El fracaso olímpico latino en futbol se llama Uruguay

Si había un equipo latinoamericano que se encontraba casi a la par del conjunto de Brasil para estar en lo más alto del pódium en estos Juegos Olímpicos de Londres en el futbol varonil, era la selección de Uruguay, que en un abrir y cerrar de ojos quedó eliminada en la primera ronda de la justa veraniega.

El experimentado director técnico Óscar Washington Tabárez no tuvo la capacidad de contagiar a sus jugadores de la garra que siempre ha caracterizado a este futbol en toda competencia internacional, pues de nada le sirvió en esta ocasión el haber traído a jugadores de la talla de Luis Suárez y Edinson Cavani, quienes al final no pudieron hacer la diferencia que sus aficionados esperaban.

El recorrido en estos Juegos de Londres comenzó prometedor para la escuadra charrúa, que logró vencer en su primer compromiso a su similar de Emiratos Árabes Unidos 2-1; sin embargo, en su segundo juego el panorama se volvió oscuro, luego de caer ante Senegal 2-0; pero la esperanza estaba puesta todavía en el último partido contra el equipo anfitrión de Gran Bretaña, pero ésta nunca llegó al perder por la mínima diferencia.

Uruguay se fue con las manos vacías de estos Juegos Olímpicos ante la sorpresa de propios y extraños, siendo la única selección latinoamericana en quedar fuera en la primera etapa del certamen olímpico, dejando a Brasil, a México y a la irreconocible Honduras la responsabilidad de dar la cara por este continente.

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• Japan's captain Maya Yoshida, center, celebrates with head coach Takashi Sekizuka, center left, after scoring against Egypt during their quarter-final men's soccer match at the London 2012 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug 4, 2012 at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester, England. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

• Japan's Yuki Otsu, top, celebrates with teammates Maya Yoshida, center, and Takahiro Ohgihara after scoring against Egypt during their quarter-final men's soccer match at the London 2012 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug 4, 2012 at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester, England. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

• Yuki Otsu, Hossam Hassan

  Japan's Yuki Otsu, left, and Egypt's Hossam Hassan, right, compete for the ball during the quarter-final men's soccer match between Japan and Egypt in the 2012 London Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012, at Old Trafford in Manchester, England. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

• Yuki Otsu, Ahmed Hegazi

  Japan's Yuki Otsu, left, heads the ball past Egypt's Ahmed Hegazi, center, during their quarter-final men's soccer match at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012, at Old Trafford in Manchester, England. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

• Uruguay's Diego Rodriguez bleeds during the men's group A soccer match between Britain and Uruguay, at the Millennium stadium in Cardiff, Wales, at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

• Uruguay's Edinson Cavani grimaces after failing to score during the men's group A soccer match between Britain and Uruguay, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

• Uruguay's Diego Rodriguez bleeds from his face while Britain's Aaron Ramsey helps him, during the men's group A soccer match between Britain and Uruguay, at the Millennium stadium in Cardiff, Wales, at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

• Britain's Daniel Sturridge, (9), celebrates with his teammates after scoring during the men's group A soccer match between Britain and Uruguay, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

• United States' Sydney Leroux watches the ball for a score against New Zealand's during their quarter-final women's soccer match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012, at the St James' Park in Newcastle, England. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev)

• United States players acknowledge the crowd after defeating the New Zealand in their quarter-final women's soccer match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012, at the St James' Park in Newcastle, England. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev)

• United States' Megan Rapinoe fight for the ball with New Zealand's Ali Riley during their quarter-final women's soccer match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012, at the St James' Park in Newcastle, England. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev)

• Uruguay's Edinson Cavani, right, challenges for the ball with Britain's Danny Rose, during the men's group A soccer match between Britain and Uruguay, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

• Britain's Daniel Sturridge applaudes as he leaves the field of play, during the men's group A soccer match between Britain and Uruguay, at the Millennium stadium in Cardiff, Wales, at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

• Britain's Craig Bellamy gestures as he leaves the field during the men's group A soccer match between Britain and Uruguay, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

• Senegal's Mohamed Diame, foreground, battles for the ball against United Arab Emirates' Khamis Esmaeel, background, during the group A men's soccer match between Senegal and United Arab Emirates at the London 2012 Summer Olympics, in Coventry, England, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

• Senegal's Moussa Konate, center, tries to score next to Mexico's goalkeeper Jose Corona and Mexico's Diego Reyes during their men's soccer quarterfinal match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

• Mexico's Jorge Enriquez reacts after scoring during the men's soccer quarterfinal match against Senegal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

• Mexico's Diego Reyes jumps for the ball next to Senegal's Cheikhou Kouyate during their men's soccer quarterfinal match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

El equipo uruguayo tardó 84 años para volver a jugar en una justa olímpica, pero sus esperanzas se esfumaron rápidamente en tres partidos, mas lo más lamentable fue que hombres de la talla de Luis Suárez, Edinson Cavani, Egidio Arévalo, Sebastián Coates, Nicolás Lodeiro y Abel Hernández no pudieron volver hacer soñar a sus seguidores, luego de que estos mismos futbolistas lo hicieron en la pasada Copa América de Argentina, al haberse proclamado campeones.