Manuel Ugarte, the £51 million acquisition for Manchester United, has acknowledged that his performance in the wake of Uruguay’s 1-0 loss to Peru in World Cup qualification was below par. Normally a defensive midfielder, Ugarte started the game at center back.
During Uruguay’s defeat to Peru, Ugarte, 23, was thrust into a new role, playing an uncommon center-back role. Ugarte defended his team’s efforts despite being out of position, but he also pointed out the difficulties associated with the tactical change.
Ugarte Reflects on His Performance
Speaking to reporters after the match, Ugarte offered an honest assessment of his performance, explaining the difficulties of adapting to the new role:
“Everyone can play and has the conditions to do so, but many times, when changing players it takes a little [time] to adapt. It is not an excuse either, the team’s performance dropped. We need to go deeper, as we saw against Peru, we have to keep working.”
He added:
“Honestly, I felt good with the ball, but I lack certain things as a defender. These are things that always enrich a player, and we will see what happens on Tuesday.”
