Darwin Nunez will have a new manager to work under when he next jets off for international duty.
Liverpool’s No. 27 might not start every game for Liverpool at the moment, but he has been a key figure for Uruguay over the last year.
He will have a new boss to work under now, though, after Marcelo Bielsa was announced as Uruguay’s new manager.
Bielsa replaces Diego Alonso, who was dismissed following Uruguay’s failure to get out of their group at the Qatar World Cup, in which Nunez started all three matches.
A 2-0 win in their final group match against Ghana wasn’t enough to see them qualify, as their draw vs. South Korea and defeat to Portugal put them out on goals scored.
Bielsa is the man to begin a new era for the two-time World Cup winners, as the Argentine coach seeks to take them back to the top of the South American game.
Nunez, who comes from a poor background in Artigas – a city near the Brazilian border – has played most of his games for Uruguay alongside former Liverpool man Luis Suarez.
However, currently playing for Gremio in Brazil, Suarez is coming to the end of his career and there will be likely be an opportunity for Nunez to become the main man.
Bielsa’s energetic style of play, seen with the Argentina national side and in the Premier League with Leeds, will lend itself better to the more youthful Nunez who can get around the pitch quicker then Suarez.
Like at Liverpool, Nunez’s Uruguay career has seen him play from the left and in central positions.
This versatility is something that Bielsa will also be keen to capitalise on.
The first time that the new boss will get to work with Nunez in person will be in June, during the next international break, when Uruguay take on Nicaragua and Cuba in friendlies.
