The Uruguayan president, Luis Lacalle Pou, was on Sunday at La hora de los Deportes (Channel 5) and talked about soccer. In the interview he made reference to the return of Luis Suárez, his preferences in football and the departure of maestro Oscar Tabárez as coach of the national team.
The return of Suárez to Nacional and his fanaticism for the club
In July it transpired that Lacalle Pou had spoken on Whatsapp with Suárez. In the interview he highlighted the fact that “who has decided to come to play in his country, with all the economic renunciations that he may have”. According to the president, that “speaks very well of him and contributes a lot to the country.”
“I think that Luis Suárez was very generous towards the country and also very grateful, from what I know Luis, I am not a friend or close, I have a bond, I think that the great ones never lose their humility, and the gesture of returning to his club, his country, surely losing money, shows that he is someone who has not forgotten his roots, the greats are like that”, said Lacalle referring to the arrival of the gunman to Nacional, a club from which the Uruguayan president received in 2014 a medal for 30 years of membership.
In the middle of the talk, he joked about the possibility of taking Suárez once a week to Parliament to promote unity in the political system that generated the campaign under the hashtag #SuárezANacional, which was joined by references from across the political spectrum.
In addition, he talked about his fanaticism for the team: “I was born into soccer in 1980, soccer spoiled me, I was on August 6 in the Olympic grandstand when Nacional was champion of America, we were champions of the Intercontinental, our old man took us to the stadium , followed National. After 1988 I lost the habit”. After that, he became a supporter of Boston River “by Alejandro Saavedra”, an escort of his father and former president Luis Alberto Lacalle Herrera during his mandate.
The departure of Óscar Washington Tabárez
“He is a benchmark that will remain in the history of Uruguayan football for many reasons”, said the president about Óscar Washington “El Maestro” Tabárez, who directed the team for more than 15 years and “did a lot of good for the players of the team and for football”.
Regarding Tabárez’s departure, he stressed that he did not want to get involved, but he mentioned several positive aspects that his years in office left: “I like the sense of belonging, the sense of team, the effort, the tending to the excellence”.
Meanwhile, he made reference to the few months of Diego “El Tornado” Alonso as technical director of the senior team and qualified them with “12 points out of 12”.
World Cup 2030 in South America?
Regarding the possibility of holding the 2030 World Cup together with Argentina, Paraguay and Chile, he conveyed optimism based on several elements, such as the commemoration of 100 years since the first World Cup, played in Uruguay in 1930: “Only Uruguay has the anchorage of the centenary”.
According to him, the other candidacy —presented by Spain and Portugal— could perfectly be approved to organize the 2034 World Cup. In addition, he emphasized the good relationship between Conmebol and UEFA, which could agree to reach a deal. “Whatever is within our reach we will do from the government. We know that investments have to be made,” he added.
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