On August 15, 1910, Uruguay and Argentina contested the sixth edition of the Copa Lipton, the most important international fixture in Rioplatense football at the time. Uruguay were in one of their lowest moments. Just two months earlier in Buenos Aires, they suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat to Argentina in the final of the Copa … Continue reading The Birth of La Celeste
Author: Martin da Cruz
Óscar Míguez
Luis Suárez is just one goal away from equalling Uruguay’s all-time World Cup scoring record. If he isn’t already, he’ll soon be considered the greatest striker – if not footballer - in the country’s history. But most remain unaware of the player whose record Suárez is about to break, Óscar Míguez, who holds the record … Continue reading Óscar Míguez
The Return of the Combination: a Uruguay World Cup 2018 preview..
Uruguay goes to Russia 2018 with an exciting young midfield..but this new look is in fact a return to a style of old..
Football and Revolution
In 1964, Mario Benedetti described football as anesthesia. It was a social drug, co-opted and exploited by governments who encouraged the people to forget their problems. If only for ninety minutes, football was an escape from social and economic uncertainties that would otherwise control one’s life. Five years later, Benedetti’s words still held true. May … Continue reading Football and Revolution
The 1909 Tottenham-Everton tour of the River Plate
Uruguayans always looked to the British. Since those early days in the open spaces of Punta Carretas, the Uruguayan’s relationship with the game of the ‘crazy English’ evolved from curiosity, to admiration, to imitation. Given the opportunity, the Uruguayan took the game and made it their own. They say from there developed that famous, home-grown … Continue reading The 1909 Tottenham-Everton tour of the River Plate
Chile 2015, Uruguay 1955
You could hardly believe it. Arturo Vidal, one of Chile’s main men, involved in a serious car accident involving his wife, his Ferrari, and within minutes, an entire nation. He had been drinking, and was travelling at an extremely high speed. For Vidal, his wife, and others to survive such an accident was unbelievable. Even … Continue reading Chile 2015, Uruguay 1955
From Beauty to Duty
The history of football is a sad voyage from beauty to duty. When the sport became an industry, the beauty that blossoms from the joy of play got torn out by its very roots. In this fin de siècle world, professional soccer condemns all that is useless, and useless means not profitable. Nobody earns a … Continue reading From Beauty to Duty
Hohberg
In Uruguay, football is life and death. The desire to win has led to desperate actions that would normally be written off as lunacy in other parts of the world. Indeed, incidents involving Luis Suárez and Álvaro Pereira show how such a desire continues to this day. Every match, Uruguayans leave everything on the pitch to prove themselves to the world. The World Cup of 1954 showed … Continue reading Hohberg