Injury Costs Alvaro Fernandez Spot On Uruguay National Team

by Jeremiah Oshan on Nov 7, 2011 1:20 PM PST in Sounders: News

Alvaro Fernandez has apparently been called up to the Uruguay national team, at least according to a release on FIFA's website. It would be his first call-up since joining the Sounders.

UPDATE III: Alvaro Fernandez will not be called up to the Uruguay national team, after all. On Monday, Fernandez confirmed speculation that the injury he suffered in last week's Western Conference semifinal would make it impossible for him to play in his country's World Cup qualifier against Chile on Nov. 11 or in their friendly against Italy on Nov. 15.

UPDATE II: Sigi confirmed to Joshua Mayers that Alvaro Fernandez had, in fact, been called up for Uruguay's World Cup qualifier.

UPDATE: The Sounders said they have not yet been contacted by the Uruguay federation, but noted that those requests are often made through players' agents.

Alvaro Fernandez has been called up to the Uruguay national team for their Nov. 11 World Cup qualifier against Chile, according to a release on FIFA's website (h/t @chazz4444). Even assuming the report is accurate, Fernandez would not be in danger of missing any time with the Seattle Sounders as MLS has elected to take a break for the international window.

The Sounders midfielder has not made an appearance for Uguguay since the 2010 World Cup when he made one start and three appearances off the bench for the eventual semifinalists. This would be Fernandez's first call-up since joining the Sounders last year. Fernandez has 11 caps since first being called to duty in April 2009.

After a bit of a rocky start to his MLS career, Fernandez has come into his own this season. He was second on the team with nine goals in MLS action and added two goals and five assists in all other competitions. He has made 38 appearances, third most among non-goalkeepers, and 31 starts this season. His 2,556 all-competition minutes were the fifth most among outfield players.

Fernandez is listed as an attacker in the FIFA release, which suggests Uruguay may have a different role in mind for him than in the past. Fernandez has been used almost exclusively as a midfielder, but he has shown a scoring touch this year previously unseen throughout his career.

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I'm not wild about the timing

… but this is great news for Flaco, first, and for MLS as well — a country that made the semis in the last World Cup thinks that playing regular minutes in MLS and doing well is enough to get you into national camp. Now if only Colombia would come around to the same mindset…

by Kenneth Jung on Oct 27, 2011 2:21 PM PDT reply actions

Columbia called up Chara didnt they?

by B Money on Oct 27, 2011 2:27 PM PDT up reply actions

Wasn't that before he joined Portland?

by chrisperry1983 on Oct 27, 2011 2:35 PM PDT up reply actions

Oh maybe

I thought they called him back for a friendly this year. I could be mistaken.

by B Money on Oct 27, 2011 2:37 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

i think it was recently, actually

Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.

by Jeremiah Oshan on Oct 27, 2011 2:51 PM PDT up reply actions

For a world cup qualifier, too.

You do all the work for us, Honey Badger, and we'll just eat whatever you find.

by mistuhp on Oct 27, 2011 4:10 PM PDT up reply actions

I remember

he was called up recently. Their new head coach is a former MLS player too so this is a very positive sign.

Recessionproof since 2009.

by 253Sounder on Oct 28, 2011 9:31 AM PDT up reply actions

It should be noted that this is about 15 hours flying

Not counting stops and plane changes. Good news is that he can leave shortly after and recover. The primarlily North/South journey will reduce jet lag a bit, but there is still a 5 hour difference.

I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart

by Dave Clark on Oct 27, 2011 2:25 PM PDT reply actions

He should be shipped and play encased in bubblewrap

by lemonverbena on Oct 27, 2011 3:39 PM PDT up reply actions

Fortunately with that squad and the fact that this is a game that matters against capable opponents

He probably won’t start (I’d guess Abel Hernandez, Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez as the front three) and unless there’s an injury shouldn’t see particularly significant playing time.

by Graham MacAree on Oct 27, 2011 4:09 PM PDT up reply actions

That front three should come with an NC-17 rating

by Aaron Campeau on Oct 27, 2011 4:29 PM PDT up reply actions

I don't think that much of Hernandez, actually

Have possibly just caught Palermo at bad times this year

by Graham MacAree on Oct 28, 2011 4:47 PM PDT up reply actions

TV?

Who has TV rights to the CONMEBOL qualifiers? I’d enjoy watching Flaco play against Chile on an off weekend before the MLS Cup.

