Varela earns "dream" first Uruguay call-up
Guillermo Varela is hoping to follow in the footsteps of some of Uruguay’s great defenders after earning his first senior international call-up for their forthcoming World Cup double-header.
The dynamic right-back, who turns 23 today (Thursday), has been rewarded for an excellent start to his Reds career with a place in Oscar Tabarez's squad for the qualifiers against Brazil on Friday and Peru on Tuesday.
Before he got the call, Varela spoke to
Inside United about what it would mean to represent his country and named Atletico Madrid centre-back Diego Godin as a reference point for him in the national team.
"It is a dream that every player has, going off to play for their country and wearing the shirt with pride," said Varela, who has notched 11 appearances for United since making his debut in December. "God willing, with hard work and effort, I think that moment might come around.
"It’s good for me if the manager [Louis van Gaal] continues to show faith in me by giving me more game time. The more I play for United in the first team, the better my chances of breaking into the Uruguay squad.
"We’ve always been a team that defends a lot. That’s the main characteristic of Uruguay! [Godin] is doing a terrific job at the moment and I reckon he has to be one of the best defenders in football."
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