Kolkata: Diego Forlan won’t have pleasant memories of his last visit to Kolkata. It was a decade ago, when as captain and marquee player of Mumbai City FC , the Uruguay star battled for a place in the Indian Super League (ISL) final against Atletico de Kolkata, only to petulantly pick up a red card.






Atletico de Kolkata went on to clinch a five-goal thriller, and Forlan’s second-half sending off killed Mumbai’s chances.






“I was disappointed because I think if I weren’t sent off in that game, we should have won,” Forlan tells TOI, slightly sheepish. “We played them a couple of times and won quite well. We were the best team (at the end of the league stage).”






Forlan returns to the Salt Lake stadium on Tuesday for a friendly against India. This time he’s the Uruguay coach, tasked with improving the nation’s fortunes after a disastrous World Cup, where they were knocked out in the group stage after picking up two points from three games.






“It’s a privilege to coach Uruguay, regardless of the circumstances. I don’t know if it’s the right time. I had the opportunity and I took it up. Uruguay is a great national team, with great players, and till I am the coach, I will try to enjoy every game.”






Forlan has taken over the team’s charge from Marcelo Bielsa , possibly football’s most philosophical coach. Bielsa’s stint started with plenty of promise as Uruguay defeated Argentina and Brazil in away games. But the team later disintegrated, eventually ending in a “very painful” exit.






By Bielsa’s own admission, nobody seemed interested in what he said.






Forlan is unlikely to face such a mutiny. After all, he’s a Golden Ball winner at the FIFA World Cup 2010 and the country’s most decorated footballer.






“Just because I won the Golden Ball, it does not mean that everything I say or do will be correct,” says Forlan. “I’m human and I know things are right and wrong. I try to use common sense (while coaching). I work with the players, try to have a good group, enjoy what they are doing.






“Of course, as manager, I will have a way of playing, a way of trying to do things. As (a former) player, the advantage is of experience. You know how to use your experience because you understand the players better. You know everything. It’s important to use common sense.”






Uruguay has a rich footballing history, deeply embedded in the national culture. A country of just three million people, there is a remarkable sense of close-knit community and underdog spirit that bonds its national team. Uruguay rarely gives an inch on the field, and, in the eyes of some, carries a ‘dirty’ image.






Forlan sees it differently.






“People talk about the way we play but I think sometimes it’s a little bit mistaken. It’s not that we are rough; it’s the way we play till the end of the game, doesn’t matter who we are up against. We know every game will be very difficult, but we will make it even more difficult for our opponents. That’s how we play. That’s the spirit we carry on the field.”






Forlan’s appointment as interim coach ends next March. He does not have the luxury of counting upon the expertise of Uruguay’s most famous striking duo of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani , who between them have 280 international appearances. Playing alongside both, the coach has fond memories, but feels it’s time to move ahead






“I enjoyed playing with them and as a Uruguayan fan, I enjoyed watching them with the national team, scoring many goals in different World Cups,” says Forlan. “Now, we don’t have to think how we can fill the gap (after their retirement). In life, nobody will stay forever. We need to adapt, see that life doesn’t stop with someone.”