URUGUAY

A 12-year-old Bentancur left his little inland town of 11,000 people to take the plunge in Buenos Aires. Boca Juniors thought they had found a special talent in the tall and skinny kid. “It was difficult. I didn’t want to know anything about it, but my dad convinced me,” he said. He was part of the Uruguay team that won the Under-20 South American title in 2017 and, by the end of the year, was a full international and a Juventus player. At his first World Cup he set up Edinson Cavani’s winner against Portugal in the Last 16. “I celebrated as if I’d scored it myself,” he said. Injury problems have stalled his promising career but the Spurs midfielder is now a senior member of Marcelo Bielsa’s squad. “He has the qualities to play anywhere on the pitch,” the head coach says.

Has revived his career in Brazil after initially leaving Europe under a cloud. His performances at the Under-20 World Cup in 2013, where Uruguay reached the final, were enough to attract interest from Manchester United. From there, he went on loan to Real Madrid – only playing for the B team – and Eintracht Frankfurt. His time in Germany ended on a sour note because of a swollen tattoo he got shortly before the DFB-Pokal final. “All the other players had tattoos,” he said. “In my case, I didn’t get an infection but the coach said I’d disrespected him because I missed a training session a few days before the final.” After spells in Denmark and Russia, the defender has won two Copa Libertadores titles with Flamengo.

In 2012 a video went viral in Uruguay showing a small child with the No 10 on his back running down the left wing and setting up a goal in a youth football match. This was Maximiliano Araújo crossing the ball for his brother, César, to win the prestigious Danone Cup. The video shows César holding back tears after some wild celebrations. Both boys are now professional footballers and have shared a dressing room at international level. “Maxi” is still running down the left wing. Marcelo Bielsa was once asked to describe the Sporting player. “I think Maxi’s a terrible player who got where he is because of luck. He won’t get any further. I’ve never seen him play – he was recommended to me.” It was a joke, though no one got it. “I like players who cause problems, who run directly from one box to the other, who get lots of crosses in and Maxi has all those traits,” he clarified.