Uruguay striving for continuity at Copa América

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Oscar Tabárez, coach of the Uruguayan national soccer team, said La Celeste has the talent to stay alive in Copa América's so-called "Group of Death."

"The fact that we are going to play Copa América with the same base of players that played at the World Cup is important, because that means we are not going to start from zero," said Tabárez, who guided the team to a fourth-place finish in South Africa last July, the team's best at the event in 40 years.

Tabárez will use the same team, led by star forward Diego Forlán, that turned heads at the World Cup. Uruguay was the last team to qualify for the event, yet it finished just two wins shy of winning it all.

But it won't be easy for Uruguay at Copa América, which runs from July 1 to 24 in Argentina. La Celeste, ranked seventh in the world by FIFA, will face 54th-ranked Peru on July 4 in San Juan and 13th-ranked Chile on July 8 in Mendoza before concluding Group C play against 28th-ranked Mexico on July 12 in La Plata.

Uruguay last won Copa América in 1995 with a victory over Brazil, but it has finished in the top four in each of the past four Copa Américas. The team placed second in 1999, third in 2004 and fourth in 2001 and 2007.

“Uruguay has a lot of [soccer] history and it shows,” said Forlán, the team’s top player who was awarded the Golden Ball at the World Cup for being voted by the media as the tournament’s best player by the media.

Forlán said Uruguay has tough tests in Argentina.

“Chile has grown up a lot in the last few years,” he said on the website of Spain’s Atlético Madrid, his club team. “Peru plays very well and Mexico’s younger players always shine. These teams play very well and I am sure they will show it in this competition.”

Uruguay is coming off a victory over the Netherlands, which is ranked second in the world and finished second at the World Cup, to win in the Copa Confraternidad title on June 8 in Montevideo, Uruguay. Uruguay won 4-3 in penalty kicks after the teams played to a 1-1 draw in regulation and extra time. The Netherlands defeated Uruguay in the semifinals of the World Cup, 3-2.

“This is a challenge for my team, especially after the World Cup,” he said. “Overall this will be a very special Copa América.”

Forlán said Copa América is filled with contenders.

“It would be risky to say who will make it to the final at this point,” Forlán said. “Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay or Chile could be favorites. It is complicated to say who will make it to the final.”

Uruguayans are confident their team can end Brazil’s reign as two-time defending Copa América champion.

“I think the team is very good,” said Rodrigo Tellería, a 31-year-old who works for a leather goods company in Montevideo. “The team has kept its identity, fighting every ball as if it was the last. Besides, historically we have done well at the Copa América. I think we will be among the top three and I would love to see a final against Brazil.”

Fans also said Tabárez made the right choice by not shuffling the team’s roster.

“I think the coach has a clear vision of what is needed and he is preparing the selection well,” said Gonzalo Ramos, a 30-year-old financial consultant. “We are lacking a little bit of collective game and speed at the beginning, but we have a very good defense and front line forwards.”

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