Marcelo Bielsa and Uruguay’s World Cup is not going according to plan following a 2-2 draw against minnows Cape Verde on Sunday night.
Uruguay drew their opening game against Saudi Arabia 1-1, which led to Joe Cole’s initial rant against Bielsa, where he insisted that the Argentinian is ‘not a proper manager’.
The 2-2 draw against Cape Verde has piled more pressure on Uruguay to get a result against Spain in their final group game and ensure qualification to the last 32 of the World Cup.
Cole has trained his guns at the former Leeds boss after watching Uruguay struggle against a World Cup minnow and provided a damning verdict about his team.
Marcelo Bielsa comes under fresh attack from Joe Cole
The former Chelsea midfielder again indicated that he doesn’t understand how Bielsa has built a reputation as a top manager when his trophy cabinet cannot justify the top billing.
He stressed that the former Leeds boss looked awkward in the dugout during the World Cup, and his Uruguay team looked completely exhausted during games.
Cole stressed that he feels Uruguay are now in real danger of crashing out of the World Cup in the group stage ahead of their final game against Spain.
Cole said on the Rest Is Football podcast on Netflix: “Bielsa has got a massive reputation as a top manager, and he won three titles in Argentina and the Championship at Leeds in 30 years.
“I looked at him; he looked awkward on the bench, and his team looked exhausted.
“I think Uruguay are in danger of going out.”
Bielsa will leave Uruguay after the World Cup
Uruguay were one of the first South American teams to book their World Cup berth after breezing through the qualification under Bielsa.
However, there were real tensions between the squad and the manager a few months back, and there were question marks whether he would last until the World Cup.
Bielsa and the players called a truce ahead of the World Cup, but it seems the team are still not on the same page with the manager.
He has already announced that he will be leaving the Uruguay team after the World Cup. However, it may now come a little earlier than expected if they crash out in the group stages.
