Uruguay defender Sebastian Caceres has said people have distorted the story surrounding Marcelo Bielsa to make the manager look bad following his World Cup group stage exit.
“I’m not going to talk about what was discussed at Bielsa’s farewell. It must remain between us, as it should have been from the very beginning,” Caceres said on Sunday evening after returning to Uruguay. “I have great respect and great gratitude for him.
Editor’s Choice
1 Related
“Perhaps someone may have a different opinion, but I think that, generally speaking, most people know how it happened. I will, of course, not repeat what was said, but I can say that some things did not turn out as they were portrayed. Everything that came out was distorted and I think the information was manipulated a lot, possibly to make Marcelo look bad.
“It’s wrong and I don’t think it was right.”
Inter Miami striker Luis Suarez first criticized the working conditions under Bielsa in 2024, accusing the coach of creating conflict within the group.
“Tomorrow I will ask people not to scold the players if something goes wrong. Bielsa has divided the whole group, even in the way they train,” Suarez said.
After Suarez’s interview, rumors about the atmosphere inside the Uruguay national team began to grow.
However, Bielsa oversaw a qualifying campaign in which Uruguay finished fourth – just one point behind second-place Colombia – before the team’s problems began to resurface during the World Cup.
Many reports from Uruguay stated that players asked Bielsa to change tactics during the tournament, and there was also noticeable tension between the coach and star player Federico Valverde during their defeat to Spain.
The team was ultimately eliminated in the group stage after draws with Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia and then a defeat to Spain in the final game that sealed their fate.
Bielsa, who is expected to retire from international duty as planned at the end of the campaign, insisted Uruguay deserved better from the tournament before blaming himself for the results.
“If you want an explanation, which I suspect is not really what you want to hear. I can tell you that we deserved seven points and we only got two,” Bielsa said after the game.
“The journalists, the Uruguayan fans, you all want to blame me for what happened and I have to take the blame. This is the only right thing to do. What I gave to Uruguayan football is nothing, because any contribution that a coach makes to the national team for three years is useless without positive results.”
Bielsa took over as coach of Uruguay in 2023, guiding the team through subsequent Copa America, CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers and the 2026 World Cup.