All language subtitles for S01E01 - Uruguay Half David, Half Goliath

[commentator] Quarterfinal match.

And tonight, Uruguay and Ghana
are trying for a place in the semi-finals.

[spectators cheering]

[commentator] End of the game!

Boateng! Mensah! Adiyiah!

[unclear comments
mixed with loud cheering]

It's a hand ball!

And Suarez gets a red card!

But Uruguay will have
a last chance to the semi-final game.

Asamoah Gyan... Oh, my goodness!

Uruguay and Ghana
will go to penalty shots!

The Uruguayan player feels the jersey,
the rivalry, the need to win.

[Jorge Señorans]
That's the mentality of the Uruguayan.

They instil that in you as a child,
that you must win.

[Alejandro Garay] We don't see ourselves
any other way than playing in the final.

INSIDE!

Everyone was against us.
This was one for the history books.

[Diego Lugano] We have a culture that
can't be bought in a store.

And that is something which is in you
from the day you are born.

[music fades out]

[theme song playing]

[spectators cheering]

[slow music playing]

[John Carlin] Uruguay is the classic,
classic story

that everyone in the world loves.

Which is a story of David
slaying Goliath.

It's a story of universal appeal.

I guess we all carry
a little David within us,

we all have a sense of our smallness,

of our weakness
in the face of the challenges

that the world offers.

There is an emotional dimension

for a small country

with a limited population
of just 3.4 million.

[Jorge Señorans] And that small group
will want to beat you.

Because if there's something the
Uruguayan has, is that he's never afraid,

on the contrary,

what seduces him is confrontations
with the powerful.

[commentator] Pass to the center Venancio!
Goal!

[spectators cheering]

BETWEEN URNS AND DRIBBLES

And that can be felt

in the streets, in the clubs,
in the people.

Every match that is played between friends
isn't a match between friends.

Rather, it's played

like it's the World Cup final.

That's the way it is.
It's not logical, but it's the way it is.

-[players singing]
-[suspenseful music playing]

[man] When we talk about

countries that have been
World Cup champions

and we can't really figure out why,

we have to look first
at the cultural strength.

And soccer is part of that
mentality in Uruguay.

On the beach,

in the pitch, but also in the bar
around the corner, I mean...

It's very hard to walk
into any place in Uruguay

and not have soccer
as a central topic of conversation.

[Juan Ramón Barrero] There's no secret.

They have come to study us from Europe

to find out why the Uruguayan
soccer player stands out so much,

but it's that extra something we have.

The famous "Garra Charrua."

But still, it doesn't happen
just with soccer.

We had a very big test:
the Andes Mountain Range, don't forget.

MIRACLE! THERE ARE SURVIVORS

THEY ARE THERE!

DRAMATIC RESCUE IN THE MOUNTAIN RANGE

The incident in the Andes
shows who we really are.

A group of young men who,
amidst the chaos,

find a leader, and within that leadership

are people who are willing
to risk everything for the others.

And in soccer and on the field,
that's how we are.

We don't measure efforts.

We can always do more
to revert reality

and then feel pleased with that.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Alejandro Giménez] It has to do
with the Industrial Revolution,

with the arrival of industries,
with English investments.

So if we're looking to find
the origin of soccer,

we have to dig further back in time.

There were two big groups here,
the Guaranis and the Charruas.

The name of the country Uruguay
is Guarani.

It translates to
''the river of the painted birds.''

We're then introduced to the
warrior nature of the Charrua people,

bringing us to the term,
"Garra Charrua," which is

characterized by the concept
of never giving up.

A feeling of rebellion and courage
which all Uruguayans have.

[Alejandro Garay] The true Oriental
identity comes from Artigas.

He was chosen by the people
to be their protector.

He tried forming a federal nation,

but he failed due to conflicting
economic interests in the region.

Among them,
Buenos Aires and Montevideo,

which were port cities that monopolized
export wealth in the region.

They had to negotiate with the English,
who were ultimately

the ones who suggested that
there should be a country here.

[melancholic music playing]

[Alejandro Giménez]
The English are responsible.

In 1807, the English invasions occurred.

They stayed for only seven months

and then realized they'd be better off
not by occupying our land,

but by controlling our business.

And they dominated the insurance business,

the refrigerator business,
trains, trolley cars...

And this is fundamental to understanding
our cultural patterns.

And one of those cultural patterns
revolves around soccer. And that's when they started throwing
that leather sphere around

that made our people ask:
"What is that?"

