How Ugarte typifies ‘garra charrúa’ spirit

This warrior spirit has been at the core of the country’s football psyche for over a hundred years, enabling it to lift the World Cup twice, in addition to the Olympic Games titles of 1924 and 1928 – prizes which are still seen as bona-fide global championships in the South American nation.

Considering its population numbers just 3.5 million people, Uruguay has continued to be a footballing heavyweight, producing global superstars like Edinson Cavani, Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez and regularly competing at the business end of big tournaments.

Many credit ‘garra charrúa’ – translating to ‘the claw of the charrúa (the indigenous peoples of Uruguay) – as a huge reason behind this sporting success.

As the lynchpin of Uruguay's midfield, Manuel Ugarte is arguably its strongest current embodiment and Manchester United’s new addition is known for his exceptional tackling ability from the ‘no.6’ position.

Ugarte is perfectly placed to define ‘garra charrúa’ then, and the former Sporting Club and Paris Saint-Germain man explains it as meaning a never-say-die type of attitude.

“It's about fighting for every ball like it was your very last,” Manu said.

“It's something totally natural that you find in Uruguayan players and it's down to lots of things: the background and context we've played in and because there are so few of us.

“Uruguay is a tiny country, but it's won and achieved a lot.

“It produces good players and this is also down to that 'garra charrúa’, which means basically giving everything you've got, no matter what the situation.”

The 23-year-old once described football as ‘a game when you have the ball and a fight when you don’t’.

Despite only making 25 appearances for the Parisians in Ligue 1 last season, Ugarte made more tackles than any other player in the French top-flight.

Only Romain del Castillo, of Brest, won possession back more often in the final third and it’s clear that Manuel relishes doing the dirty work in the middle of the park.

“That was a totally genuine comment, because I was describing my style of play and that phrase just came out naturally,” added Ugarte, on his statement about needing to fight.

“But it does kind of sum me up, because it's something I feel very comfortable doing when it comes to winning the ball back and now I'm looking forward to doing it right here.

“[Tackling] is something I do as a rule and it's part and parcel of my game.”

He doesn’t want to limit himself to just being a tackler, though, and stats from FBRef.com show a player who is also capable with the ball at his feet.

Ugarte scored in the league’s top 10 for passes completed, with 91.2 per cent finding the feet of a team-mate in Paris and he topped the equivalent chart during his final campaign for Sporting in Portugal.

“I feel that I'm decent at winning the ball back but that I can also be very good in possession too.

“Of course, there are things I can improve upon, but what better place is there to be doing that than here?”