But that’s not why, even as he spoke of 2030, Diego Forlan was not looking too far ahead. His contract after replacing Bielsa as Uruguay head coach is till March 2027. As has been seen at Leeds United, Marseille and Chile, it is not easy to succeed Marcelo Bielsa.
Asked why he agreed, Forlan, who has 112 caps and 36 goals for Uruguay and won the Golden Ball in the 2010 World Cup, simply said: “Well, the offer was not permanent. After coming back to lead 2-1, Mumbai City FC lost 2-3 and drew 0-0 at home.
“Sunil (Chhetri), great player but could not score (in the return leg).”
That he took charge after Uruguay were the highest ranked team to exit from the group stage of a 48-team World Cup mattered little, he said. Forlan is also in charge of the under-20 team which he will take to the South American qualifiers for the under-20 World Cup in January. To mark 100 years of the World Cup, Uruguay, where the first edition was held, will host one match in 2030.
Because “it is a great opportunity, he still accepted. Because of how tough we are, “It is not. Ranked 19th at the last World Cup, Uruguay are 20th in the world now. It is the way we play till the end of the game. It doesn’t matter who we play but we will make it difficult for the opponents. Feisty, yes. Fighters, no. “We have great players, a great national team. “When you are a manager, of course, it is different but if you were an intelligent player, if you use common sense, in time you would know what to do.
“Let’s see if I have the chance to continue to the World Cup in 2030 where we are going to have the opportunity to play our first game in Uruguay after 100 years,” he said with a smile. “I think sometimes people are mistaken a little bit in the way they talk about the way Uruguay play,” said Forlan. The experience of being an elite player, he said, can be an advantage.
