Jorge Bava exits Nacional with no complaints after being let go over poor results

The cycle came to an end, and Jorge Bava didn't walk out slamming doors. The coach, fired after Nacional's poor start to the season, said goodbye to the squad this Monday at the Ciudad Deportiva de Los Céspedes, and he did it with a line that sums up pretty well how these things go in soccer: "it's part of the game."

Bava spoke to reporters on his way out of the training complex and didn't dodge a single question. He said he said his goodbyes to the players one by one and that, despite everything, he leaves with a clear conscience. "We closed out a cycle in which we couldn't turn the situation around, and that's part of the game. We gave our best, the guys gave their best, and it just didn't happen," he explained. When asked whether he felt he'd had what it took to reverse the slump, his answer was short and blunt: "Obviously."

So what was it that went wrong? There too he didn't beat around the bush: "the results." No long excuses, no dancing around it. "There was daily work from the players and from us, but results are what matter, especially at a big club," he added, making clear that at Nacional the margin for error is always thin.

One detail had been floating around in recent weeks: that the plan was to keep him in charge through the derby against Peñarol in matchday four of the Torneo Clausura. Asked if that bothered him, he once again played it down.

None of it bothers me, it's part of the game. It's part of this business, better times will come for me and for the club. Life goes on.Jorge Bava

The coach also addressed the resignations of Sebastian Eguren and Martin Liguera, who stepped down from their roles in the club's sporting structure as soon as news of his departure broke. Speaking about them, Bava didn't hide his affection: "They were two rock-solid teammates. It makes me really sad for them, because I know how much they love the club."

Abreu, among those approached, shuts it down

While Nacional starts working the phones to find a replacement, one name that came up strongly was Sebastian Abreu, currently in charge of Xolos de Tijuana. "El Loco" was asked about it after his team's 2-1 win over Cruz Azul in Mexico's Torneo Apertura, and his answer left no doubt about where he stands.

When was I ever not there? Have you ever heard me say no? So, here we are.Sebastian Abreu

Abreu went further and talked about consistency as a coach: he pointed out that managers usually complain when they aren't given continuity, and that's exactly why he can't allow himself to abandon a project the moment an attractive offer comes along. He used a pretty vivid image to make his point: "If the captain leaves and the ship is stuck in the middle of the ocean with no captain, what are the sailors going to think? The captain is the last one to go down with the ship."

"El Loco" has been in charge of Xolos since April 2025, and everything points to there being no reunion, at least for now, with the club where he shined as a player: 85 official matches, 48 goals and two Uruguayan titles, in 2001 and 2005. Nacional will have to keep looking elsewhere.