Sálvio Spínola Fagundes Filho matches

An intense final with a clear winner, and a referee that didn´t look as the most indicated to take charge of this very important match. But, with Silvera and Pezzotta out of the race because of different reasons, CONMEBOL didn´t have too many options to choose. And after a quite disastrous 1st half, at the end of the final my sensation about Fagundes job was something like: well, it could have been much worse.

Oh, no...
Fagundes ignored a clear handball by Ortigoza inside Paraguayan penalty area, which should have meant, at least, a penalty for Uruguay. That action was the beginning of a number of mistakes the Brazilian referee made during the 1st half. At certain moments, the referee looked out of focus, mentally far away from the game. His booking policy was not severe enough to keep things under his control in a match that was hard and intense... He correctly showed 4 yellow cards during the first half, but he should have also booked Pereira and there were more than a couple of fouls he ignored. All in all, it was really a bad job by Fagundes in a 1st half that deserved a better referee.

Better but not enough
During the 2nd half, the referee's work improved, but maybe it was because the sensation was that the game was over from the beginning. Perhaps two or three mistakes in the middle of the field, and a bad off-side call, were the only errors the referee team made. In the 3rd goal, the assistant was good in convalidating it, because Forlan was in a legal position.

Salud, campeón
I would like to end the report talking about Uruguay, a country that is back in the gallery of the world´s greatest football teams. Serious leaders, a consistent and intelligent coach and a great generation of players allowed Uruguay to build a real team that has conquered America again. Every Uruguayan has many reasons to be proud of them. And we say, in our native Spanish, a big "Salud, campeón!" to congratulate Uruguay.