PETALING JAYA: Uruguay national football team coach Marcelo Bielsa did not want to be drawn into Malaysia’s FIFA suspension issue, saying that he was not fully in tune with the case.
The Argentinian was asked the question as three of his countrymen - Imanol Machuca, Facundo Garces and Rodrigo Holgado - were embroiled in the case, as FIFA suspended them for 12 months, citing irregularities in documentation and eligibility verification.
“It is a difficult regulation, but I do not know about the case fully. I cannot comment on that,” said Bielsa during the pre-match press conference against the Dominican Republic at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
Uruguay, known as La Celeste (The Sky Blue) and ranked 15th in the world, are in Malaysia to play two international friendlies against world No. 142 Dominican at the National Stadium today and No. 54 Uzbekistan at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka on Monday.
Before Uruguay arrived in Malaysia, many expected stars like Barcelona centreback Ronald Araujo, Atletico Madrid centreback Jose Maria Gimenez, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde and Al-Hilal striker Darwin Nunez to come.
But Bielsa opted to bring an inexperienced squad of 17 players, with four yet to earn their national caps. As for the 13 who are capped, their total number of caps combined add up to just 71 - the equivalent to the number of games played by Valverde.
He defended his decision to pick such a squad.
“I selected these players for a reason because we are less than a year away from the World Cup, so I wanted to observe the other players within our depth and see how they play in general,” he said.
“For two years, I have been working with these Uruguayan boys, so I have a great relationship with all of them whenever we have international camps. So, they can cope with the demands I have set.”
“I am super delighted to play at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil and in front of the Malaysian people.’’
