Uruguayan coach gets significance

KIMBERLEY, South Africa – In his second stint as coach of Uruguay, Oscar Tabarez is leading the team into the biggest match of his career and the country’s most important World Cup moment in four decades.

When Uruguay, a two-time world champion, faces Ghana on Friday it will be the first time since 1970 that the South American country has played in the tournament’s quarterfinals.

“I try not to think about those things … because they affect your concentration, even if you try to avoid it,” the 63-year-old coach said. “I think it’s the most important match for Uruguayan football in recent times.”

Nicknamed “maestro” because of his previous career as a teacher, Tabarez made a name for himself as a coach when he led Uruguayan club Penarol to the Copa de Libertadores title in 1987.

He then guided the national team to the round of 16 in the 1990 World Cup in Italy, its best result since 1970.