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Bielsa opens up about his rift with Valverde after World Cup disappointment
Argentina’s Marcelo Bielsa has announced his resignation as Uruguay coach following the Celeste’s group stage exit at the 2026 World Cup, ending a period that has seen much controversy and division within the national team despite the high hopes that accompanied his appointment nearly four years ago.
Uruguay finished third in Group 8 with two points from draws with Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde and a loss to Spain.
Bielsa’s resignation comes hours later Windmills coach, Dutchman Ronald Koeman has also submitted his resignation After being eliminated from the 32nd round of the World Cup by Morocco.
Bielsa is the fifth coach to resign after the World Cup, following the quartet of Koeman, Hong Myung Bo, the South Korean coach, Czech coach Miroslav Kubic and Scotland coach Steve Clarke.
In a press conference after the national team delegation returned to Uruguay, Bielsa confirmed that the decision to leave was made after the team failed to achieve its goals, admitting that the performance did not meet the expectations of the fans.
According to the newspaper, the Argentinian coach said.come onSpanish. “This ending is very sad because I had a dream for myself and how the experience ended. “I’m very disappointed because we let the fans down and I can’t justify that we only got two points out of nine in the group stage.”
“We, my technical team and the players did everything we could, but the management of the resources we had was not enough to achieve the required results. Even if I had taken different paths, I don’t think the results would have changed.”
Bielsa explained that he bears no responsibility for the failure of the Uruguayan Football Association, noting that during his tenure he acquired all the opportunities he needed.
He said: “I received full support from the union, and the organizational structure that was placed at my disposal was ideal, and I always felt the support of the masses, so I have no excuse or dissatisfaction with the conditions in which I worked.”
Bielsa’s tenure has seen many crises, most notably his decisions to drop a number of the team’s historic stars such as Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, in addition to reports of disagreements with some players over training methods and technical meetings.
The Argentinian coach admitted that there were requests from the players to shorten the technical meetings and change the training method, stressing that he responded to these requests in order to maintain the unity of the group.
He explained. “Football players asked to train as a group instead of being separated. They also asked for fewer technical meetings. I agreed to it because I saw that rejecting those demands would lead to the separation of the team.”
Meanwhile, Bielsa has denied any falling out with Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde following reports of a strained relationship between them during the tournament.
“I didn’t have any problems with Valverde. In fact, I’ve never made more concessions on any player than him because he deserved it. He was always cooperative and willing to play any position I asked him to.”
The coach also refused to hold his players responsible for the dismissal, stressing that they remained faithful to his instructions until the last moment and that the team deserved better results than what they achieved on the pitch.
“Football is full of mistakes and this time we paid the price for them. I’m sad for what the Uruguayan fans went through, but I leave convinced that the players gave everything they had and that we did the impossible to succeed.”
