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Coach Marcelo Bielsa looked desolate after Uruguay's World Cup campaign ended in disappointment Friday, saying he was fully responsible for the team's elimination and blaming himself for leaving nothing good for Uruguayan soccer during his stint with the national team.
Uruguay lost 1-0 to Spain, leaving the tournament without any victories. It was coming off draws against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde. It was newcomer Cape Verde that advanced from Group H in second-place behind Spain.
Bielsa, the Argentine coach whose contract with Uruguay's soccer federation was valid through the World Cup, said in the past that his work with the national team would end after the tournament in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. He voice had a farewell tone on Friday.
"What do I leave for Uruguayan soccer?" he said. "Nothing, because any contribution that a coach might make to soccer 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 América 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 team's campaign at the World Cup, 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 its performances.
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"I think we deserved to win seven points from the three matches, but we leave with only two points," he said.
At 19th in the FIFA rankings, Uruguay is the highest-ranked team to be eliminated so far.
It was the second time Bielsa coached a team that didn't 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.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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