Uruguay’s out-going Argentinean coach Marcelo Bielsa has previously described himself as a ‘toxic perfectionist’.
By The Associated Press and Al Jazeera staff
and
The Associated Press
Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa has taken full responsibility for his team’s elimination from World Cup 2026 and blamed himself for leaving ‘nothing good’ for Uruguayan football during his stint with the national team.
The South Americans lost 1-0 to group-winning Spain to leave the tournament without a victory. The exit came off the back of draws against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde – the latter, newcomers to the World Cup advanced from Group H in second -place.
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At 19th in the FIFA rankings, Uruguay is the highest-ranked team to be eliminated so far.
Bielsa, the Argentine coach whose contract with Uruguay’s Football Association was valid through the World Cup, said in the past that his work with the national team would end after the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The 70-year-old, who previously managed in the English Premier League with Leeds United, admitted in a media conference in November – after the 5-1 defeat by USA – that he was “toxic”, associating it with his drive for perfection.
“I’ve received a lot of complaints about my behaviour,” he conceded, amid rumours of a pre-tournament mutiny by the players.
Bielsa’s reflection had a similar tone following the end of the World Cup campaign.
“What do I leave for Uruguayan football?” he said. “Nothing, because any contribution that a coach might make to football in a country after three years of work never truly takes hold if results aren’t achieved.
“Fourth place in the qualifiers didn’t count for much and a third-place finish in the Copa America didn’t either. And there is obviously no need to spell it out after what happened now.
“A tenure that left nothing behind.”
The veteran coach took full responsibility for the World Cup campaign, saying he should have been able to get the team to do more considering the quality of its players. But he did feel that Uruguay should have had better luck considering the performances.
“I think we deserved to win seven points from the three matches, but we leave with only two points,” he said.
It was the second time Bielsa coached a team that did not advance past the group stage at the World Cup, following Argentina’s debacle in the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. He helped Chile reach the round of 16 of the tournament in South Africa in 2010 for his best World Cup result.
