Uruguayan Football History
Stories from Uruguay’s footballing history
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
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
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
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
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
The first welfare state in the Americas. The first to field black players in international tournaments. The first South American champions, and the first world champions. They hosted the first World Cup. They invented the vuelta olimpica (the victory lap). They invented futsal. They were the first to recognize the Armenian genocide, the first to … Continue reading Gardel
From Beauty to Duty 