Racing de Montevideo: A new star in the south

Two men in their early 70s stand on the new wooden veranda of the Racing Club de Montevideo clubhouse. Juan Boix and Daniel Villero have been friends for six decades. "We grew up here," says Villero. "We knew the groundskeeper's son and always played soccer on the club grounds as children." Boix later played for the first team, moved abroad as a professional, and returned to the club in the Sayago district as an official.

"Rassing," as the club's name is pronounced here in Spanish, is their life. The ball isn't rolling right now. And yet it means everything. "Other countries have their history," legendary coach Ondino Viera once said, "Uruguay has its soccer." Racing de Montevideo is one of 13 first division clubs in Uruguay's capital. Last season, the club qualified for the Copa Sudamericana, the South American equivalent of the Europa League, for the third time in a row. The club has 2,000 members, and the Parque Osvaldo Roberto stadium can hold 5,000 spectators. Only three and a half million people live in the country on the Río de la Plata, the "Silver River." Everything here in southeastern South America is a little smaller.

"We are a club de barrio," says retiree Villero on the wooden porch of the clubhouse. A "neighborhood club," in other words, a club with a long history, local roots, and loyal supporters. And this traditional club is now on a journey into an exciting future. At the end of 2023, Racing was acquired by Red&Gold Football, a joint venture set up to optimize global scouting and talent development for FC Bayern and Los Angeles FC. In 2025 alone, Red&Gold Football Managing Director Jochen Sauer flew to Uruguay four times. It is important to consult regularly with Racing officials: "Uruguay has a unique soccer tradition: characterized by technique and the will to win, discipline and creativity." Sauer is closely monitoring the expansion of the new training center in Montevideo, with R&G's expertise set to help Racing.

The beer brewers get started

Racing Club de Montevideo was founded in 1919. And an alliance with FC Bayern was apparently already in the stars back then. Not far from the first pitch was Munich Park, and across the street was a brewery, which is why Racing is still nicknamed "the beer brewers" (cerveceros) in Uruguayan soccer today. In the clubhouse, club president Washington Lizandro sits between the bar and the meter-long grill for the legendary barbecues. He himself comes from the Sayago neighborhood and proudly recounts the stories of two world champions from Racing's ranks who were part of Uruguay's title wins in 1930 and 1950, the successful 1960s, a runner-up finish in 2014, and the exciting nights of the Copa Sudamericana over the past two years.

But the 63-year-old also has an eye for financial realities. And those have never been easy for "the beer brewers." In Uruguay, only the two dominant clubs, Peñarol and Nacional, can secure lucrative television and advertising contracts. For the other clubs, the market is too small, and league operations are a losing proposition. That's another reason why training and selling players abroad is part of the business model. Another nickname for Racing is La Escuelita – "the little school" – partly because it is one of the few clubs to run a boarding school for youth players.

In 2021, Racing spun off its men's soccer division into a corporation, as FC Bayern had done 20 years earlier. The result is a "sports corporation" – in Spanish, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva: SAD. "Without a doubt, this is the way to continue functioning," says President Lizandro today. Racing's SAD was initially run by a consortium from Argentina led by Fernando Cavenaghi, a former top striker for River Plate. Since then, a training ground outside the city has been purchased, new experts in sports medicine and youth work have been hired, and a psychologist, an English teacher, and a nutritionist have been engaged for the juniors.

The parent club benefits from player sales by the SAD and participation in international competitions. The club grounds appear well-maintained and lively. Everything has been freshly painted and there is a new small artificial turf pitch. President Lizandro is happy, especially with the arrival of Red&Gold Football and the involvement of FC Bayern and LAFC: "We could have ended up with other partners, people who don't come from football. But then it would have been purely a financial transaction. They don't have the understanding or the passion for football." 

Small alliance for big goals

Jochen Sauer also has a passion for soccer and watches almost all of Racing's games via streaming, as he explains while walking across the training ground. A soccer fan and expert through and through: "Unless it's the middle of the night because of the time difference..." Sauer keeps a close eye on the young players in particular and is delighted when they get playing time or, like winger Yuri Oyarzo, are invited to train with the Uruguayan national team.

Soccer in Uruguay is two worlds apart: until recently, the pitch in Racing's small stadium had a height difference of 1.30 meters from goal to goal. And there is still a wood-burning stove in one of the changing rooms. At the same time, the small country became U20 world champion in 2023. According to a FIFA study, no other country exports as many soccer players in relation to its population. "It's crazy," says Sauer. "And in Montevideo, you can watch eight matches a weekend because everything is so close together." It's a great place for all soccer fans. And perfect for scouting talented players.  

