Uruguay welcomed eight of their European-based players into the squad on Monday ahead of the weekend’s World Cup qualifier in Peru.

Among those who arrived were Diego Godin, Alvaro Pereira and Diego Perez as Oscar Tabarez prepares his side for the crucial match in Lima.

Uruguay currently occupy fifth spot, which would leave them having to compete in a two legged play-off with a qualifier from the Asian section – Jordan or Uzbekistan.

Tabarez has one of the world’s strongest forward lines at his disposal with the trio of Edinson Cavani, Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez all available.

The coach should benefit from all three being fully focused, with Cavani having moved to Paris Saint-Germain early in the summer and Suarez still at Liverpool despite speculation about a move during the transfer window.

Uruguay will be hoping for a repeat of the reverse fixture, when goals from Suarez, Maxi Pereira, Cristian Rodriguez and Sebastian Eguren handed them a 4-2 victory.

Tabarez acknowledged the enormity of the game as the qualification process heads towards a conclusion.

“Victory will be a great result for us,” he said.

“If it’s a draw, that benefits us. If we win, I think we will draw a significant advantage because after that there are only three games left.”

Peru currently sit seventh in the standings, just two points behind Uruguay with four games remaining.

Yordy Reyna and Carlos Zambrano were the last players to join up with Sergio Markarian’s squad in Lima, and Reyna was quick to underline his willingness to help the team.

“This game we have to win because we are playing at home,” he said.

“I will contribute to the team when they need me.”

Winger Paolo Hurtado, of Pacos de Ferreira, echoed the sentiments of Reyna.

“The match against Uruguay will be very difficult but we will go above and beyond for the three points,” he said.

“I feel great. If I play or not, that will be determined by the coach, but I always come prepared to play for Peru.”

The Welshman made a world-record move to Real Madrid this summer but, as Goal reveals, his fee could have purchased a club a wealth of talent

By Peter Staunton

When Real Madrid spent an astonishing €100 million to lure Gareth Bale to the Spanish capital from Tottenham this summer, they smashed their own transfer world record. Of course, los Blancos were not the only club to be active in the transfer market and Goal is here to present an entire XI purchased for the same price as the Welshman.

Maarten Stekelenburg – Roma to Fulham

The 30-year-old has been deposed as Dutch No.1 under the Louis van Gaal regime after enduring mixed fortunes during his time in the Roma goal. A price tag of €5.6m could prove to be a bargain for Fulham as they have acquired the services of man who, on his day, can be regarded as the best in his position. Immediate among his concerns will be to re-establish himself as the Netherlands first-choice goalkeeper ahead of the World Cup. He then might depart Craven Cottage for a more high-profile team like his compatriot Edwin van der Sar.

Dani Carvajal – Bayer Leverkusen to Real Madrid

The Real Madrid cantera prospect was widely regarded as the best right-back in the Bundesliga last season. He has made the return trip from Leverkusen to the Spanish capital for a fee of €6.5m after proving his worth to the hierarchy at the Santiago Bernabeu. The 21-year-old is challenging Alvaro Arbeloa as the starting right-back in Carlo Ancelotti’s team and will be knocking on the door for a World Cup place under Vicente del Bosque next summer.

Benoit Tremoulinas – Bordeaux to Dinamo Kyiv

France international left-back who took the opportunity for a fresh start in a €6.5m move from Bordeaux to Dinamo Kyiv during the summer. An experienced Champions League campaigner, Tremoulinas is moving into his prime as a player and represents a fine bit of business for the club vying to wrest control of Ukrainian football back from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Diego Reyes – Club America to FC Porto

The Olympic gold-medalist will find it tough to break into the heart of the Porto defence but hopes are high at the Dragao that the assured, confident Mexican can become the new Ricardo Carvalho. Porto are renowned for their ability to spot talent in South America but have cast their radar further north this summer by securing the services of two of the most sought-after Mexican talents in the game. Hector Herrera and Reyes, who cost €7m, will bank huge profits for the Portuguese giants when the time comes to move on.

Mamadou Sakho – PSG to Liverpool

Due to the volume of arrivals it was inevitable that Paris Saint-Germain were going to have to start shedding players at some stage. In defence, after the signing of Marquinhos, it is highly-regarded youth team product and former captain, Mamadou Sakho, who is expendable. A cast-off of a new regime he may be but he is no less a player for his exit. An awesomely powerful centre-back who can pass the ball well from the back, Sakho is worth every cent of the €17m the Reds paid to land him.

Luiz Gustavo – Bayern Munich to Wolfsburg

The odd man out of Bayern’s midfield following the acquisition of Mario Gotze from Borussia Dortmud, Gustavo surprisingly opted for a move to Wolfsburg when a deal with Arsenal looked at one stage to be close. The Brazil international was keen to keep playing first-team football, something which could not be guaranteed to him by Pep Guardiola in Bavaria. At €17.5m, Gustavo’s quality comes at a relatively high price but his is a statement signing and he will help Wolfsburg challenge for a Champions League berth.

