Who is Diego Alonso? The story of the coach who replaced Tabárez and brought Uruguay back to life

Anguish took over Uruguay when, two dates ago, he was out of the Qatar 2022 World Cup. The seventh place in the playoffs it was his, after having accumulated five games without winning. Faced with adversity at the most decisive moment of the South American qualifier, the ‘Celeste’ took certainly desperate measures: fired Óscar Washington Tabárez after a successful 15-year process. And now the enormous responsibility of the bench has diego alonsoa man with an interesting career who has once again placed the Uruguayan team among those classified for the World Cup.

Continuing the legacy of ‘Maestro’ Tabárez is an extremely difficult mission, but diego alonso he is not afraid of challenges.

“I deeply believe that Uruguay, doing things the way they have to be done, will be in the next World Cup”pronounced the new ‘Celeste’ strategist convinced in his first press conference.

Although Ricardo Gareca is the clear proof of a coach who trusts his players a lot, diego alonso it is too. “I believe in the Peruvian soccer player”said the “Tiger” in his presentation in 2015. “I’m here because I believe in the players that Uruguay currently has and also those that have a future”replied in the same way who is known as the ‘Tornado’.

And well, that confidence has been reflected on the pitch. In the midst of doubts, Diego Alonso dispelled them all with two important victories that have put Uruguay back in the qualifying zone.

It was essential that the charrúas triumph in their visit to Paraguay and they did (1-0). It was also important to beat Venezuela in Montevideo and they thrashed (4-1). Now he hopes to continue down the same path when he hosts Peru and visits Chile. Of those two duels, their classification depends.

Diego Alonso’s profile

Diego Alonso grew up in the Cerro de Montevideo. There, since he was a child, he forged his love for soccer, playing in clubs such as Zorzal, Cosmos Corinto, Wanderers and Estrella del Norte de Sayago.

After seven years being the protagonist with goals at Bella Vista, the ‘Tornado’ continued his career at Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata between 1999 and 2000 to later venture to Spain, where he played for Valencia, Atlético de Madrid, Racing de Santander and Malaga between 2000 and 2004.

Later, he played with the Pumas of Mexico (2004-2005), winning the Liga MX; he returned to Spain to wear the colors of Murcia (2005-2006); he played half a season with Nacional (2006); he continued in Chinese soccer with Shanghai Shenhua (2007); returned to Gymnastics (2008-2009); and

It should be noted that also . He was one of those chosen to play in the 1999 Copa América, where the Charrúas won second place, although he only played two games in that tournament. He was also part of the substitutes for the playoff matches against Australia for the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan.

After retiring, diego alonso He did not detach himself from football. Quite the contrary. He began his stage as coach in the same club that he made his debut as a footballer: Bella Vista. After one season, he took the reins of Guaraní from Paraguay and then did the same with Peñarol, where he only directed eight games after being fired due to poor results.

Later, he redeemed himself with the Olympia of Paraguay in 2014, leaving the club among the top positions, but he failed to convince the board or the fans, after missing opportunities to reach the top, for which he was dismissed in October of that year.

The best would come later in Mexico. Between December 2014 and September 2019, the Uruguayan coach led the Pachuca and Monterreyclubs with which he obtained his first successes on the bench.

After his glorious stage in Aztec land, the Uruguayan coach received an interesting proposal from the United States: David Beckham chose him to be the first coach in the history of Inter Miami, which debuted in the 2020 MLS. After an irregular campaign, he left the American team by mutual agreement in January 2021.

Charrúa domain

After all these adventures, now diego alonso will take on -perhaps- the biggest challenge of his coaching career. Although the names of Marcelo Gallardo, Fabián Coito, Alexander Medina, among others, were being considered, after Tabárez was fired, the new one chosen to lead the Uruguayan team was the ‘Tornado’.

“The new coach was chosen based on conviction and what lies ahead and also taking into account the characteristics of the members of this coaching staff, who have important complements to put together a working group that we trust completely. solid in terms of his ability to lead this national team that we all aspire to see in the World Cup in Qatar”explained Ignacio Alonso, president of the Uruguayan Football Association, at a press conference.

Already in December 2021, the news of Diego’s arrival on the ‘Celeste’ bench had been confirmed, but his contagion from covid-19 delayed his official presentation. When the day came to make himself known, the 46-year-old strategist said that he was able to chat with the ‘Maestro’ Tabárez, detailed all the plans he has with the national team and, of course, among his goals is to qualify for Qatar 2022.

“As a coach I like to dominate games through the defensive phase with pressure and also in the game phase with what I can create”warned the DT. “We are going to have variants and the possibilities of building a team that can dominate the matches”he added.

Diego Alonso, who took the reins of the team in the midst of a crisis of results, has already successfully passed his first two tests: he beat Paraguay and Venezuela.

Now there are tough duels against Peru at home and Chile on the road. The coach from Uruguay, aware of the enormous difficulty that both confrontations represent, is already preparing his best weapons to go out and win the war and thus celebrate the World Cup qualification. All of Uruguay has hope placed in him and directed by him.