It might smack of the ridiculous to brand a former two-time winner of the World Cup as a potential surprise package, but that is precisely the tag being applied to Uruguay as they shape up for their return to the global stage at this summer's tournament in South Africa.
For years a dominant force in the global game, Uruguay's star has been on the wane for decades now and plumbed new depths with the country's failure to qualify for three of the last four World Cups.
Non-qualification for USA 1994, France 1998 and Germany 2006 continued a pattern of inconsistency that has gripped Uruguay for the past 40 years.
Not since 1970 have Uruguay made it beyond the last 16 of a World Cup. Indeed, since finishing fourth in Mexico that year, they have embarked on a miserable run that has seen them fail to qualify five times and win just once in 14 matches when they have reached the finals.
It has been a sorry fall from grace for a country that won the first ever World Cup in 1930 and repeated the feat in 1950. Add to that two Olympic golds in 1924 and 1928 and 14 continental titles, and Uruguay's pedigree - and decline - is brought into sharp focus.
Optimism remains, however, and in coach Oscar Washington Tabarez, Uruguay have a man at the helm who has been there and done that when it comes to the tricky task of leading teams at the highest level.
At the age of 63, Tabarez can list spells at AC Milan, Boca Juniors and Penarol on an exhaustive CV. He was also, neatly enough, the last man to lead Uruguay to victory in a game at a World Cup when he presided over a 1-0 victory over South Korea in Italy in 1990.
Like the national side, the Montevideo-born Tabarez has seen better, more successful days, with his Argentinian title win with Boca Juniors in 1992 the last key achievement in a managerial career that also brought Copa Libertadores success with Penarol in 1987.
But his advancing years did not dissuade Uruguay's football chiefs from once again turning to the man known as 'El Maestro' after Los Charruas failed to reach the tournament in 2006 following defeat to Australia in a play-off.
Now, 20 years on from guiding Uruguay to the last 16 of the World Cup, Tabarez has the chance to do it all over again, and he is confident his youthful side can arrest the slide in South Africa.
"There is always a surprise package at every World Cup and there is no reason why that can't be us this year," said Tabarez, whose side had to contend with the lottery of a play-off for the third time in succession to reach the finals, eventually seeing off Costa Rica over two legs.
Below-par home form cost Uruguay automatic qualification, with just four wins from nine matches in Montevideo, but Tabarez insists that statistic at least bodes well for South Africa.
"We had to work hard to qualify, especially in the games in Montevideo," he continued.
"Luckily for us, though, the World Cup is taking place far away from home.
"I know we have to improve a lot if we are to perform well in South Africa but we do have a lot of strong points and we hope to be able to show them."
Chief among Uruguay's strengths is their potent attacking line-up, which boasts two of European football's most productive goalscorers in recent seasons.
Leading the line will be Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan, who won the 2008-09 Golden Boot after hitting 32 goals in La Liga last term.
It marked the second time that Forlan had received the accolade, having also achieved the feat in 2005 with Villarreal, and alongside him in South Africa is another man in hot goalscoring form.
Ajax striker Luis Suarez scored 35 goals in the Eredivisie this season to emerge as one of the continent's hottest properties, and should that form carry into the World Cup, Uruguay could become genuine contenders for a place in the knockout stage.
Tabarez's squad is also graced with talent in the back line, with Juventus' Martin Caceres and captain Diego Lugano of Fenerbahce both highly rated and more than capable of marshalling Uruguay to victories at this level.
Lining up in Group A alongside Mexico, France and hosts South Africa is far from the toughest challenge that could have been presented to Uruguay, and Tabarez is ready to draw on his Italia 90 experiences to lead the South Americans' current crop to a place among world football's elite.
"Twenty years have gone by since that World Cup, and as well as being older I'm also more mature and more experienced," he told fifa.com.
"I know very well, for example, that the only thing you can do in the first round is qualify for the next.
"That's the only objective there is - to get through and be there for the start of the real World Cup in the last 16."
Non-qualification for USA 1994, France 1998 and Germany 2006 continued a pattern of inconsistency that has gripped Uruguay for the past 40 years.
Not since 1970 have Uruguay made it beyond the last 16 of a World Cup. Indeed, since finishing fourth in Mexico that year, they have embarked on a miserable run that has seen them fail to qualify five times and win just once in 14 matches when they have reached the finals.
It has been a sorry fall from grace for a country that won the first ever World Cup in 1930 and repeated the feat in 1950. Add to that two Olympic golds in 1924 and 1928 and 14 continental titles, and Uruguay's pedigree - and decline - is brought into sharp focus.
Optimism remains, however, and in coach Oscar Washington Tabarez, Uruguay have a man at the helm who has been there and done that when it comes to the tricky task of leading teams at the highest level.
At the age of 63, Tabarez can list spells at AC Milan, Boca Juniors and Penarol on an exhaustive CV. He was also, neatly enough, the last man to lead Uruguay to victory in a game at a World Cup when he presided over a 1-0 victory over South Korea in Italy in 1990.
Like the national side, the Montevideo-born Tabarez has seen better, more successful days, with his Argentinian title win with Boca Juniors in 1992 the last key achievement in a managerial career that also brought Copa Libertadores success with Penarol in 1987.
But his advancing years did not dissuade Uruguay's football chiefs from once again turning to the man known as 'El Maestro' after Los Charruas failed to reach the tournament in 2006 following defeat to Australia in a play-off.
Now, 20 years on from guiding Uruguay to the last 16 of the World Cup, Tabarez has the chance to do it all over again, and he is confident his youthful side can arrest the slide in South Africa.
"There is always a surprise package at every World Cup and there is no reason why that can't be us this year," said Tabarez, whose side had to contend with the lottery of a play-off for the third time in succession to reach the finals, eventually seeing off Costa Rica over two legs.
Below-par home form cost Uruguay automatic qualification, with just four wins from nine matches in Montevideo, but Tabarez insists that statistic at least bodes well for South Africa.
"We had to work hard to qualify, especially in the games in Montevideo," he continued.
"Luckily for us, though, the World Cup is taking place far away from home.
"I know we have to improve a lot if we are to perform well in South Africa but we do have a lot of strong points and we hope to be able to show them."
Chief among Uruguay's strengths is their potent attacking line-up, which boasts two of European football's most productive goalscorers in recent seasons.
Leading the line will be Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan, who won the 2008-09 Golden Boot after hitting 32 goals in La Liga last term.
It marked the second time that Forlan had received the accolade, having also achieved the feat in 2005 with Villarreal, and alongside him in South Africa is another man in hot goalscoring form.
Ajax striker Luis Suarez scored 35 goals in the Eredivisie this season to emerge as one of the continent's hottest properties, and should that form carry into the World Cup, Uruguay could become genuine contenders for a place in the knockout stage.
Tabarez's squad is also graced with talent in the back line, with Juventus' Martin Caceres and captain Diego Lugano of Fenerbahce both highly rated and more than capable of marshalling Uruguay to victories at this level.
Lining up in Group A alongside Mexico, France and hosts South Africa is far from the toughest challenge that could have been presented to Uruguay, and Tabarez is ready to draw on his Italia 90 experiences to lead the South Americans' current crop to a place among world football's elite.
"Twenty years have gone by since that World Cup, and as well as being older I'm also more mature and more experienced," he told fifa.com.
"I know very well, for example, that the only thing you can do in the first round is qualify for the next.
"That's the only objective there is - to get through and be there for the start of the real World Cup in the last 16."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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