A flying left wing-back with an eye for goal, Alvaro Pereira of Porto and Uruguay is currently on the verge of fulfilling his greatest dream since turning professional: appearing at the finals of the FIFA World Cup™.
“I’m incredibly keen to play at the World Cup,” said the former Argentinos Juniors and FC Cluj defender, who was selected in coach Oscar ‘El Maestro’ Tabarez’s preliminary 26-man squad for South Africa 2010. “I finished the season well with Porto and I’m a step closer towards my dream of playing at the finals. Now I want to try and stay calm to avoid the usual stress you get at times like these.”
“We’ve got at least three games to make our mark,” he told FIFA.com, when quizzed on Uruguay’s chances of causing a stir at the global showpiece. “We’ve got to treat and enjoy each game as if it were our last, because at a competition like this making predictions and setting objectives doesn’t do you any good. Any team is capable of springing a surprise. Of course I hope its Uruguay’s turn to do that, but we have to stay calm and believe that things will turn out well for us.”
The first obstacle in Uruguay’s path are Group A rivals and 1998 world champions France, who also met La Celeste in the first phase of the 2002 event in Korea/Japan. At the finals eight years ago, the pair shared a goalless draw in their second group game and neither was able to progress to the Round of 16.
“We deserved to win that match,” said Pereira, who watched the game on television. “Maybe if we beat France this time around it would kick-off a great tournament for us,” added the defender, who believes fellow group rivals South Africa “will be determined to prove themselves in front of the home fans” and that Mexico “are the strongest side on the North American scene”.
