Uruguay - Team Fact Sheet

10 Unique Facts about Urugay's World Cup Hopefuls

When you think of Uruguay, you think of Paraguay, and then you wonder what the heck a 'guay' is anyway! It's gotta mean something! If we looked on Wikipedia, we'd probably find out, but frankly, we're comfortable not knowing. (That probably goes for you too.) We haven't known for years, so what's a few more.

But Uruguayans have heard it all before. They're accustomed to being overshadowed by the sexy Brazilians and the fiery Argentines. But in football, this little Spanish-speaking nation of 3.3 million people doesn't respect prestige or reputation. They've played against the best and beat 'em plenty of times. After all, who do you think won the first ever World Cup, huh? Yah, suck on that Brazil! You too Paraguay, you name robbers!

Though it's true that Uruguay's best years seem behind them, we wonder if they might be about to revive their fortunes as giant killers and start taking home the big prizes again. We're keen to see.

So here's the top 10 facts you need to know about the Uruguayan football team:

10. The Uruguayan football team is known by the nicknames Charrúas (an indigenous group that is now "extinct"), La Celeste Olímpica (The Olympic Sky Blue) & La Celeste (The Sky Blue), in reference to their national colours. We think Charrúas is cool - way to respect your heritage, guys!

9. Uruguay has won the Copa America trophy 14 times - a record they share with Argentina. However, most of these wins were achieved decades ago, and they haven't won this trophy since 1995. As time ticks away, Brazil and other teams are catching up to that tally. And Argentina, who could take the lead outright anytime, has been runner-up the last two times. So Uruguay better get it together soon!

8. Oscar Tabarez coaches the Uruguayan national team. After the squad failed to qualify under a different coach in 2006, he was called again to bring back glory. With his previous experience as team coach during the 1990 World Cup, where they reached the Round of 16, he went to quick work and was able to get the Uruguayans qualified again for 2010. They barely made it, though, with a sheet of 6 wins, 6 draws and 6 defeats. They beat out Ecuador by just a point. But that's ancient history now. They're focused on the future. Tabarez will have his hands full in 2010, but he seems to have the skills necessary to make this team go far. We'll see.

7. Diego Lugano is the captain of the Uruguay team. A central defender on the national side since 2003, he plays in the Turkish club league. But he did miss a crucial penalty against Brazil in the 2007 Copa America semi-final which eliminated Uruguay, so we're sure he's itching to get a chance for redemption. We'll pronounce it in Spanish: ree-dem-she-ohwn. C'mon Lugano, you know you want it!

6. Héctor Scarone is Uruguay's top scorer with 31 goals. One of those legends from years gone by, this inside right played on the national team from 1917-1930, producing some of the crucial shots that gave his team titles, trophies and cups. He played professional club soccer for 22 years, then became a coach afterwards. He died many years ago, of course, but remains a star in the hearts of the Uruguayans.

5. Rodolfo Rodríguez has earned himself Uruguay's most caps with 79. As goalkeeper for the national side from 1976-1986, he also played in a half-dozen clubs in South America and Europe.

4. Uruguay's oldest player is Sebastián Abreu (b. 1976), nicknamed El Loco (The Mad Man). A striker for a dozen clubs over his long career, he's been on the national side since 1996. He's got a respectable 28 goals to his credit and may become the top scorer if he does well in the World Cup. Meanwhile, the youngest player, midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro (b. 1989), has only 2 caps to his name. Is he a future star? Keep an eye out for him in 2010.

3. FIFA ranked Uruguay 19th before the 2010 World Cup, a bit below their 12th position back in 1994. This sounds about right. There are many other teams that have been producing better results than Uruguay, but they've been on an upswing for the last couple of years, battling their way into World Cup qualification. We don't think they're going to back down now. So they should be fun to watch.

2. Uruguayan football team members are represented in clubs in 11 different countries: Uruguay, Italy, Brazil, Turkey, Spain, Chile, Argentina, Portugal, Netherlands, Greece, and France. That kind of diversity should help their national team feed off each other. Lots to learn from different programs.

1. Uruguay has won the World Cup twice, in the debut edition in 1930 and in 1950. However, in 1934, they decided not to defend their title as a snub to Europe, whose teams had snubbed the tournament when it was held in Uruguay in 1930. We're sure their little hissy-fit taught those Euros a thing or two! Or not. If they'd gone, Uruguay might now have a third title to their name, and one less for Italy. But we'll never know, will we now, Uruguay. But it's never too late - 2010 is here!