Scorn in the USA
The way Uruguay and Iran’s campaign ended scarred a World Cup where the football has been excellent
Looking impassively as Uruguay unravelled, Marcelo Bielsa sat on the drinks box when Federico Valverde came off against Spain. Coach and captain ignoring each other was one of the most enduring memories of a World Cup that has seen Germany exit, Paraguay exult, Erling Haaland do Erling Haaland things, England rely on Harry Kane’s poaching skills, France looking majestic and Brazil journeying from miserable to memorable in 45 minutes against Japan.
“Shouldn’t have happened”
At 19th in the FIFA rankings, twice world champions Uruguay were the highest ranked team to be eliminated from the group phase. It shouldn’t have happened, Bielsa said at a press conference on Tuesday. Armed with a dossier full of data, he said Uruguay ran more than all their opponents and there was really no explanation as to why they finished on two points and not seven in Group H. Resigning his post, Bielsa also said no one in Uruguay was interested in what he was doing.
That’s some shift from how it began. Uruguay had blazed away at the start of the World Cup qualifiers beating Brazil and Argentina. From the physical, destructive style that combined with individual talent to make Uruguay feared, if not always formidable, opponents, Bielsa had changed them into a team so full of energy, intent and pressing that even at Boca Juniors’s home, it would prove too much for Argentina. In 2024, after beating Brazil with a player short, Uruguay finished third in the Copa.
A quarter-final berth was what the federation president expected in the World Cup. By the time the tournament came around, things had started fraying and not just at the edges. An explosive Luis Suarez interview after Copa where he said players will reach a limit and then explode was endorsed by Valverde. Before that, Bielsa’s Uruguay had not lost 16 of their last 19 matches, winning 11. After Suarez spoke, the count was: five wins, seven draws and five defeats.
Before the match against Spain, media reports emerged of senior Uruguay players, their skipper among them, asking Bielsa to change how the team play. The players wanted a low block, counter-attacking style. Bielsa heard them and then explained in detail why he wouldn’t do that. Among the players who were anonymous against Spain was Valverde.
Polarising opinion
There were also reports that players found Bielsa’s training too arduous and that it was leading to injuries. Mirroring Uruguay was how it began and ended at Leeds United. There were frank conversations with players at Leeds United as well.
Bielsa should never have recalled Suarez because he was too old for his kind of football is one school of thought. His lack of inter-personal skills is why Uruguay ended this way is another. Both can be true.
Because Bielsa polarises opinion. He is a guru Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino, whose recommendation helped Bielsa get a work permit in England, and Diego Simeone can never have enough of. We were Championship players when he arrived at Leeds, he turned us into Premier League players, Luke Ayling has said. He improved me after coming into my life when I was 22-23, said Ander Herrera. Even in this squad, Sebastian Caceras backed Bielsa. At the other end were Suarez and Diego Lugano who said things had become toxic in the changing room.
Guardiola terms him a football genius whose passion has not dimmed at 70. Bielsa is known for his attention to detail; ahead of a pre-season friendly, he had sought footage of the last three games of Leeds’s opponent. There have been reports that his staff had an eight-page document on the third goalie of a team at the bottom of The Championship. Accused of spying on opponents, Bielsa responded with a 70-minute press conference where he said he and his staff had analysed each game his opponents had played in the season prior. Information overload was among Uruguay players’ gripes, according to media reports.
Under Bielsa, Leeds blitzed back into the Premier League, Athletic Bilbao played a final in Europe, Newell’s Old Boys were champions in Argentina and made the Copa Libertadores final. Equally, on his watch, a talented Argentina side exited from the group stage of the 2002 World Cup. And now this: a campaign where a goalkeeper Bielsa brought back let the team down.
With Pascal Struijk leaving, the Bielsa era has officially ended at Leeds. Not everybody gets a fairytale ending but it would be sad if this is indeed his last World Cup.
Felt like a low blow
Rage would replace regret at how Iran were treated. “We always complain about these things but no one helps us, no one,” said Iran skipper Mehdi Taremi after the draw against Egypt, a result made worse by his penalty miss and a goal chalked off by VAR. “If they want us to be out, then OK; let’s get out. But that’s not fair.”
From not being allowed recovery sessions in USA to support staff and fans denied visas, the World Cup was unfair to Iran who exited undefeated and only after Austria pulled off a late equaliser. But a US official saying he was happy about Iran’s ouster felt like a particularly low blow.
