Diego Lugano criticizes Marcelo Bielsa's coaching at World Cup

Diego Lugano, former captain of the Uruguay national team, has criticized coach Marcelo Bielsa for contributing to Uruguay's poor performance at the World Cup, which led to an early exit. Lugano accused Bielsa of creating a toxic atmosphere within the squad, stating that he did not understand the team and the players struggled to understand him. Uruguay finished with only two points in the group stage after failing to win any of their three matches, concluding with a loss to Spain. Reports indicated tensions among players regarding Bielsa's tactics and training methods, which were called exhausting. Lugano expressed hope that such a mistake would not be repeated by Uruguay in the future.

• 6:57 PMYahoo Sports — Ex-Uruguay skipper Lugano: Bielsa 'poisoned the atmosphere' in squad