URUGUAYAN SOCCER

For well over 100 years Uruguay has been one of the standard bearers of South American soccer and has established a soccer tradition that includes four national team world titles -- gold medals in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics and the 1930 and 1950 World Cups -- as well as a record 14 Copa America South American championships, 8 Copa Libertadores South American club championships and 6 Intercontinental Cup world club championships. Uruguay is the only country in the world with two teams, Club Atlético Peñarol and Club Nacional de Fútbol, to win 3 Intercontinental Cups. In 1924 Uruguay became the first South American team to tour Europe when it sent its National Team to compete in the Paris Olympics. Their gold medal performance in France was so dominating that it is widely acknowledged that Uruguay's performance was the foundation for the modern French game. Adding to their legendary achievements, Uruguay won the first ever World Cup in 1930 defeating Argentina in the final at Montevideo's Centenario Stadium. In perhaps the greatest upset in the history of soccer, Uruguay defeated Brazil to win the 1950 World Cup and in the process silenced a crowd of 200,000 Brazilians in Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium.

Throughout the last century Uruguay has been a source of world-class soccer players. More than 300 Uruguayan soccer players currently play in professional leagues throughout Europe, North, Central and South America, Asia and the Middle East. Almost 50 Uruguayan players, including Pandiani of Birmingham City, Recoba of Inter Milan, Forlán of Villareal, Montero and Zalayeta of Juventus, Chevantón of AS Monaco, and Silva of Malaga, are currently playing in the German Bundesliga, La Liga of Spain, the English Premiership and Italian Serie A. Of the 33 non-Uruguayan teams competing in the 2004 edition of South America's Copa Libertadores, Uruguay averaged two of its players per team. In a recent Libertadores Cup match between Sporting Cristal of Peru and 3-time Copa Libertadores winner Olimpia of Paraguay, six Uruguayans saw playing time.

The Fútbol Factory camps incorporate this winning tradition by working with some of the most important professional clubs in Uruguay, the Uruguayan Soccer Federation and the Uruguayan Players Association to provide its players with the best coaching staff, South American training techniques and training experience.