Who Could Be The New Coach Of Uruguay?

Two months after playing the next double elimination date, Uruguay does not have a technical director after the departure of 'Maestro' Oscar Washington Tabárez, who lasted 15 years in office. In the midst of the fight to obtain the quotas for Qatar 2022, and with only four days to go, the outlook is complicated for the team.

At the moment, only three names are mentioned by the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF): Diego Aguirre, Marcelo Gallardo, and Guillermo Almada. Aguirre is the favorite to stay in office.

Uruguay adds four consecutive defeats in the qualifying rounds, three of them by a landslide, that the seventh place. For now, the Selection is considered a failure.

Diego Aguirre

Better known as 'La Fiera', he is related to the selection process because in 2008, at the request of Tabárez, he took over the leadership of the Sub 20. He is considered by the Uruguayan media as an offensive DT. He is not a technician who marries a particular style or tactical disposition, because he is pragmatic, that is, he varies his style of play according to the squad he has or the opponent on duty.

He was Uruguayan champion twice with Peñarol, and lost the 2011 Copa Libertadores final against Santos. He has shown character in complex moments, and has managed players with experience. He had the luxury of removing Pablo Bengoechea, and Antonio Pacheco de Peñarol. His varied way of seeing football, at first glance, could be difficult for a group of players trained in the same style for more than a decade to adopt.

Also read: Is it Time to say Goodbye to Reinaldo Rueda?

Marcelo gallardo

As in Argentina, and Brazil, in Uruguay the team is closed to the idea of being led by a foreigner. That was the first disadvantage with which the current River Plate coach would start, but it must be remembered that his career as a coach began at the National of Uruguay, with which he was crowned in the domestic tournament.

The trajectory of the 'Doll' is bulletproof due to his multiple successes at the head of the millionaire team in the last seven years, and with which he was recently crowned champion of the Super League. With River he won Copa Libertadores twice (2015, and 2018), a South American Cup (2014), three South American Recopas (2015, 2016, and 2019), and a Suruga Bank (2015).

At the local level, he won the Argentine Cup three times (2015; 2016; 2019), and two Argentine Super Cup (2017, 2019). His style of balance in all the lines, but with a lot of possession, and offensive proposal, looks attractive for a generation of Uruguayan players with talent for it.

He has accumulated experience directing experienced players like those of Uruguay, but he is not accompanied by any experience as coach of national teams. Unlike Aguirre, Gallardo will hardly accept a discreet contract because he makes a lot of money at the River.

Guillermo Almada

Guillermo Almada is the most offensive of the three strategists mentioned in this article, and many believe that his way of seeing football is more similar to what Uruguay has at hand today, but at the same time it is contradictory to what has traditionally characterized Uruguay. 'La Celeste' which is defensive.

In addition, today he looks like the third in the order or the one with the least possibilities of taking command of the Uruguayan team according to his agent, Pablo Rivera. Regarding the 52-year-old technician and born in Tacuarembó, the attorney pointed out that "There is no full certainty, but it is within a letter of candidates, I do not think it is option one or two."

But Rivero praised the work carried out by Almada in Santos Laguna, a Mexican club from which he recently disassociated himself. "He has always been the protagonist in all the Mexican soccer leagues under his technical direction, despite having a fairly austere budget and the squad having been constantly undermined by prioritizing Atlas, the club's other franchise."

Almada, despite his good results, was harshly criticized by the Mexican press for his style of play of always going on the attack and neglecting the defensive strategy in round-trip series, which are usually decided by small details.

Other options

Fabián Coito, former coach of Honduras, heads the list of the so-called "second options" and was taken into account by the authorities of the Uruguayan Soccer Association, along with other strategists of the stature of Hernán Crespo and veteran Gustavo Poyet, former Chelsea player from England. Coito's advantage is based on his knowledge of Uruguay's youth categories, which he coached between 2015 and 2018.