Tabarez wants to write new Uruguay chapter

Carlos Tabarez, who was only a toddler when Uruguay won their last World Cup in 1950, gets the chance on Saturday to take the South Americans a step closer to lifting the 2010 title.

“I was three when Uruguay won in 1950. Throughout my childhood I heard about that champion side all the time, and one of them, Alchides (Ghiggia), is with us here in South Africa,” the Uruguay boss said Friday.

“It’s very difficult to draw parallels between generations of footballers – Uruguayans have the 1950 team right up there in heaven, that side are held in extraordinary esteem.

“Can we achieve the same? I think that’s still out of our reach, but we will do our best.”

Tabarez’s Uruguay have upset the form book by making it into Saturday’s last 16 match-up against South Korea as winners of Group A after defeats of South Africa and Mexico and a draw with 2006 finalists France.

That has raised heady expectations back home in Montevideo.

Tabarez reflected: “We are all human and can dream of becoming world champions but that’s not a good exercise – we don’t want to lose our heads or minds and get too euphoric.

“We have got to concentrate on South Korea first and then we’ll see.

“Me and the players have had a lot of news from back home, from speaking to our friends and families and on the Internet.

“We ask them what’s the atmosphere like and apparently our games are being watched in schools and shopping malls, lots of children are following us.

“Daily life is being interrupted, there are a lot of parties, we hope they will have reason to continue their celebrations tomorrow.

“We don’t want to build castles in the air but we’re not going to give up without giving our best.”

Turning to the obstacle standing in their way of a ticket to the quarter-finals he ran his eye over what he regarded were the South Korea team’s qualities and defects.

“South Korea are collectively very strong, they are very good at attacking and defending, they work together leaving very few spaces.

“A large part of what they do is based on attack, so they appear to have some defensive problems.

“They say football is like a short blanket which can either cover your head or your feet but not both, South Korea are a little like that, they can leave their defensive toes exposed.

“Apart from that they’ve got a great squad and it’s going to be a tough one – our aim is to get to the quarters, that’s our dream, but we can’t be sure of making it.”