[melancholic music playing]

"The crazy Englishmen," they said,
"with their colorful jerseys."

And the Uruguayan kids,
the boys, saw this,

started kicking the ball, and that's how
they started playing and mingling.

[Luis Prats]
It grew in popularity quickly,

and was embraced among all
the different types of immigrants.

They also assumed it
as a thing of their own.

There was a rapid expansion of clubs.

[crowd chatters]

A game that could be played
with many players,

that could be played with goals,
or clothes and shoes in their place,

which could be played
with just one ball...

[Alejandro Giménez] This is why
the first players were, for example,

the railroad workers.

The English created the Central
Uruguay Railway Cricket Club...

the predecessor of Peñarol.

The National Soccer Football Club
uses Artigas' colors.

They tried to join the league in 1900,
with the four founders,

and they did not let them. Why?
Because soccer was an English sport.

Uruguayan Association League.

THE '30 WORLD CUP

Europe was living the beginning
of Nazi-Fascist Authoritarianism,

and Uruguay was a country of peace,

a country that welcomed immigrants.

Uruguay came from being
Olympic Champions in '24 and '28.

That's why FIFA granted us
the privilege of organizing

the first World Cup.

THE FIRST WORLD CUP
WILL BE PLAYED IN URUGUAY

BOYCOTT OF THE WORLD CUP! ITALY,
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL WON'T COME

[Luis Prats] However, the Europeans
snubbed us and did not attend.

There was even talk of the possibility
of Italy or another country

organizing a counter World Cup,

or a parallel competition in Europe.

[slow music playing]

All this caused the first
World Cup to be played here.

[upbeat music playing]

[commentator] From Montevideo, Uruguay.
The Centenario Stadium...

TODAY THE URUGUAYANS MUST BE
CLASSIFIED AS FINALISTS

WE ARE ALREADY QUALIFIED
FOR THE FINAL WITH ARGENTINA [Juan Sasturain] The final was in
Rio de la Plata,

and Argentina wanted to play
the first half with an Argentinean ball,

and the second half was played
with a Uruguayan ball.

This happened in the world capital
of soccer in the '20s,

which was Rio de la Plata.

The Uruguayans were strong,
the Argentineans were,

supposedly, more technical.

The final of 1930
was a neighborhood final.

A neighborhood final!

[string music playing] [spectators cheering]

[man] Argentina is winning, 2-1.
The first half ends.

The Uruguayans were
brutally determined,

and aided by performance enhancers, so as
to tighten up against the Argentineans,

or so I've been told.

The Argentineans got a bit scared
because of that vehement way of playing.

And they lost 4-2.

[commentator] And this is it. Uruguay has
become the new champion of the world!

[Mario Alonso] Soccer-wise this was
a valuable match for both countries,

valuable for Rio de la Plata's soccer.

It created a legend, a myth.

It was historic that
Rio de la Plata soccer

had the privilege of Uruguay being
the first World Cup Champion,

FIFA having fully separated
from the Olympics.

[John Carlin] Remarkable that
the very first champion of the world,

a country that, in 1930, probably,

most inhabitants of the planet
were actually unaware of its existence.

[upbeat music playing]

[Juan Carlos Luzuriaga] Soccer spread
very quickly in Uruguayan society,

and it's not an elite sport,
it's a sport that everyone plays,

rich and poor,
immigrants and creoles.

Meanwhile in Brazil,
they had to paint their faces

with rice powder to look white
and be allowed to play.

Over here, they played.

Nobody questioned them.
The important thing was playing well.

[Alejandro Giménez] We always
had dark-skinned players.

By a curious anecdote,
they denounced us South Americans for

using African players,
they were just black players.

[Juan Carlos Luzuriaga] That allows
Uruguay to have those achievements.

And also because they played well.

They were always playing.

-[music stops]
-[players shouting]

As a result of the behavior of some
national teams and European countries

in that 1930 World Cup, Uruguay

decided not to participate
in the '34 or '38 World Cups,

and then reappeared
in the Brazilian World Cup,

in the famous "Maracanazo" in 1950.

[Commentator] As Brazil looks ready
to become champion of the world

for the first time in its history,

Uruguay with 11 players against
200,000...

[Mario Alonso] Without a doubt,
that World Cup was designed

and built for Brazil to be world
champions as everyone expected.

It could be described as a small country
versus a large country.

There were eleven players against
200,000 in Maracana Stadium.

