Quick, who is the fourth-best team in the world? If the World Cup is the barometer then the correct answer is Uruguay. World Cup results aren't the best way to determine the best teams in the world and Uruguay isn't the best team in the world, but it was quite a run for the men in blue and white in South Africa. The ably played the role of Cinderella, going all the way to the semifinals thanks to the exploits of the tournament's Golden Ball winner, Diego Forlan, Africa's Hand of the Devil, Luis Suarez, and the criminally underrated Diego Lugano.
Copa America 2011 Preview: How Far Can Uruguay’s Three-Headed Monster Take Them?
While undoubtedly the 2010 World Cup's Cinderella, success on the part of the Uruguayans is not too much of a surprise. After all, their front line consists of Forlan, Suarez and Edinson Cavani. Lugano anchors the backline with the strong Diego Godin. They can bring players like Nicolas Lodeiro and Walter Gargano off the bench. Uruguay is a team packed with talent.
Success in Copa America isn't foreign to La Celeste either, advancing to at least the semifinals in four consecutive tournament. Four years ago they finished in fourth-place, losing in the semifinals to eventual champions Brazil, but not until they had gone all the way to penalty kicks. In Copa America 2004 they also made it to the semifinals, again losing to Brazil in penalty kicks before winning the third-place match. In 2001 they also made the semifinals, losing to Mexico, and in 1999 they advanced to the final before losing to Brazil.
This time around, Uruguay won’t be looking for just a fifth consecutive semifinal appearance. Sure, Brazil and Argentina remain the favorites, while Paraguay and Chile are tough teams, but Uruguay has a Copa America title on their minds and for good reason.
Few teams can claim the attacking talent of Uruguay with the aforementioned attacking trio of Forlan, Suarez and Cavani. Forlan didn’t just pick up the Golden Ball in the World Cup after tying for the tournament lead in scoring. He’s scored five times for Uruguay since. Suarez had three goals of his own at the World Cup and proved his quality at Liverpool this spring after dominating the Eredivisie for three and a half year. Oh yeah, and then there’s Cavani, often overlooked, but quickly becoming one of the best attackers there is with a sublime combination of size, speed and skill that helped him score 33 times for Napoli this season.
While they will line up with Gaston Ramirez, Suarez and Cavani underneath Forlan, it’s not really a balanced or true 3-1 attacking formation. Forlan does play the role of target man, gathering the ball and laying it off for his teammates, but it would be dishonest to call Suarez or Cavani midfielders. They are forwards or wingers, your choice.
Suarez will push up high, just underneath Forlan, or even at times right next to Forlan. He’s a smart player who likes to pick his spots and is very active, moving about the field to find open space wherever it may be. Like Forlan and Suarez, Cavani is big and strong and is dangerous in the air as well. As active as Suarez may be, Cavani is more so. He will lineup out wide, but will cut in regularly and find himself central. That suits him well too because few players in the world are as good as he is at making runs from deep into the box and getting on the end of crosses.
What makes Uruguay’s attacking trio so difficult to defend is how capable they are at pretty much everything in the attacking half. All three are strong with the shortest of them, Forlan, being the target man who can bring the ball down and wear on defenders as well as anyone. They all have ferocious shots from distance. All three are also dangerous when they run at defenses and all can slide out wide to create plays out there as well as finish in near goal. With the three of them being able to do so much and their constant moving, it is very difficult for any defense to keep them all under check.
It’s easy to look at Uruguay’s three-headed monster and be amazed. There is no doubt that they are the heart of the team and for the most part, Uruguay will go as far as Forlan, Suarez and Cavani take them. That said, they are formidable at the back. They won’t be the stingiest of defenses, but they can more than do their job with Lugano and Godin handling the dirty work in the middle. This is a team that allowed just two goals in their first five World Cup matches last summer so clean sheets are not rare for La Celeste.
It is that strong back line that allows the attacking players to fly forward with abandon. None of Uruguay’s attacking trio is asked to do much defending. Instead, they look to pick out goals and few, if any teams in Copa America will have three players who can light up the scoreboard quite like Uruguay.
Projected Starting Lineup (4-2-3-1)
GK Fernando Muslera LB Martin Caceres CB Diego Godin CB Diego Lugano RB Maxi Pereira CM Diego Perez CM Egidio Arevalo LM Gaston Ramirez ACM Luis Suarez RM Edinson Cavani ST Diego Forlan
Key Player
Edinson Cavani - When talking about the Uruguayan attack the focus is usually on Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, but this might be the summer when people start focusing on Edinson Cavani. He is coming off of a sensational season for Napoli and is capable of creating chances and goals from absolutely nothing, something that will prove valuable with the aging Forlan coming off a sub-par season.
Prediction
It will be somewhat of a changing of the guard for Uruguay this summer. Diego Forlan will continue to be good, but he will not have to be the center of the attack at all times. Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani will pick up the slack and Uruguay will be back in the semifinals, but once again Brazil will get the best of them in another hard fought match.
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