A sense of melancholic nostalgia is never far from the surface in Montevideo, least of all when it comes to football, an activity in which Uruguay’s past glories and present decline is the subject of almost obsessive national debate.
The problem is that in the halcyon days of the 1930s-1950s, the country won a reputation for punching above its weight in international tournaments. Uruguay followed up its triumph in the Olympic Games of the 1920s and the 1930 world cup by defeating Brazil in the final of the 1950 competition.