Uruguayan soccer at that moment had
a lot more glory than Brazilian soccer.

It was much more developed.

[Gustavo Solano] Brazil was on a winning
streak, having scored in every match.

Uruguay just came from a draw
against Spain,

a very dramatic game,
that tied at 2-2,

and they needed to
beat Brazil in the Final.

Brazil only needed a draw to be
champions.

[Alejandro Garay]
We usually lose against Brazil,

but once in a blue moon, we win.

[spectators cheering]

The term "los de afuera son de palo,"
comes from the context of that match.

The frame that surrounded that match
in Maracana with 200,000 people

who supposedly had impressed the Swedes
and the Spanish in the previous matches.

[Juan Carlos Luzuriaga]
There are individuals who have

the psychic inclinations

that enable them to be leaders
of a human group.

And Obdulio Varela had those inclinations.

He was a natural captain.

Ademir, a Brazilian player,

said, "When I saw the Uruguayans
coming with such determination

and that firm step,

we knew that we were not
going to be able to win."

They recognized the spirit
that Uruguayans play with.

[Mario Alonso]
The odds in which they won,

Uruguay was losing early on,

made the team play with incomparable
temper and personality.

[Eduardo Picerno]
Brazil scores a goal after two minutes,

and Varela leaves
to speak with the referee.

He said, "No, I went to call an
offside." It was not offside.

He said he wanted to go cool down the game
because if the ball kept rolling,

our team would be at a disadvantage.

[somber music playing]

[man] As it is said, there was a moment

when the silence
of the Maracana was so strong

that the only sound was Obdulio's voice,
asking the players for blood.

[commentator]
Of the 170,000 people in Maracana,

169,000 were rooting for the home team.

The tie-breaking goal comes,

Barbosa is defeated.

[audience cheers fading out]

And grief in the stands.

The Uruguayans knew they'd win anyway.

[spectators cheering]

[commentator] This is the most amazing
comeback in history!

Uruguay has done it! And they've become
champions of the world!

Defeating Brazil against all odds!

[emotional music playing]

The last minutes I was over here,
I heard the people walking out.

They turned their radios up,
ran outside to the streets,

and chanted "Uruguay!" And you could hear
people screaming over the radio.

It was fantastic.

[man] Giggha said that only the Pope,
Frank Sinatra and himself

had left the Maracana in dead silence.

It was as if the path he'd taken
to score that second goal

-had caused grass to stop growing over it.
-[man laughs]

Uruguay placed four stars on his jersey
above their crest because they considered

the two Olympic Championships
to be World Cups.

And there are studies that state

that although they weren't
FIFA World Cups,

they were considered worldwide
competitions by FIFA.

And this was why the Uruguayan heroes
from 1924 and 1928

didn't call themselves Olympic champions,
they called themselves World Champions.

[upbeat music playing]

OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS

WORLD CHAMPIONS

WHEN WE MISSED THE "RIMET"

[Alejandro Garay] Uruguay loses its
unbeaten streak at the '54 World Cup.

It means that it had an
unbeaten 30-year history

in the Olympic Games
and in the World Cups.

URUGUAY FALLS IN OVERTIME
4-2 AGAINST HUNGARY

[Gerardo Caetano] A crisis came,

a long period of time
of civil Authoritarianism,

which became a dictatorship,
and eventually a democracy.

But the Uruguayan team
still did not compete.

FROM THE UNDEFEATED TO THE SLIDE

URUGUAY TRASHED AND WITHOUT WORLD CUP

It's not at the same level

of similar situations
in different parts of the world.

ELIMINATED IN THE FIRST ROUND

URUGUAY TO THE WORLD CUP IN ENGLAND

[Gerardo Caetano]
There was a great expectation

for them to play well in World Cups,
but then came the defeat.

-[spectators cheering]
-[unclear comments]

[cheers fade out]

URUGUAY IN THE 1970 WORLD CUP

A lot of players didn't want to play,
they were divided.

URUGUAY ELIMINATED FROM MEXICO 1970

-[cheers fade out]
-[slow music playing]

[Rúben Romeo Corbo]
The Uruguayan national team

from the year '71 to '74.

All the tours prior
to the elimination in '73

and we reached the World Cup of '74.

Unfortunately, we were going in
with very high expectations,

and we had to return
in the first three games.

It was regrettable, a very big decision,

I thought we'd failed.

