Uruguayan Football 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
In August 1913, Montevideo hosted a Brazilian football team for the first time when a combined São Paulo league side toured the Río de la Plata. While the first official Uruguay-Brazil international match took place in 1916, the Paulista visit was no less significant. Upon the arrival of the São Paulo delegation, a Montevideo daily was … Continue reading [Footballing] Blackness in a White Nation: Uruguay vs Brazil, 1913
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
Uruguay goes to Russia 2018 with an exciting young midfield..but this new look is in fact a return to a style of old..
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
On October 9, 1949, Peñarol and Nacional played the 193rd edition of the Uruguayan Clásico. Despite torrential rain lashing Montevideo since the early morning, the Estadio Centenario was filled to capacity, with an excited and expectant Peñarol support forming the majority in the stands. And they had reason to be excited. The arrival of Emerico … Continue reading Clásico de la Fuga: the day they never returned
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
"Those at FIFA are a bunch of old sons of bitches" To those familiar with contemporary debates surrounding the governance of world football, the statement above is not shocking. When muttered by a current head of state however... Indeed, these words were spoken by José 'Pepe' Mujica, president of Uruguay, as he described the treatment … Continue reading ‘Pepe’ and ‘La Celeste’: another re-think of the ‘garra Charrua’
From Beauty to Duty 