Uruguayan men’s soccer history: a great lesson to learn!

Football and Human Development

Uruguay’s performance in the 2010 World Cup does not surprise many people who have followed their victories and dreams. Fierce competitors, the Uruguayan team made a spectacular leap in 1997 when they came close to winning the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, finishing ahead of Ghana and Ireland. Since then, the national team has not won the tournament, but they paved the way for the Uruguayan soccer team for the World Cup in South Africa in June 2010.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the eyes of the world were on Uruguay. Because? The national team – made up largely of unknown players – became one of the four best squads in the world, eliminating bookmakers’ favorites Brazil – made up of world-famous soccer players. By beating four squads: South Africa, Mexico, South Korea and Ghana, the nation – which had traditionally been the leader in the first half of the 20th century – has become the first Latin American country in 8 years to reach the men’s semifinal. finals

Uruguay’s achievement came despite a series of obstacles: a small nation of some 4 million people, an exodus of players, a lack of sponsors and traditional rivals (Brazil and Argentina). In addition to these obstacles, the country has one of the lowest sports budgets in the Western Hemisphere. However, two factors have contributed to the development of soccer: human development and determination.

1)- Human Development: Due to its remarkable human development -health, nutrition, education and recreation–Uruguay is widely considered one of the most respected democratic countries in the developing world -the envy of many Spanish-speaking republics in the region– since the mid-1900s. 1980s. In the mid-1990s, the UNDP Human Development Index ranked Uruguay – which has no mineral resources such as oil, gas, silver and gold – 32nd out of 173 nations and dependencies. In other words, one of the first priorities of the government is to improve the lives of the children of Uruguay. In fact, these policies have helped improve the country’s sporting performance as well as national pride. As a result, the U-17 soccer team won the right to compete in the 1991 World Youth Championship, a participation that it repeated in 1999, 2005 and 2009.

2)-Determination and Passion: If one word could describe the Uruguayan team it is “determination”. Despite being made up of unknown players, the national team was not intimidated by world famous teams such as France (which did not live up to the hype), Germany and the Netherlands. At the 2010 World Cup, Uruguay, one of the geographically smallest republics in the Western Hemisphere, had earned the respect of fans and pundits alike for their determination and passion. Since then, they, the Uruguayan squad, were aware of the nation’s history as one of the great pioneers of soccer, without a doubt, these players are a symbol of hope and courage.

Dictatorship and Soccer

After the self-coup of 1973, the then Head of State of the nation, José María Bordaberry, an anti-Marxist caudillo, established a de facto dictatorship, with which Uruguay was marked by several problems. The international image of the country had been damaged by the government’s poor anti-democratic and human rights projects. In this environment, sport was not one of the priorities of the Uruguayan dictators, unlike other tyrants in the region, such as the Argentine Jorge Rafael Videla (1976-1981) and the Peruvian Juan Velasco Alvarado (1968-1975).

Year after year, the military regime reversed most Olympic policies. Indeed, football, which had fostered national identity in the first half of the 20th century, entered a period of decline. After Uruguay’s participation in the World Cup in West Germany in June 1974, where they placed 14th, the nation, for example, lost their chance to win an Olympic medal by refusing to send footballers to the Summer Olympics. 1976 in Montreal (Canada). Their most unsuccessful year, however, was 1977 when Uruguay lost 1-0 to Bolivia and failed to compete in the 1978 World Cup. To be sure, the Uruguayan players, who had once beaten Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, were plagued of low morale

By July 1979, surprisingly, the national team did not compete in the Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico (where they were the big favorites). But it was not for lack of talent. Prior to this multi-sports match, the Uruguayan players won the 1979 Sub-20 South American Tournament. In the early 1980s, he decided not to participate in the Continental Olympic Tournament in Colombia. What’s more, despite lifting the Gold Cup in Montevideo, the team, once again, failed to qualify for the 1982 World Cup by failing to win the South American Qualifiers.

Amid economic stagnation, corruption and human rights abuses, up to 200 soccer players have left the country. On the other hand, in 1984, the anti-communist dictatorship resigned after 11 years.

Once upon a time in Uruguay…

During the first half of the 20th century, Uruguay, slightly smaller than Missouri, wrote one of the most remarkable chapters in Latin American history, as the country won praise from the international community for upholding democracy, human rights and human development. As a result, Uruguay, which had one of the highest per capita incomes in the Western Hemisphere, had been compared to Switzerland and other European nations. At the same time, the Spanish-speaking republic held one of the most important Olympic projects in the American continent.

In fact, sport, along with education, was a high priority of the Uruguayan domain. It was during this time -considered the “Golden Age” of Uruguayan history- that the national team was the leader of soccer on the planet. Since then, soccer stars, including Obdulio Varela -who led the national team to win the 1950 FIFA World Cup-, José Nasazzi and Pedro Cea -who managed the Uruguayan Olympic soccer team that won the gold medal in Paris 1924 and Amsterdam 1928- – were known in schools, universities and factories.

In its prime, the Uruguayan squad -a great Latin American pride- won consecutive gold medals in Olympic soccer in 1924 -at that time no other Latin American country had even won the Olympic trophy- and 1928, in addition to winning the first-ever the men’s World Cup title in 1930. These victories, on the other hand, are considered among the most remarkable stories in football, which had inspired Brazil to produce world-class teams. However, the most outstanding performance occurred in 1950. In that year, the Uruguayan soccer team achieved glory by defeating Brazil, the host country, and lifting the world title, an event that took place at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The country’s victory is a milestone in football history.

These achievements gave the South American nation a prestige in the world disproportionate to its size and population. Certainly, the democratic system did a lot to win international matches. Unfortunately, these victories did not continue as the military dictatorship was established in the early 1970s.

Uruguay – A country of sports lovers

Since the 1970s, governments have not given high priority to sport. Despite this, Uruguay – with a population of 4 million – has had extraordinary champions, including Ana Maria Norbis (aquatics), Fiorella Bonicelli (tennis), Sergio Lafuente (weightlifting) and Ricardo Vera (athletics). Meanwhile, their basketball players were also particularly successful. At the FIBA ​​World Championship Colombia in the early 1980s, Uruguayan athlete Wilfredo Ruiz was the first top scorer. Two years later, in 1984, for example, the national basketball team beat Canada and earned the right to compete in the Los Angeles Summer Olympics (where they finished sixth). Previously, Uruguay became the only Latin American team to take back-to-back Olympic bronzes in basketball.

Aside from soccer and basketball, Uruguay has won accolades for its international cyclists and rowers. In the 1980s, the national rower Jesús Posse came close to winning the gold medal at the World Championships, an international meeting dominated by Eastern Europe. At the 2000 Summer Games in Oceania, cyclist Milton Wybnants was the first runner-up, behind Juan Llaneras of Spain.

Finally, the Uruguayan government should design an ambitious program to place Uruguay, sometimes called the “Switzerland of the Americas”, among the top ten sports world countries in this century. Like South Korea, one of the world’s most successful Olympic nations since 1988, this Spanish-speaking republic should think big.