PLAY OF THE WEEK
GRAPHICS BY PRIJIT SASHIDHARAN
IN OTHER NEWS
Villa take FIFA to court
Aston Villa has taken FIFA to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to try and register a 17-year-old forward who has been refused permission to play this year, reports AP. Villa spent a reported €12 million in January to buy north London-born Brian Madjo from French club Metz but has been unable to field him. FIFA blocked Madjo’s registration because its transfer rules limit international moves by players under the age of 18. The former Luxembourg international turns 18 in January. Villa will play in the Champions League next season and the deadline to register a squad list of players with UEFA is September 2. The Premier League deadline for squad lists also is after the transfer window closes on September 1.
Palestra joins Chelsea
Chelsea signed Italy full back Marco Palestra from Atalanta on Wednesday as the club reshape their squad following the appointment of Xabi Alonso as manager. Alonso’s preferred formation during his record-setting time at Bayer Leverkusen from 2022-25 featured a three-man defence with wing backs. It perhaps explains why Chelsea has moved for the 21-year-old Palestra, who can play on the left or right and primarily as a wing back, for £43 million, AP has reported quoting Sky Sports.
Saibari joins Bayern
Bayern Munich have announced the signing of Morocco midfielder Ismael Saibari from Dutch side PSV Eindhoven until 2031, reports AFP. The midfielder joins the German champions for a reported fee of $57 million. “As a child, you dream of signing a contract with a club like Bayern – everybody knows it’s one of the world’s biggest clubs,” Saibari said in a statement. Bayern will host Stuttgart when the 2026-27 season kicks-off on August 28, the Bundesliga has announced.
Durand Cup from July 25
The Durand Cup will feature 24 teams, including seven debutants, with matches to be played across five cities from July 25 to August 23, reports PTI. The tournament will begin in Kolkata on July 25 with matches also in Ranchi, Imphal, Shillong and Guwahati. The final will be at the Salt Lake stadium. Among the seven debutants are Defenders FC of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and Meghalaya Premier League champions Nongkseh Sports, Social and Cultural Club (SS&CC).
Madrid-Sociedad opener in La Liga
Jose Mourinho will kick off his second spell in charge of Real Madrid at home against Real Sociedad in La Liga. The Spanish top flight’s fixture list for the 2026-27 campaign was published on Tuesday, with Los Blancos hosting last year’s Copa del Rey winners at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first round of matches, reports AFP. Among the other games taking place around the opening weekend of August 15-16, champions Barcelona welcome Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid host promoted side Malaga.
Record Milan fee for Ramos
AC Milan have completed the signing of Portugal forward Gonçalo Ramos from Paris Saint-Germain for a club record fee of more than €70 million euros. Ramos, who has just turned 25, is new coach Rúben Amorim’s first signing and shows a real statement of intent from Milan, who are coming off what their American owners deemed “an unequivocal failure” of a season. Ramos has signed a five-year deal. Italian media reports that Milan have paid around €74 million, smashing the club’s previous record. It is also among the highest transfer fees ever paid by a Serie A club. Milan’s previous record transfer was the 49.5 million euros ($56.5 million) it paid Lille for Rafael Leão in 2019.
Mata stake at Victory
Spanish star Juan Mata has taken a minority ownership stake in his Australian club Melbourne Victory on Monday as the World Cup winner weighed up whether to keep playing next season, reports AFP. The former Manchester United and Chelsea ace, 38, is enjoying a late-career resurgence and was voted Australia’s A-League player of the year last month. “Australian football has a future I genuinely believe in,” said Mata.
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Maresca replaces Pep
Enzo Maresca will succeed Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Maresca signed a three-year deal following a delay in the announcement while City negotiated with Chelsea, the Premier League rival he left in January, over a compensation package, reports AP. The 46-year-old Maresca was City's academy coach in the 2020-21 season and Guardiola's assistant in 2022-23 - the year the team won the Premier League-Champions League-FA Cup treble. After that, Maresca joined Leicester, whom he led to the title in the second-tier Championship before immediately joining Chelsea for what has so far been his only top-flight coaching job. He was at Chelsea from June 2024 to January 2026, winning the Club World Cup and Conference League titles and also qualifying for the Champions League. Maresca left at the start of January following a deterioration in his relationship with Chelsea's hierarchy. "Just be yourself," said Guardiola. "The club will support you unconditionally, that's the biggest compliment.”
THEY SAID IT
That’s all for this week. As always, I look forward to your feedback. You can either write to me at dhiman@htlive.com, or reply to this mail.