Kolkata: Everyone’s curious about India, the world’s most populous nation and Uruguay midfielder Rodrigo Zalazar is no exception.He has heard about fan following for football from his coach, Diego Forlan, who spent five months here as a marquee player for Mumbai City FC. The players were told he has “nice memories” but everything else is in a state of suspense.The most common question: How many people will be at the stadium? Well, India vs Brazil attracted 51,402.“I’ve been reading a lot about cricket, it’s a very big sport here,” the Sporting Portugal midfielder said while taking a question from TOI at the team hotel. “The other day I was in the gymnasium and watched a cricket game on TV. I saw that the stadium was full for an India game, the crowd cheering all along.”Uruguay play India in a football friendly at Salt Lake stadium here on Tuesday. It’s a mismatch: The world’s top 20 team facing the hosts, ranked a poor 137. The difference is just too big, and even though it’s just a friendly with little at stake, the visitors are not taking anything for granted.“We always take even friendlies like it’s the World Cup because we always want to win, want to show how good we are. People might say we play rough football, but it’s something that we have (ingrained) in us, (it’s) our identity. We like to be rough, to play strong games, to have duels. It’s something that not many teams have.“Football is about competing, being together, focused 100%. We are known to fight (for the ball), not give it away. Nobody can change this. This is what makes Uruguay the national team that we are known for,” said Zalazar, whose father, Jose Luis, is a former Uruguayan midfielder.Uruguay has a rich footballing history, deeply embedded in the national culture since they had hosted, and won, the first World Cup in 1930. Three months ago, the South American nation earned just two points from their three group-stage games, held to draws by Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde, before losing to Spain and exiting the competition.“At the last World Cup, we were not in the best mood, the environment (was not good), and maybe that affected the performance a little bit,” said Zalazar, grateful to “old school” coach Marcelo Bielsa for handing him his international debut and taking him to the FIFA World Cup.Now under Forlan, Golden Ball winner at the World Cup in 2010 and the country’s greatest idol, “it’s a new beginning.”“Life gives you second chances. With Diego, everything is easy. He knows how to communicate with the players because in the past, he was in the same position as we are. He knows what needs to be done for us to enjoy football, to enjoy being with the national team all the time,” Zalazar said.
