Return of Uruguayan football could be earlier than expected

The vice president of the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF), Gastón Tealdi, informed Efe that everything is going "very well" and if everything continues on this path, the return of the activity, scheduled for the weekend of August 15th and 16th, could be advanced by one or two weeks.

With only three dates of the Apertura Tournament played, the coronavirus caused a pause in local football that lasted until last week, when the AUF subjected all players to COVID-19 tests.

So far, 100% of the tests have come back negative and the only ones yet to be analyzed are those from Cerro Largo, which is why they will be the last to return to training.

In contrast to this situation is Montevideo City Torque, which started working on June 8th with a protocol that is "working very well," according to the institution.

Looking at the Classic

With the classic match of the fourth round of the Apertura in sight, Nacional and Peñarol started early at their respective sports complexes.

Nacional did it at Los Céspedes, where the players arrived around 9:00 am local time (12:00 GMT) to work under the orders of Gustavo Munúa "with all the necessary preventive measures and care," as indicated by the club on its social media.

On the other hand, Peñarol's players arrived at Los Aromos a little earlier to follow the instructions of the coaching staff led by Diego Forlán.

The activities of these teams, like many others, could only be followed through social media since, following work protocols, the press was not allowed access.

The leader with joy

With a "terrific joy" for the reunion, Rentistas, the sole leader of the tournament with 9 points, also resumed its activities early, according to their coach Alejandro Cappuccio.

"We achieved the first objective which was to gather, regain joy, recover each person's work functions, and start improving every day," explained the coach.

Other teams that expressed their happiness for the return and did so on their social media were Boston River - coached by Sebastián 'Loco' Abreu -, Defensor Sporting, Montevideo Wanderers, and Progreso.