December 15 – Diego Alonso (pictured) has been appointed the new head coach of Uruguay, the country’s football association AUF announced on Tuesday.
The former Inter Miami CF coach replaces Oscar Tabarez, who was dismissed in November after leading the national team for 15 years.
The appointment comes after weeks of speculation over Tabarez’s successor. Diego Aguirre – who won the Copa Libertadores with Penarol under the command of Tabarez in 1987 – had been a frontrunner before River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo became another candidate.
However, Gallardo extended his contract with the Buenos Aires giants, leading the AUF to appoint Alonso, an experienced coach with credentials across Uruguay and Mexico. He won the CONCACAF Champions League with Monterrey.
At home, he has coached both Penal and Bella Vista.
Alonso will take charge until the end of the South American Qatar 2022 qualifiers. Uruguay have struggled in qualification with disastrous defeats to both Brazil and Argentina which were the catalyst for Tabarez’s exit.
Tabarez took Uruguay to a remarkable fourth place at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the quarter-finals at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
But fear of missing out on next year’s World Cup in Qatar overcame loyalty. Uruguay sit in 7th spot in the South American World Cup qualifying table, one point off the automatic qualifying spots.
In South America, the first four countries qualify directly for the global finals. The fifth-ranked team goes through to an intercontinental playoff.
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