Known as el Maestro, Óscar Washington Tabárez, was born in Montevideo in 1947. He began his career in football with the Montevideo Football Club (Institución Atlética Sud América) in 1967 and, after qualifying as a teacher, combined careers in teaching and football. 

Working in primary schools in poor neighbourhoods, he also contributed to literacy training for adults and education for the visually handicapped. In Uruguay, Tabárez works with programmes such as Sport for Peace and Development and Sport for All, which use sport to favour the inclusion of the under-privileged. 

After playing for five Uruguayan and one Mexican team, Tabárez, became a professional coach. His trophies as national football manager include the 2011 Copa América, won by Uruguay and the country’s fourth place in the 2010 World Cup (South Africa). He has also coached teams in Colombia (Dportivo Cali), Argentina (Vélez Sarsfield and Boca Juniors), Spain (Oviedo) and Italy (Cagliari and AC Milan).