URUGUAY ELIMINATED IN GERMANY

[slow music playing]

For a long time, we lived some dark years,
times when we didn't go to World Cups.

WE ARE ELIMINATED!
WE ARE OUT OF ARGENTINA!

[Óscar Tabárez] Those were years of
reflection on the reality of world soccer.

Why we were not relevant.

Why we did not have prestige.

AGAIN WITHOUT A WORLD CUP!

URUGUAY ELIMINATED FROM THE 1982
WORLD CUP - ITALY CHAMPION

And it was a thing that hurt a lot.

But after that time in the eighties,

when Omar Borras took over
the national team,

we returned to be
South American champions

of national teams in Copa America,

with Enzo Francescoli,
and a new phase began.

Believe me that a guy

Argentina should respect and tip their
hats to, is Enzo Francescoli.

TWO-TIME CHAMPION

Enzo is great, he's really great.

GARDEL WAS URUGUAYAN

[emotional music starts playing]

The Mexico World Cup was played
with high expectations and a great team.

[spectators cheering]

They lost, but a road to recovery
in Uruguayan history began.

TABAREZ ARRIVES AT THE "SKY-BLUE"

-[music fades out]
-[spectators cheering]

[commenting in German]

[spectators cheering loudly]

[Santiago Ostolaza]
The path lead me to win

an Intercontinental Cup played in Japan.

The European champion
was PSV Eindhoven. A great match.

[commentator shouting] Goal!

[Santiago Ostolaza]
I did not specialize in making goals,

but I also took advantage of my height.

[commentator] Lemos centers! He closes!
Headshot! Goal!

[Santiago Ostolaza] In that moment,
I didn't think it had gone in, honestly.

I saw one of my teammates,
Daniel Reveles, shouting "goal,"

and that's when I said, "Oh, maybe
I did score it," but in that moment

I didn't know what had happened, honestly.

In the end, we had to kick penalties,
each one of us,

and we ended up champions of the world
with that team.

[commentator]
Uruguay back to the world! This is us!

The ones that never give up on ourselves.

GOD BLESS YOU "NATIONAL"

[Santiago Ostolaza] The biggest dream:
the World Cup of '90.

I had the luck of being
part of that line-up,

coached by Tabárez.

I think it was the best for me because
I'd always dreamed of it.

[classical music playing]

[Salvatore Schillaci] Playing on the
national team was a dream.

Because I was the last of those summoned,

I never played a friendly match
with the national team.

[spectators cheering]

[cheers get louder]

In soccer, you also need luck.
I have been very lucky, obviously.

For me, it was a fantastic moment.

Nobody expected it.

SCHILLACI ARTILLERY BOSS

URUGUAY ELIMINATED FROM ITALY '90

[Andreas Brehme]
Surely it was not a good final match,

but with so much merit, we were champions
like no other team before.

All the Italian fans supported us.

[Óscar Tabárez]
In the first era I got to be a part of,

the periods were called: Tabárez' team,

Fleitas' team, Passarella's team.

It was literal and they started
and ended with the coach.

Because neither before nor after
was anything left.

[slow music playing]

And I'm Uruguayan, I have a passion
and love for my country's soccer,

and I excluded myself, because
I didn't think the conditions were right.

It had something to do
with institutionalizing

certain things about the
national team, which weren't working.

URUGUAY COMPLICATES ITS PASS
TO THE WORLD CUP

LAST HOPE AGAINST BRAZIL

[commentator shouting]

URUGUAY WILL NOT GO TO WORLD CUP USA '94

[music fades out]

And there were isolated preparations,
isolated efforts.

The different periods
were not connected to each other

through time.

PERU LEAVES US OUT

AGAIN WITHOUT WORLD CUP
GOODBYE FRANCE 1998

[French music playing]

[slow piano music playing]

COMPLICATED GROUP
FRANCE/DENMARK/URUGUAY/SENEGAL

[spectators cheering]

THEY WILL DEFINE EVERYTHING
AGAINST SENEGAL

[spectators cheer in excitement]

WE ALMOST REACHED THE SEMI FINAL STAGE

[spectators cheering]

[Rivaldo] Wearing number 10,
a famous jersey,

that everyone knows, Pele wore.

I played two World Cups, 14 games.

It brought me great joy
and a sense of worth playing

and becoming a champion.

TIME OF THE REBELS

CELEBRATE URUGUAYANS

THE LAST BLUE BATTLE

[commentator] This is a do or die
for Australia or Uruguay.

