Once again, Marcelo Bielsa is making headlines.
The former manager of Leeds United, Argentina, Chile and many others is now in charge of Uruguay’s national team, and is attempting to transform them from a rugged, veteran-led side, to a quick-punching, ball-dominant one. In doing so, he has steered Uruguay beyond the era of Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani, two elite goalscorers who have defined their country at international level for nearly 20 years.
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This, unsurprisingly, has made him a controversial figure in the small South American country. Sectors of the Uruguayan press have deemed his succession plan as locuras or “madness” – appropriate for the man nicknamed El Loco or “the Madman.”
But in one recent case, Bielsa’s reputation has preceded him needlessly.
Last week, Uruguayan journalist Alex Martín Rostán reported that Walter Dominguez, a 24-year-old amateur striker in Uruguay’s lower leagues, would be a surprise call-up to the senior national team for an upcoming friendly match against Costa Rica. Domínguez is a prolific center-forward for Juventud de Soriano, a semi-professional team located in Soriano, roughly 250 kilometers from the nation’s capital Montevideo.
Bielsa has been seen at stadiums throughout Uruguay as he scouts players, often from some of the first division’s less prominent sides. But to call up an unknown player from the amateur game seemed strange, even for the unconventional Argentine manager.
When reached for comment, a Uruguay Football Federation spokesperson told The Athletic that reports regarding Domínguez were “disinformation”. The spokesperson added that a “half-truth” is being spread, which the spokesperson categorized as “dangerous”.
Bielsa will not travel to Costa Rica for that friendly at the end of this month, nor will any of his assistants. The squad will be managed by a coach from within the federation, who has not yet been chosen. Bielsa will not select the players, according to the federation spokesperson, who added that a squad is being assembled for this match only. Domínguez’s inclusion, the spokesperson said, has not even been confirmed.
It would have been a great story: Bielsa, the mercurial genius, scouring the most remote pitches in Uruguay in search of the country’s next great striker. But in truth, the player’s story is interesting enough on its own.
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Domínguez has dominated the Copa Nacional de Selecciones, a nationwide amateur tournament founded in 1951. Juventud de Soriano won the competition last week, beating Paysandú 5-1 on aggregate in a two-legged final for the club’s first title in 11 years. In the second leg, Domínguez scored once and provided two assists in a commanding 3-0 win.
“All I do is play game to game,” said Domínguez. “I didn’t know that I had scored so many goals. I’m very happy about it. Happy for my teammates.”
Over 19 matches, the right-footed Domínguez has scored an eye-popping 38 goals for Juventud. He had previously scored 13 goals in 14 matches for amateur side Fray Bentos Football Club. Overall, Domínguez has tallied an impressive 57 goals in 39 Copa Nacional matches. On Saturday, Rostán asked Domínguez if he had received a call from the national team.
“Yes, they called me,” Domínguez said. “I’m very happy about it, honestly. I didn’t expect the call-up. It was a surprise, but I’m very happy.”
Domínguez is not an imposing center-forward, but he is a hero in Soriano and finishes with authority, clearly with an insatiable appetite for the game. He works relentlessly on the pitch like a prototypical Uruguayan footballer.
The friendly at Costa Rica will be played on May 31. It’s a date that falls outside of the FIFA international windows, and because of that, Uruguay will only feature players from its domestic competitions.
Additionally, the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana, South America’s equivalent of the Champions League and the Europa League, will have fixtures just days before the friendly. Peñarol and Nacional, Uruguay’s two biggest clubs, along with Montevideo-based Liverpool FC play in the Copa Libertadores on May 28, while Danubio and Racing Club de Montevideo will be in Copa Sudamericana action two days later. Those potential conflicts will open the door for players from other clubs, including Uruguay’s lower leagues, to earn call-ups.
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Uruguay’s amateur league is also hardly pub-football level. The Organización del Fútbol del Interior (OFI, by its Spanish acronym) is a not-for-profit organization that governs the Uruguayan game’s amateur levels, comprising over 60 regional leagues and more than 30 semi-professional teams in regions across the nation other than Montevideo.
Teams such as Juventud have passionate supporters who fill their modest stadiums every weekend.
In January, former Uruguay international striker Sebastián Abreu, 47, signed for Lavalleja, the amateur side in Minas, where he was born. Abreu appeared for Uruguay 70 times, played in two World Cups, won a Copa América in 2011 and has played for 32 professional clubs — a Guinness world record.
Lavalleja, Abreu said, was the team he dreamed of playing for as a child. “This was my reward after the path I took as a professional,” Abreu said.
Domínguez, meanwhile, is currently training with first-division side Centro Atlético Fénix to stay fit. He has never played in Uruguay’s top flight. He is more likely to go from viral sensation back to the obscurity of amateur football.
Since taking over the Uruguay job last year, Bielsa has given a handful of under-the-radar center-forwards the chance to compete with Liverpool’s Darwin Nuñez as Uruguay’s top No 9, before promptly discarding the debutants.
Last July, S.C. Braga’s Rodrigo Zalazar, 24, scored twice on his Uruguay debut, a 4-1 win over Central American minnows Nicaragua. He hasn’t been called up since. Granada’s Matías Arezo, 21, and Red Bull Bragantino’s Thiago Borbas, 22, top-flight players in Spain and Brazil respectively, featured in Uruguay’s first two friendlies under Bielsa. They’ve also since been forgotten.
Maximiliano Gómez, a center-forward for Cádiz in Spain’s domestic elite, La Liga, was Nuñez’s understudy for Uruguay’s first two CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers last September. He hasn’t played for his country since.
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While Domínguez’s improbable journey is a great story, the truth is that Bielsa remains undecided about who will play striker for Uruguay, other than Nuñez. After the auditions of several players, Federico Viñas, 25, who plays for Club León in Mexico, appears to be the favorite.
Domínguez, though, is on the verge of fulfilling his own dream.
No matter what happens with the game against Costa Rica, he will have a story to tell his grandchildren — even if he’s forgotten by Bielsa.
(Top photo: Rodrigo Valle/Getty Images)
