This Wednesday at the centenary stadium and in front of more than 200 attendees, Marcelo Bielsa was officially presented as coach of the Uruguay National Team, who will lead the process until the end of the 2026 World Cup according to the agreed contractual relationship.
The “Crazy” as he is nicknamed, has been without coaching for just over a year and his last experience on the bench was in the Premier League with Leeds, which he coached until February 2022 after 170 games, 81 wins, 30 draws and 59 losses.
The Argentine started the press conference by explaining why he accepted the offer from the Celestes team. “They did not have to convince me, I would almost say the opposite. My desire to belong to this project has two extremes that are very convincing for me: One is the players that Uruguay has and the other is the recipient of the work of a team that is the ordinary citizen of the country in question”, were the Bielsa’s first words as coach of the South American team.
Bielsa comes to a team that comes from playing a poor role in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, after not being able to advance from the group stage, also this same 2023 he will play 18 points in the Conmebol Qualifiers and in just over a year he will play the Cup America 2024.
On the other hand, the two-time world champion team has an excellent replacement generation and Bielsa will have to make that transition between veterans like Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani to new names like Federico Valverde, Ronald Araujo or Giorgian De Arrascaeta.
“The condition is not to be young but to be the best. Players enter a place if they are better than those they displace. Age is just a seasoning that can be positive or negative. Generational processes are natural and occur a little sooner or later, it is very difficult for me to venture how a cycle can occur that does not start and on which I have not taken any measure that could influence ”, analyzed the strategist.
millionaire salary
This will be the third team that Bielsa directs. Argentina from 1998 to 2004 and Chile from 2008 to 2011 are the precedents of the coach leading national teams.
His new contract with the eleventh from Río de la Plata suggests one of the highest paid agreements for a Conmebol coach. Bielsa will receive close to $2 million dollars per year, making him one of the highest paid coaches in the southern subcontinent, even ahead of Lionel Scaloni who with the world champion team has an approximate salary of $1.2 million dollars.
The debut of the team in charge of Bielsa will be with a couple of friendlies in June against Cuba and Nicaragua. He will then go for the points in the double qualifying date in September, against the Chilean and Ecuadorian teams.
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