a few steps further up would do very nicely this summer.
Courtesy of our friends at World Cup Archive
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