Fan of: Cardinals, Blues, Sounders, Yellow Jackets, Wolverines, Rams, and Blazers.

by ColinMacLeod on Oct 27, 2011 2:28 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs

Two things about this...

1) I really wish that the Chile game were in Chile. If so, I would have been able to go (the combination of direct flights and distance makes Santiago doable for a weekend, but not Montevideo). I would’ve worn a Sounders jersey and had both a nos audietis and ecs scarf with me. I should be able to get it in HD, though, so I can be happy enough for that.

2) This is downright HUGE, even if he doesn’t get in the game. If you take a look at who’s been called up for Uruguay in the past year, there are 27 people who are not El Flaco. Of them, 12 play for clubs in the 4 top European leagues. Another 9 play for clubs – usually featuring on them as well – that are generally pretty high up in some pretty good leagues (Galatasaray, PSG, Cruzeiro, Porto, Ajax, Botafogo, and Benfica). A few of them are from other Latin American leagues, and only one – an uncapped keeper – from the domestic league, which is pretty good (Penarol made the libertadores final this year, actually, and they weren’t in the top 2 domestically). This team is a step up, probably the best South American team right now, where they won the Copa America after being the highest conmebol team at the 2010 WC. And our MLS player is good enough for that team in a WC qualifier, but our other MLS player, possibly MVP of the team, somehow isn’t good enough for Colombia, ever? Guess it shows part of why Uruguay’s manager is so well-respected: He calls up the best guys, no matter the league, and he gets results, instead of picking players based on what league they’re in, just because that’s how they feel like doing it, and then not getting results.

Right now, in all seriousness, Uruguay is probably better than England. They are also probably better than Italy. If we had a guy from England or Italy, and they got called up for a match that mattered, I think people would be freaking out.

You do all the work for us, Honey Badger, and we'll just eat whatever you find.

by mistuhp on Oct 27, 2011 4:40 PM PDT reply actions

As Noted Above

Charra got called up while playing for the Timbers and played in a WC qualifier against Boliva. Not saying Montero doesn’t deserve a look, but clearly playing in MLS wasn’t a concern.

by ledjom on Oct 27, 2011 4:45 PM PDT up reply actions

That's also a very recent shift

I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart

by Dave Clark on Oct 27, 2011 4:51 PM PDT up reply actions

The hope is that it's opened the door

but it has been a big problem in the past with Colombia in particular.

You do all the work for us, Honey Badger, and we'll just eat whatever you find.

by mistuhp on Oct 27, 2011 4:52 PM PDT up reply actions

Why are people acting like this is big news?

Flaco was on the 2010 Uruguayan World Cup team. He appeared in four games and started one. He has 11 caps total.

While it’s certainly nice (if not inconvenient) that he’s being called up again, this isn’t exactly a surprise. It would have been more of a disappointment if they didn’t call him.

Here he is in the quarter finals against Ghana. That was the one game he started, though he was subbed for Nicolas Lodeiro (Ajax) in the 46th minute.

by Jack Brando on Oct 28, 2011 11:09 AM PDT reply actions

You realize that he's been passed over several times since the World Cup?

Therefore, this is news.

I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart

by Dave Clark on Oct 28, 2011 11:38 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

and all that info was in the original story...

Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.

by Jeremiah Oshan on Oct 28, 2011 11:50 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

That Jersey

Is so awesome, I might have to pick me up one, but the question is do I get the one with his national team number or his sounders number?

by python6114 on Oct 28, 2011 11:33 AM PDT reply actions

how stable are national team numbers?

by lysander on Oct 28, 2011 12:08 PM PDT up reply actions

They aren't

The most influential players can manage to keep their numbers while in the roster, but usually it is completely changeble.

by prsancho on Oct 28, 2011 2:05 PM PDT up reply actions

That is what I was thinking...but not sure.

so might as well go with his sounder number.

by lysander on Oct 28, 2011 2:28 PM PDT up reply actions

Decisions

I think being able to get called for National Teams/playing for National Teams is a HUGE part of the players’ decision to play in a league. Therefore, whether he played for Uruguay before or not, getting called up while being a Sounder is BIG, BIG news for fans.

Not a surprise to anyone who has seen him play, but still BIG news.

by Charles J on Oct 28, 2011 12:08 PM PDT reply actions