Jeremy Toulalan – Malaga to AS Monaco

The former France midfielder was a key part of Malaga’s run to the brink of the Champions League semi-finals last season and possesses the experience and nous to help the newly-minted Monaco up the Ligue 1 table. Due to Malaga’s financial predicaments, Toulalan was available for a relatively small fee of €5m but will complement the more dynamic talents of Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez perfectly.

Dimitri Payet – Lille OSC to Marseille

L’OM are back in the Champions League and this summer brought a departure from their austerity campaign of 12 months previous. Big money was lavished on the cream of French domestic talent, spearheaded by the €10m signing from Lille. Payet is a wide player of growing repute and is hoping that his move south will bring with it a place in les Bleus‘ 2014 World Cup squad.

Juan Quintero – Pescara to FC Porto

Porto have quite possibly bagged themselves the bargain of the summer in the shape of Quintero, Colombia’s intelligent, vibrant playmaker. A fee of only €5m was required to spirit him away from relegated Pescara in Serie A and he has hit the ground running in his new surroundings. After selling James for €45m, Porto have upgraded for around 10 per cent of that price.

David Villa – Barcelona to Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid have a long, illustrious history of boasting supreme strikers in their line-up and this summer they have signed another. David Villa, for a minuscule fee of €2.1m has replaced the outgoing Falcao and hit the ground running with a Supercopa goal against his former employers Barcelona. Spain’s record goalscorer and a bonafide modern day legend, El Guaje guarantees goals.

Mario Gomez – Bayern Munich to Fiorentina

Gomez is a Champions League winner with something to prove following his exit from Bayern Munich. The 28-year-old is a consistent goalscorer but was deemed unsuitable by the new Bayern manager Pep Guardiola who let him go for €15.5m. The Germany international will light up Serie A with goals and could help fill a Gabriel Batistuta/Luca Toni-shaped hole in the hearts of the Viola faithful.

The Catalan club made bids for Chelsea’s David Luiz and Liverpool’s Daniel Agger in the summer but finally opted against signing a centre-back as only Neymar arrived in the window

EXCLUSIVE
By Ben Hayward

Former Barcelona defender Miguel Angel Nadal believes the Catalan club made a mistake by failing to recruit a central defender in the summer transfer window.

Barca bid for Chelsea’s David Luiz and Liverpool’s Daniel Agger in July, while the Spanish champions were also left frustrated as top target Thiago Silva committed his future to Paris Saint-Germain.

In the end, new coach Gerardo Martino opted to stick with the squad at his disposal, with captain Carles Puyol closing in on a return following knee surgery on a persistent problem in June,

“Puyol is our signing,” sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta said on Tuesday. “We were unable to achieve the objective of signing a centre-back so, with ‘Tata’ Martino, we decided to stay as we are. Puyol’s recovery has been very good.”

But the Catalan defender is 35, increasingly prone to injury and cannot cope with the demands of a long season at this stage of his career, while Zubizarreta and president Sandro Rosell have come under fire this summer for their inability to attract a defender after signing Neymar back in May.

And Nadal, who played as a centre-back under Johan Cruyff in Barca’s legendary Dream Team, claims the Catalans could regret their failure to improve their backline this summer.

“Everybody could see Barcelona needed to sign a centre-back,” the former Spain international told Goal. “If you look at where Barcelona needed to strengthen, it was in defence.

Out of reach | Barca have tried – and failed – to sign Thiago Silva for the last two summers

“If you are talking about urgencies then perhaps you have to pay more, but you can maybe sign a player to cover several positions, like [Javier] Mascherano, who started off in midfield. But either way, it’s an area where Barcelona needed to strengthen.”

However, the Blaugrana sought such a solution last summer by signing midfielder Alex Song from Arsenal and the Cameroonian has been used sparingly in defence ever since a nightmare display in Seville early last season.

Meanwhile, it is often said that Barca struggle to identify suitable centre-backs because the Catalans seek a player who possesses sound technique, plus the ability to operate high up the pitch.

“I think that is naturally required,” Nadal added. “But I don’t think it’s everything. If a player is technically gifted then all the better; playing for Barcelona is never easy but I think they can find the profile [of player] they are looking for.

“It’s a position in which I don’t feel it is necessary to shine with so much technique because Barcelona have great technique all over the pitch.”

Gerard Pique and Mascherano are currently the first-choice pairing for Barca, with Puyol on the road to recovery and youngster Marc Bartra another alternative. Sergio Busquets has also deputised at the back in recent seasons, although the Catalans have encountered problems against strong sides such as Madrid, Chelsea and Bayern Munich when forced to use midfielders at the back.

Barca have also changed coach, with Martino moving to Camp Nou after Tito Vilanova stepped down to continue treatment for cancer earlier in the summer. And Nadal claims the current campaign could prove complicated for his former club,

“Every time there is a change of coach, there are other changes,” he explained. “Barcelona have a very defined style, but there hasn’t been much time [for Martino to settle in].

“I think the team could find it difficult this year to reach the level and the style of recent seasons.”

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