Agustín Canobbio was far from calming the waters in the selection of Uruguay after the explosive statements of Luis Suarez about living with Marcelo Bielsa in the team and the Athletico Paranaense forward exposed the Rosario coach, accusing him of holding him responsible for the 2-1 defeat on the second date of the South American Qualifiers against Ecuador, in Quito.
“In 2023 there was a specific date that had a great impact on me: He blamed me for losing a match against Ecuador. I had scored the goal and created another goal situation. There are 11 of us on the field, a large squad and he blamed me for losing a game,” the footballer said in an interview with the program Minute 1 of Sports Carvefrom Uruguay.
The match Canobbio referred to occurred on Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at the stadium Rodrigo Paz Delgado from Quito, where Uruguay lost 2-1 after taking the lead with a goal from the 26-year-old striker from Montevideo. The former Peñarol player opened the scoring and He made a mistake by losing Ray Páez’s markwho ended up sending the center into the area for the goal Felix Torres that decreed the victory of Tri. The Uruguayan footballer was replaced in the 69th minute by Facundo Pellistri and did not start again in the Celeste. He only accumulated a few minutes in the victories against Argentina (2′) and Bolivia (3′), one time in a friendly against Ivory Coast and one minute in the semifinals against Colombia in the Copa América. Since September 2 of this year, Bielsa stopped calling him to the national team.
“In a video analysis that he does he ended up blaming me for something. Obviously the player realizes when he plays well or badly, inaccurate or not, and in that match I felt very good. I repeat, the situation I had generated the goal and I had one more that I passed towards the middle. Individually, I felt very good and I was very shocked by the way he told me.”added the far right.
“There was a lot of constant disrespect and I, who am very respectful in all my walk, came to a point where I exploded.. I knew the consequences that could come and based on that I acted the same, I went ahead with my codes and values that were instilled in me as a child and luckily today I rest my head on the pillow with tranquility and peace,” mentioned the person who emerged in the club. Fénix and who is now at Atlético Paranaense, in Brazil.
It must be remembered that when Canobbio arrived in Uruguay after Celeste’s performance in the United States, a journalist from the channel Teledoce He asked the forward if he was sad about the result. What was the response of the former Peñarol? “You will already know, it is not the result”he said about his limited participation in the Copa América. Faced with this fact, the one who gave details of what happened behind closed doors of the team was the Uruguayan journalist Diego Jokas. “There was an injury to Canobbio in training that was what started to cause him discomfort”he revealed on the same channel’s sports program. “Bielsa put Canobbio as ball catcher in training”added the chronicler.
In the last press conference given by the Argentine coach at the AUF complex prior to the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches, Bielsa was forceful when asked about what happened. “Ask Canobbio about the ball catcher thing because it is such a big offense towards me and him… Ask him if he ever served as a ball catcher. To him or to anyone summoned, I honestly don’t know how such a derogatory statement for everyone is simply based on something transcended,” the man from Rosario clarified.
What’s more, Suárez himself clarified in his statements that sparked the conflict what had happened with that decision by the coach. “To Canobbio, I bank on what happened because it is understandable, he was quite restrained and it is normal. Many days he had him do exercises with the soccer players who were sparring partners. A player who is among the 26 in the Copa América cannot participate as if he were a sparring partner. Bothers. “It is an absolute lack of respect,” he said. The Gunslinger.
The climax of the situation that led to Canobbio’s departure from the national team happened in the run-up to the match against Canada for the last place on the Copa América podium. But before that, he had a crossover on the pre-tournament tour.
“A clear example: he was (for Bielsa) holding a meeting in front of everyone for something special that had to be done the way he wanted and I was sitting listening before we left for Las Vegas and having both of my legs resting on the legs of the chair was disrespectful and rude to him when I was not doing anything. He messed with my family’s education. It seemed like he was reproaching me for something that had nothing to do with me. There I looked at him as if to say ‘stop for a bit because I’m not a guy who can handle everything’. And it already came from many. There I started to get a few fleas and in the end I ended up exploding,” said the Uruguayan attacker.
What happened before the duel with the Canadian team in Charlotte? “He approached me and told me to pay attention because I could play. He told everyone. He played with my mind a little and with everything that had happened I exploded. It was a bit of a reaction, but I think it was normal for a person who has feelings. We are not robots,” Canobbio confessed.
“If a boss ignores you in that way or humiliates you, you react. I have endured a thousand things in my career but there comes a point when we are human. And I have that temperament, I value what I am and I am not going to let myself be ignored by anyone, whoever they are, whether they have won what they have won or wherever they have been. That does not allow him or give him the power to treat anyone in a certain way because although he is the coach and boss, there are people above him who are not respected either. He was allowed to do that and he takes advantage of that power. And I don’t think that’s how things are,” the player analyzed.