There is the chance
to go to Germany 2006.

And Uruguay shoots!
And he stops the penalty!

Aloisi can take Australia
to the World Cup! And he does!

-Australia eliminates Uruguay!
-[spectators cheering]

THE FINAL GOODBYE

[referee blows whistle]

[Jorge Señorans] Over here, there's
a phenomenon called "Baby Soccer,"

a movement that brings together
60,000 federated children.

Aside from the 60,000 children,
there is the family.

The father, uncles, brothers,
grandparents. It's a very big movement.

[Cristian Panzardo] A large percentage
of players coming to play

in the first division
are coming from Baby Soccer.

What we'd like to see is for them to excel

in a physical activity, a sport,
for them to get off the streets,

join a club,
and make it a true institution.

Not just a place for them to come play
for a while and leave,

but where they become fans of the club
and develop a sense of belonging.

For them to enjoy other activities

so they can have a good infrastructure.
For them to have uniforms,

a place to be able to celebrate birthdays.

Let this be their home.

[Rubén Martínez] And the days that they
do not have training,

they still come and they hang out here
playing with their friends.

They ask for a ball and they go
to the back and kick in there,

they are calm.

Because they like it,
they feel comfortable here. And here there are many players
that have come out

of this club and others nearby.
Good players have emerged.

There's Muslera,
the goalkeeper for the national team.

He came from Olimpo, a friendly club.

If I had to pick another club?

[emotional music playing] I'd stay here.

These are the colors of our neighborhood.

From there on, a competitiveness grows,

which is what makes
the Uruguayans reach

an above average level when competing.

[Alejandro Garay] This desire to win,

to get the win,
we teach it to our children

as soon as they start playing
soccer at five or six years old

because we can't imagine
any other way of playing.

[Jorge Señorans] For example, coach
Tabárez, Uruguay's manager,

told me it caught his attention
that at determined ages,

kids compete with a score chart,
with descended positions.

He understands it isn't the best approach,
taking into account

the pressure that is put on that child.

[man] Sometimes, there's a need

from those of us who are parents
to see reflected in our kids

the frustrations we had of not
becoming soccer players.

We pass that onto the kids and they
sometimes play

with such high expectations,

and so much pressure on them that they end
up suffering instead of enjoying it.

Sometimes we're criticized
because we seem very exaggerated

in planting in kids
the objective of winning.

But this is how we are,
and the kids who pass that filter

are the champs we have
all over the world.

[man] Mainly today, with this insanity,

young entrepreneurs want to seize them
so they can negotiate in the future.

For example, I don't understand how a
10-year-old child has an agent.

A businessman who handles his career.

Because we're talking about kids who
throw on the jersey to go to school.

[Gerardo Caetano] In terms of soccer
teams, they should enjoy the sport.

That is the essence.

They will have to face pressures
and demands tomorrow

and have conditions that
will take them to professional soccer.

But today, they should enjoy. [cheerful music playing]

[Alejandro Garay]
For every kid it's clear

his dream is to be Suarez, to be Cavani,
Forlan, Lugano, Godin.

Before they form themselves here.

Playing in local and
international championships,

Copa Libertadores, Copa de Selecciones,
Copa America, and the World Cup.

That's impossible today because
they're drafted very young.

I can show you today 18,
19, 20-year-old players.

[man] For example, there's a boy

who played in Peñarol
for almost six months. Valverde.

"El Pajarito" Valverde. He left when
he was 17 years old

and is drafted by
the national team.

THE AMATEUR SIDE OF SOCCER

[Gerardo Caetano]
On the margin of National and Peñarol,

when you go to see a first division match

and while you buy the tickets,
you're watching the players warming up

outside the field because
there is no warm-up zone.

The Uruguayan League, when compared
with other Latin American

and even South American leagues,

has to be one of the ones that
spends the least on their players.

And from this precariousness,

it is very difficult to understand
how those players within a year

will play in Madrid,
Juventus, in Barcelona,

and also play with
a really extraordinary personality.

There is an emotional factor
that creates this.

This emotional factor is also seen in
politics, which is another dimension

where Uruguayans stand out.

[José Mujica] We ate
the bitter honey and stayed stuck,

yearning for our past for almost
50 years, remembering Maracana...

our athletic triumph.

Today we have re-emerged,
learning from our pain.

The task that Tabárez covers
is very important

to get that mystique,
and that notion of progress.

