diego
01-07-2011, 05:55 PM
link (http://www.ole.com.ar/fuera-de-juego/final-Maracana-maldicion_0_404359670.html)
Its a long interview, the first half is about soccer's role in society and educating kids, if someone wants I'll translate, the second half which I found more interesting continues like this:
Ole (argentine newspaper): Are we an example?
Tabarez: Sure, but you are asking me after a WC, and a WC is very circumstantial. ¿What would have been said if Ghana scored their penalty (NdeR: he refers to the one Gyan missed at the 92')? ¿And if we beat holland? Because we dominated Holland. The same with Argentina. They blew out everyone and only had one mistake: not being able to stop the German counter attack. The problem is you guys want to write before the games start. Its as if there was an obligation to say what will happen. When the WC groups were drawn we were given condolences: because of France, because of the group of death, because of bla bla bla... Smoke, nothing but smoke. And now the same, for the Copa América.
-Chile, México and Perú, ¿How do you see it?
-We start a step above. That and nothing more. After that, Argentina and Brasil remain a step above us. Around here people say we are favorites. No, that's not true. Or that we will reach the next WC final just because it will be in the Maracaná. The Maracaná, precisely the Maracaná, that curse.
-¿Curse?
-Curse, yes, because in the end that title was used to give a negative message, subliminally. With all the Maracaná represents for uruguayans, we were made to believe we'd never again be protagonists, that that feat was untouchable and wouldn't be repeated, that those were the only champions, the team from the 50's, not you, anyone, anyone since, you, who will never triumph like that. Of the Maracanazo nothing can be said, always untouchable, always there. They'd made us believe we won because we were manlier. That they got afraid.
I spoke about this with Máspoli, with Obdulio Varela, with Ghiggia. Schiaffino told me: "¿But how can anyone think we beat them because we were tougher? We were just as good as they were. Before the WC, in fact, we had already beat them in Brasil". The thing was the stadium, those 200 thousand people: that was amazing.
But not that thing about toughness.
Going in hard, as we like to say (I cant get a better translation of the phrase that doesnt sound too sexual :lol). Since then, Uruguay believed they had to kick someone before the 5 minute mark, or hit someone after, because we're tough, even when the game was out of reach. The number of times we did that, thinking that was the way we had to play. The uruguayan player no longer went to play ball: he went fishing for miracles.
And watch out if they didn't get it, because it was to betray the country. ¿Do you know what the Uruguay press said of my team in Italia 90?
-No.
-That it was a team of girls. My speech isnt new. I always believed in this style (sic). ¿Do you know that Uruguay was the team that intercepted the most passes this WC? ¿And third in least fouls committed? ¿And why? Because we bet on an idea, a different idea. While people want results for yesterday, we want a cultural change. Because futbol can do it. I already told you: fútbol can change society.
Its a long interview, the first half is about soccer's role in society and educating kids, if someone wants I'll translate, the second half which I found more interesting continues like this:
Ole (argentine newspaper): Are we an example?
Tabarez: Sure, but you are asking me after a WC, and a WC is very circumstantial. ¿What would have been said if Ghana scored their penalty (NdeR: he refers to the one Gyan missed at the 92')? ¿And if we beat holland? Because we dominated Holland. The same with Argentina. They blew out everyone and only had one mistake: not being able to stop the German counter attack. The problem is you guys want to write before the games start. Its as if there was an obligation to say what will happen. When the WC groups were drawn we were given condolences: because of France, because of the group of death, because of bla bla bla... Smoke, nothing but smoke. And now the same, for the Copa América.
-Chile, México and Perú, ¿How do you see it?
-We start a step above. That and nothing more. After that, Argentina and Brasil remain a step above us. Around here people say we are favorites. No, that's not true. Or that we will reach the next WC final just because it will be in the Maracaná. The Maracaná, precisely the Maracaná, that curse.
-¿Curse?
-Curse, yes, because in the end that title was used to give a negative message, subliminally. With all the Maracaná represents for uruguayans, we were made to believe we'd never again be protagonists, that that feat was untouchable and wouldn't be repeated, that those were the only champions, the team from the 50's, not you, anyone, anyone since, you, who will never triumph like that. Of the Maracanazo nothing can be said, always untouchable, always there. They'd made us believe we won because we were manlier. That they got afraid.
I spoke about this with Máspoli, with Obdulio Varela, with Ghiggia. Schiaffino told me: "¿But how can anyone think we beat them because we were tougher? We were just as good as they were. Before the WC, in fact, we had already beat them in Brasil". The thing was the stadium, those 200 thousand people: that was amazing.
But not that thing about toughness.
Going in hard, as we like to say (I cant get a better translation of the phrase that doesnt sound too sexual :lol). Since then, Uruguay believed they had to kick someone before the 5 minute mark, or hit someone after, because we're tough, even when the game was out of reach. The number of times we did that, thinking that was the way we had to play. The uruguayan player no longer went to play ball: he went fishing for miracles.
And watch out if they didn't get it, because it was to betray the country. ¿Do you know what the Uruguay press said of my team in Italia 90?
-No.
-That it was a team of girls. My speech isnt new. I always believed in this style (sic). ¿Do you know that Uruguay was the team that intercepted the most passes this WC? ¿And third in least fouls committed? ¿And why? Because we bet on an idea, a different idea. While people want results for yesterday, we want a cultural change. Because futbol can do it. I already told you: fútbol can change society.