President Luis Lacalle Pou was the central interviewee of the program sports time, the channel 5 classic that has been on the air for 35 seasons. “Soccer is the passion of all Uruguayans and it is also for the president,” the host of the live program, Sandra Rodríguez, welcomed the president who was by videoconference.
“I think that in the way that Uruguay qualified, it was very emotional; there is an important motivation,” the president began by saying about the selection.
He was then consulted by departure of master Washington Tabárez and Lacalle Pou replied: “The first thing I did was not get involved. Soccer is different from governments and I think that the governments that get involved or that use the most popular sport are baiting it,” he said.. The president reiterated during the interview that he would not “get into the small area” to discuss soccer matters because he believes that it is not his responsibility to do so with the most popular sport for Uruguayans.
However, Lacalle valued Tabárez as a “reference”.
“The teacher will remain in the history of Uruguayan soccer for many reasons. I like the sense of belonging, the sense of team, the effort, the tendency to excellence”, considered the chief executive. “He had a lot of time and left a lot of good,” he added.
He also valued the management of Diego “the tornado” Alonso. His work has been “12 points out of 12,” he commented.
About his current link with football, he said: “I follow football for my children”. Furthermore, he stated that although in his youth he was National and that his father, Luis Lacalle Herrera, took him to his stadium, today he also follows Boston River, as do his two sons.
Suárez to present the social security reform
On the other hand, on the arrival of Luis Suárez at Nacional, Lacalle said: “The great ones never lose their humility”and also added that the player’s attitude should be valued, given that he surely rejected other offers and chose his club for less money.
consulted for the assessment that Suárez was a uniting element in the political system and, in particular in Parliament (legislators from different parties stood out together joining the cause of return), Lacalle joked that Suárez should be taken to Parliament once a week. “You have to take him to present the social security reform,” she said with a laugh.
