Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay qualified for the semi-finals of the Copa America at the expense of Brazil (0-0, 4 penalties to 2) in a defensive style that does not resemble their coach… Reduced to ten men after the expulsion of Nahitan Nandez (74th), the Uruguayans then closed shop until the penalty shootout.
Bielsa, a champion of attacking play, assumes: “We decided to focus on defending in our own half of the pitch. Maintaining this result shows the profile of Uruguayan football, because they are the players who give everything to the team. I am a little more attracted to attacking play than to defensive play, but in a match as tight as this one, we created one more opportunity than our opponent and we defended well.”
Asked about the weakness of the spectacle during this competition, the former OM coach noted: “We are promoting business, because business is that a lot of people watch the matches. But there are fewer and fewer footballers who are worth watching, the game is less and less enjoyable.”
