প্রকাশ: 09/11/2022
For the last decade and a half, Uruguay's national football
team has been led by a formidable attacking duo but now veterans Luis Suarez
and Edinson Cavani are heading into their final World Cup with retirement
edging ever closer.
Born just 21 days apart in the northern Salto department,
the two 35-year-olds have graced some of Europe's most prestigious clubs while
never failing to light up their homeland shores.
Their remarkable careers have left them as the two greatest
goalscorers in the Celeste national team's history: Suarez has 68 goals in 134
matches with Cavani scoring 58 from 133 games.
For the better part of 15 years they have been pillars of a
plucky Uruguay outfit that reached the World Cup semi-finals in South Africa in
2010 before lifting the Copa America the following year.
This will be their fourth World Cup and despite their
advancing years they remain heroes to their compatriots.
They are "the best forward pairing in the history of
the Celeste", ESPN journalist Diego Munoz told AFP.
"They put their egos aside, always put the team first
and strengthened each other. (They were) essential to a generation that gave
back the national team and hope to the people."
Once their boots are hung up for good, they will be sorely
missed.
The attacking duo guaranteed "an important goalscoring
potential that the Celeste has rarely had, at least in the last 60 years,"
said journalist Luis Prats, an author of many books on football history.
"Relying on them gave you the confidence that you could
even win tight games with few chances. You just had to give them the ball and
they finished it.
"On top of that they had great understanding: Cavani
created many of Suarez's goals and vice versa."
Passing the baton
The Qatar World Cup will bring to an end the transformative
era under iconic former coach Oscar Tabarez, who spent 15 years at the helm and
brought back glory to a side that had not won the Copa America since 1995 nor
reached a World Cup semi-final since 1970.
But Cavani says there will be no special emotion attached to
this tournament.
"For those that live, feel and love football, and more
so for those that wear their country's jersey, there is no mystery: it's a
World Cup," Cavani told a local radio station.
"Whether it's the first or the fifth" makes no
difference. "If this doesn't motivate you, we're in trouble."
Neither Suarez nor Cavani are quite the players they once
were.
Having played for Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester
United, Cavani is currently at a Valencia side that is a shadow of the team of
the early 2000s, when they won two La Liga titles and reached successive
Champions League finals.
And after Ajax, Liverpool, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid,
Suarez stunned the footballing world earlier this year by returning to his
first professional club, Nacional.
But Suarez is as competitive and confident as ever.
"We have a mix of experienced and quality players -- I
believe Uruguay can have a great World Cup," he said.
Under new coach Diego Alonso, Uruguay are building a new
team of talents with Real Madrid's Federico Valverde, Darwin Nunez of Liverpool
and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.
Even so, there is something unique about the Suarez-Cavani
partnership that may never be repeated.
"It's very difficult to find a Suarez-Cavani duo,"
said Prats.
Although new talents have appeared on the horizon,
"they still need to complete their development."
But Munoz points to the fact that alongside Diego Godin,
Suarez and Cavani took over the mantle from Diego Forlan and Diego Lugano when
they retired.
"The key is to maintain the legacy and to learn to play
without them, to modify the power axis towards the midfield and for Valverde-Bentancur
to lead the next generation," said Munoz.
- BSS
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