Although FC Bayern and LAFC have an excellent network of talent scouts, it makes sense to enter into selective partnerships in order to be closer to the action in Africa, Asia, and above all North and South America. "It would be presumptuous to think we could oversee the entire world of soccer from Munich via a scouting network," says Jochen Sauer.

Uruguay's unique talent factory

A special feature of Uruguayan soccer is the sophisticated league system for children between the ages of four and 13. There is the Organización Nacional de Fútbol Infantil, known as ONFI, an independent association for children's soccer. While the DFB recommends avoiding "unnecessary pressure to perform," in Uruguay, not only are relegation and championship matches played, but the children's teams also qualify for city and regional championships. "This shapes a certain mentality, a will to win from an early age," says Sauer. Almost every child in the country plays "Baby Fútbol," as children's soccer is called in Uruguay, at some point. "And hardly any talent slips through the net," says Racing president Lizandro.

This is followed by intensive tactical training at junior level, which is on a par with the athletic development of talent in Argentina or Brazil, explains Sauer. "The skills acquired there, coupled with mental strength, are a recipe for success."

So there are a lot of reasons for investing in Uruguay. In 2023, Red&Gold Football acquired shares in Racing Club de Montevideo. Sports Director Cavenaghi is satisfied with the open cooperation. "There is an exchange, no instructions," he says, seeming almost surprised by the constructive support from the Red&Gold representatives: "We can learn a lot from Germany and the US. And they can learn something from us, too."

Open ears and willingness to learn

Sauer also emphasizes the cooperation on equal terms at the training ground. While other international club networks try to harmonize the playing style and philosophy of different clubs, R&G does not want to do that. "There is a reason why we came to Uruguay. It would make no sense for us to completely overhaul the local talent development system," says Sauer. However, Red&Gold Football wants to improve the infrastructure so that Racing can train at the highest possible level and convey simple basic playing principles.

"Compared to most pitches in Uruguay, our turf here is now like the Allianz Arena," laughs Fernando Cavenaghi, pointing his chin toward the field. The 2009 age group is currently training, the last session before the summer break. Tadeo Baladán is a striker, just like Cavenaghi once was. He stands out with his powerful calves, moves agilely between defenders, raises his arm, points forward to the striker, where the long ball should go. Tomorrow, the boy will travel to his family in Tacuarembó, a town far away in the Uruguayan pampas. He says: "I've wanted to be a professional player since I was little. In Uruguay, we have it in our blood."

But paso a paso, step by step. First, Baladán will play for Racing's amateur team. Then in the first team. And someday, perhaps in one of the big European leagues. The fact that FC Bayern and LAFC are new Racing partners is, of course, particularly motivating for Tadeo Baladán. "I've always been a bit of a Bayern fan," says the 16-year-old. "My father and I used to watch Robben and Ribéry play." Maybe in a few years he'll end up on the wing for FC Bayern.

Because, of course, the goal is that one day a footballer trained at Racing will be playing at the Allianz Arena or BMO Stadium. "But that won't be one in every age group," says Sauer. Racing is not only intended to train players, but also to be a stopover for talented players from other Latin American countries. This allows Brazilian or Ecuadorian players, for example, to be accompanied for longer and introduced to the living conditions in Europe or the USA.

Sitting on the green and white substitute bench on the training ground, Jochen Sauer recalls Giovane Elber and Uruguay's exceptional strikers Darwin Núñez and Luís Suárez, who all started out playing for smaller clubs. "This intermediate step must always be taken into account," he says. With Red&Gold Football, the club has now created its own system in which talented players can develop from Racing to LA to Munich – or be sold with a transfer bonus. That is the long-term goal. To this end, Sauer also wants to transfer successful structures from Munich or LA: "For me, the definition of good youth work is clear: on the one hand, it's about training an eight-year-old for ten years so that he's very good at 18. On the other hand, youth work is also characterized by having good scouts and bringing 16-year-olds like Musiala to Munich." Or to Montevideo, for that matter.

In the way of "Mia san mia"

Cavenaghi is also continuing to work on the future. In addition to three of its own pitches for the junior teams, eight more have been rented at the training ground, and the construction of a new gym is in the works. "Very simple, just the bare essentials," says the former striker, who played in Argentina and also for Girondins Bordeaux. The focus is on the sporting side of things. Money for an artificial turf pitch will only be spent once income from player transfers is available during the summer break. Munich-style financial management, you might say.

And where is the journey together leading? Retired fans Boix and Villero are delighted that Racing Club de Montevideo is playing internationally again. Cavenaghi has set Racing the sporting goal of establishing itself among the top five in Uruguay. In the long term, he would like to see the club in third place. Sauer is thinking even further ahead: "Become champions! Why not?"

(Pictures: Mariana Greif)