Marcelo Bielsa takes blame for Uruguay World Cup exit

Guadalajara: Marcelo Bielsa accepted responsibility for Uruguay’s World Cup exit on Friday, saying he had failed to get the best out of his squad.

“I wasn’t able to get the best out of the quality Uruguay has in its players,” Bielsa was quoted by Xinhua as saying. “I couldn’t get the level of the individual players to come together as a team that reflected their quality.”

The Argentine manager also defended two decisions that drew attention during the match: replacing captain Federico Valverde with Uruguay chasing an equalizer and goalkeeper Fernando Muslera’s halftime departure.

Bielsa said Valverde’s withdrawal in the 56th minute was intended to make Uruguay more dangerous in the final third.

“I wanted the team to have a greater attacking presence,” he said. “The objective was to create more scoring opportunities.”

Television cameras later showed the Real Madrid midfielder in tears on the substitutes’ bench. IANS

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