[upbeat music playing]

[soccer player] Because we have something
very important here, the raw materials.

We have the mentality,
we have the convictions.

What we lacked was organization.

Since that moment,

there was support for the process
that Coach Tabárez began in 2006.

Everything started taking shape,
straightening up,

correcting itself, and we
started seeing results.

Many years passed before
I went back to the national team.

And I got the opportunity in 2006.

And a topic that seemed
crucial to me, is that

we should have a soccer player profile.

Not only from the point of view
of the requirements

needed to play at a high level.

And we thought it was essential

to connect the work of younger leagues
with the work of the national team.

The coach has managed to establish
a set way of working.

And in that process,
we integrated ourselves.

And that makes today's kids

have an advantage in their development
from here, from the complex.

[Óscar Tabárez] It means you can now see
how we're in here,

inside the blue colored complex,

where permanent improvements

in the fields, in the social areas,

in the eating areas,
in the rest areas,

make the players see
that there is a change.

[Gerardo Caetano] From that moment,

the team was established.
Today, Uruguay goes and competes

and can be champion in the youth leagues.

That's something that hasn't
happened in a long time,

going to the youth world championships,

and if they do not win,
they still get second or third place.

This has been very important.

Not just for the national team,
but in the development

of all the young national team
with two world finals.

For example, we can name players
who were in youth leagues

when we started, practically.
Suárez. Cavani. Cáceres.

And they keep coming.

[music stops]

[upbeat music playing]

There was a recovery of our tradition
in the South Africa World Cup.

[Jorge Señorans] And they told me Lugano
transmitted that in South Africa.

That even before they traveled, he was
going to travel and become World Champion.

And a lot of people laughed at him
or didn't believe him.

This mentality that
we bring from the beginning

makes you feel obligated to win.

And that people also believe that.
If you don't win, you're a failure.

Cacha arrived practically 20 days
before the World Cup in South Africa.

He was not a starting player
or even play the qualifiers.

Tabárez trusted him.

Wearing your nation's jersey
is the best thing to me.

The game is played
down there in the field.

It was said by the great captain, too.

[Gerardo Caetano] And there,
Tabárez again rubbed

the magic lamp.

THE PERFECT NIGHT

RIP-OFF RIP-OFF

MASTER!

Suárez has a very Uruguayan story.

He comes from a very poor neighborhood.

He was sometimes a second string player.

And he fell in love with a girl,

and the girl, because of the
2002 crisis, went to Spain.

Well, for him it was a hard hit,
and he had the dream

to travel to Europe ever since.

And he goes to a Dutch club,
the Groningen,

and in those moments
a young Uruguayan man, uneducated, that goes to a
completely different country,

he either blows up or he sinks.

He blew up...

at such high levels

that nowadays the players
who were first string in youth leagues

and knew Suarez, can't believe it.

PINCH ME

"IF WE CONTINUE LIKE THIS,
I WILL NOT GO TO MY DAUGHTER'S BIRTH"

SHUT THEM UP

[commentator] It's the biggest night in
the careers of these young footballers

as Uruguay and Ghana go head to head.

It was a very hard game.

The last corner,
the last move to a still ball...

Fucile throws himself,
Luis throws himself...

We all got inside the goal to get
that ball out, it was the last one.

When they called the penalty,
we all had chills inside.

We tried to protest it any way we could,
but there was no turning back.

I think a lot of things happened in
that match that will not be forgotten.

For Asamoah not so much because...

he missed the penalty...

Hits the crossbar and out.
All of us losing our heads.

Imagine how Luis felt
on the way to the lockers.

That was an image that stuck with me,
as well as with many others.

And, well, the penalty series
was absolutely something else.

[spectators cheering]

-[music fades out]
-[spectators cheering]

[commentator] Abreu will take the shot,
number 13...

He really is crazier than we are.

He risked his life.

When would he do it
if not in the World Cup?

[commentator] If Uruguay makes it, they go
on to the semifinal against Holland.

[Egidio Arévalo] We were all embracing
each other in the middle of the field

and nobody thought he'd shoot like that.

We all thought he'd take the sure shot,
it was the last penalty.

[commentator] Here he comes.
Abreu shoots...

Goal! Uruguay wins! He made it bounce!

When we saw the way he shot it,
well, we went crazy.

We also knew history would be told
differently if that ball hadn't gone in

like it did.

And it'll never be forgotten.

[commentator] Abreu places Uruguay in
the semifinal for the World Cup!

