Marcelo Bielsa made his debut as coach of the Uruguayan national team this Wednesday in a friendly match against Nicaragua at the Centenario stadium, where he surprised from the start with an unusual lineup for his debut: he only chose five players to wait on the substitutes bench.
Free link, Uruguay - Nicaragua: what time do they play and how to follow it today
Uruguay vs Nicaragua live today: where to watch Bielsa's debut
The renowned Argentine coach could have had more players available, but he settled for 16 players, leaving out Rochet, Randall, Lemos, Boselli, F. González, Pumita, Ponte, Piquerez, F. Díaz, Vecino, Canobbio, Torres, L. Rodríguez, A. Duarte, Viñas.
Israel, Varela, Cáceres, Viña, Olaza, Martínez, Araújo, Zalazar, Pellistri, Brian Rodríguez, and Matías Arezo were the chosen ones by Bielsa to start against Nicaragua.
Without its legends and with the presence of many of the newly crowned U-20 world champions, the Uruguayan national team made its debut under the leadership of Marcelo Bielsa.
The match itself seems purely anecdotal: both its opponent for this week and the one on Wednesday the 24th, Cuba, have little significance for a team with the prestigious history of the Celeste.
The essential value of this double FIFA date lies in the debut of the Argentine Bielsa as the team's coach: his style of play, how he will set up his players, seeing new faces.
When he took over the Uruguayan national team on May 17th, the famous and controversial Rosarino coach said that "he will not have a group of players like the one that this team has" in any club and that, to begin with, he would like to try out players he doesn't know yet.
He didn't comment then, and still doesn't comment, on the future of "legends" like Luis Suárez, the all-time top scorer of the Celeste, forward Edinson Cavani, or goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, among others, but it was known that he would not count on them for the pair of friendlies this month.
Due to injury or technical decision, many of the rising stars of the team will also not be present against Nicaragua and Cuba, such as Federico Valverde, Giorgian de Arrascaeta, Rodrigo Bentancourt, Matías Vecino, or Darwin Núñez.