The next day we had to switch gears,
and think about the next match.

WITH DIFFERENT FORMULAS

THE TEAM WAS DISMANTLED

And in that game, we lost
some crucial players.

THE MOVE OF THE WORLD CUP

First, incredibly, Suárez's hand,
which left him out.

Fucile, who was a side bastion,
could not play either.

And we played at the height
of the circumstance.

IN A SQUEEZE

That match was robbery.

Before the first goal,
there were two or three fouls

which weren't called in our favor,

treacherous fouls that everyone saw.

[commentator]
Checks into a shooting position. Forlan!

With a cracking equalizer for Uruguay!

Forlan got injured
and could only play half the game.

Very strong fouls from the Dutch,
that could've been expulsions.

There were fouls, cards, offside...

I thought, "Wow! Can they make ten
mistakes in a semifinal match?"

It was too much of a coincidence.

And we could've won.

Uruguay did much more than Holland.

And we made some mistakes
that were critical.

[Egidio Arévalo] We did everything
that was within our reach,

but against 14 or 15 you cannot play.

[Óscar Tabárez] When the match
against Holland ended,

we simply said:

"If there was a moment where you got
to choose how to lose, we'd choose this."

[Gerardo Caetano]
There were brutal popular demonstrations.

There was a certain expectation that
Uruguay could become World Champion.

SKY-BLUE TSUNAMI

We gave our people
the belief that the national team

can be competitive at a high level
like the World Cup.

The people, the streets,
the celebrations were intense,

the caravans everywhere in the country.

It was impressive.

[Sebastián Abreu] Knowing that one could
collaborate with that beautiful team,

I get chills. I feel pride.

THE COUNTDOWN

FORLAN'S WORLD CUP

[slow music playing]

For all that it represents in the world,
for the personality that he has,

and besides that, it is a
life story of success.

2010 BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD CUP

[Gerardo Caetano] His father,
Pablo Forlán, from Mercedes,

a popular neighborhood, had great success
and built a true clan.

Today the Forlán family is a clan,

where Diego's figure
is an emblematic figure.

But he's completely backed up.

He succeeded in life,
not only as a soccer player

but as a person, and he is an
example to all of us.

[commentator] We remember that today

marks 61 years of the
famous "Maracanazo,"

where Uruguay defeated Brazil
in the 1950 final match.

With one man less in Santa Fe,

against Argentina with Messi, you'd say

it's impossible for them to make it.

The Uruguayans again.

[Egidio Arévalo] All of that was the
reward from South Africa.

The same group,
practically the same line-up.

URUGUAY AMERICAS CUP CHAMPION 2011

A PARTY OF 15

They gave us the prize "fair play,"
and it was given to Lugano!

It's like giving Bin Laden
a Nobel Peace Prize, it's the same.

[man] He's a beast.

[Óscar Tabárez] Sometimes I get criticized
for being a bit radical

in my concepts or impositions,

but there'd have to be an understanding
of the feeling of belonging.

We have a culture that can't be
bought in the neighborhood drugstore,

and that is something which is in you
from the day you are born.

[Alejandro Giménez]
And that unbreakable courage,

that strength, that belonging to what
Uruguayan soccer is today,

and what is now
the sky-blue national team.

-[slow music playing]
-[players shouting]

TO THE PARTY

FROM ANFIELD TO THE OPERATING ROOM

AND NOW?

I'll tell you this story about Luis
before the Brazil World Cup.

He had surgery in Uruguay,

twenty days prior to the World Cup,
in secret.

Already sold to Barcelona
for a hundred million dollars.

He risked a lot of things
which only a Uruguayan player could.

Insanity.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS TODAY

Uruguay lost against Costa Rica... A DISASTROUS RESULT

...and then had some impossible matches.

LET'S LIGHT CANDLES

The most incredible miracle
you can imagine

can be pulled out of this country.

LUIS SAVE THE SKY-BLUE TEAM

It was a match against England.

[commentator] Looking for Suarez...

Suarez scores!

It must be because of it,
the feeling of pride we have,

which makes us push our limits,

and be different.

[commentator] Suarez is in behind England!
Suarez to win it! Suarez wins it surely!

It's a wonderful night
for the talismanic striker, Luis Suarez!

That could have been a horrible problem,
like the one he made

in Brazil, biting Chiellini.

I played soccer,

I saw the most unusual things,

but never a player biting another player.

[Óscar Tabárez] That was a mistake and he
paid for it. And from that, he evolved.

That's what you want.

But now we have a player who,
at least in the team and in

the technical aspect,
and for me personally,

is someone with good values.

[emotional music playing]

And if we go back through the history

of Uruguayan football, sometimes
tricks were used, right?

It's said, for example, that
Hector Castro, who was one armed,

used his stump to hit rivals sometimes.

Here in the stadium, there's a game we
recall where Venancio Ramos threw a lemon

at the ball when a Chilean
was throwing a free shot.

It went down in history as what
we call creole liveliness.

Or some punch, or some dirt kicked

in the goalkeeper's eyes.

[man] In soccer, Uruguay
takes advantage of everything.

Always focused on winning.
And to win, talent helps,

mischief helps,
kicking at the right moment helps,

everything helps.

Since Tabárez' arrival...

One of the things he hates the most
is the lack of discipline.

He's tried to change that image
of the Uruguayan player,

of the Uruguayan national team

that they are coming to kick,
that they are coming to hit.

It has changed.

In that aspect, Tabárez brought about a
sociocultural change in our country

that was much needed, so important
it turned him from a soccer figure

into a father figure at a
sociocultural level in Uruguay.

I know Uruguay is a strong,
firm but clean team.

And changing that image was

the best thing to come out
of all that process.

More than winning matches,
championships, World Cups...

That's why he is a teacher.

He is a schoolteacher before a coach.

He is educating all the time.

And all the time with an...

altruistic mindset.

The last few years our
national team has managed

to be a reflection of who we are
as Uruguayans.

They really make us very proud.

And Uruguay has regained faith.

The possibility that we can...

compete and, in competition,
can give the maximum surprise.

[triumphant music playing]

[Diego Lugano] It's what makes soccer
so beautiful.

Today, Uruguay can beat
Brazil and Germany or even China.

In any other sport,
it is impossible for you to win.

There's nothing more similar
to life than a soccer field.

Where differences which
in society can be very prominent

and on the field can disappear.

[Óscar Tabárez]
Uruguayan soccer is its history.

The two life-size photographs...

in the dining room of the complex
are of José Nasazzi and Obdulio Varela.

They didn't just bring titles to us,

they fed the passion

of Uruguayans for soccer
and made it part of our national identity.

CHASING THE BLUE DREAM

All Uruguayans in one way or another
have had soccer affect their life.

[Alejandro Giménez] We are a secular state

because a hundred years ago we
separated the church from the state.

But we have our cathedral.

This is our cathedral.

This is the religion
we live with intensity

every Sunday coming here,

or going to a small field,

or watching it on television.

Soccer and the sky-blue team came
to represent national pride.

[Óscar Tabárez] Uruguay is the only
country in the world

that has won 15 regional titles,

in this case, 15 South American
or Americas Cups as they call it now. Up against those giants,
those soccer-powerful countries

that are on a level far superior to ours.

We didn't become World Champions again.
I do not know if we'll ever be again.

[Alejandro Garay] You see a team of those
who have never won anything

losing 3-0 and they make time

to avoid getting more goals scored.

We will seek a way to
still turn things around.

What we did, we did in an age
when soccer was different.

The world was different.

I don't know if we could do it
in this modern age.

The part where the Uruguayan found
competitive advantage was emotional,

And it has something to do
with a sense of equality.

No one is more than anyone else.

No one is more than anyone else.

[Mario Alonso] It would be very tough
for Uruguay to become

World Champion again.

I hope we will,
but it would be very tough.

I don't want to sin as a nationalist,

but we are eleven against eleven.

One says history doesn't play,

that it's stuck in books,
left outside the field. No.

History carries weight
in the defining moments.

Without a doubt, it carries weight.

The teams with traditions are rivals
who even when doing poorly,

they can pull an ace out of
their sleeve and turn things around.

With the attitude and strength
that the Uruguayan player has,

they can end up being
champions of the world.

Hope grows based on real facts.

If we were champions once,
why can we not be again?

It's possible.

Rationally, there are many reasons

why it would be very hard
for Uruguay to win a World Cup,

but you never know.

[John Carlin] Nobody wants to play
against Uruguay in a World Cup.

Because they're always liable
to produce a surprise

and it's because of those
fighting qualities.

Uruguay is a small nation,
but in football terms,

it's a giant.

ANOTHER STORY IS BORN

We're not the best in the world,
but once in a while, we win something.

[music fades out]