Uruguay's best has potential for a nation-wide revival

	Javier Delgado and Nacional are trying to become the first Uruguayan club to win the Copa Libertadores in 19 years. AP
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MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay -- It has become perhaps the most unexpected rivalry in the western hemisphere. This was originally supposed to be a piece dedicated to the achievements of Sport Club Internacional, the reigning Copa Libertadores champion. But what I witnessed here last Wednesday changed my mind.

Enter Club Nacional de Football, the most exciting team in South America at the moment. The Uruguayan outfit put on a remarkable display as it tore apart the champs 3-1 in both teams' 2007 Libertadores openers.

Nacional may not have a reputation with most soccer fans around the world, but it has a strong one in South America. The club has won 41 league championships and three Libertadores titles, including a finals victory over Internacional in 1980.

But much like the Uruguayan national team, Nacional's achievements are classified as prehistoric. It hasn't had anything to cheer about in terms of international hardware since 1988, the last time any Uruguayan club won the Libertadores.

Despite all this, Uruguay's two representatives in this year's tournament are looking particularly strong -- Defensor Sporting cruised past Argentina's Gimnasia La Plata 3-0 in its group opener last week, too. Is this a sign that Uruguayan soccer is heading in the right direction?

The question is whether Nacional has what it takes to be a real contender. Most people will tell you that Uruguayan clubs can't compete with the likes of Boca Juniors, River Plate, São Paulo, Internacional and Santos -- the elite clubs of the continent. But based on their early form, the Tricolores have been the revelation of the competition so far, and could be poised to make history.

Earlier this week, winger Gonzalo Castro told me, "The win gives us the confidence to keep on going. Despite going a goal down, and with a man less, we were able to reverse the situation and win the match in the final 20 minutes.

"The result has had people talking," he added. "It's funny to see that all of a sudden we are considered as title contenders. This has done a lot of good for Uruguayan soccer in general, but we must keep on going as it is still early. Nacional has the ambition to return where it belongs."

Taking down the defending champs is one way to prove it. Nacional knows it's capable of beating the best clubs on the continent. In fact, if it hadn't been for the heroics of Inter keeper Clemer, the Uruguayans could have won by a greater margin against the same side that defeated European champion Barcelona in the final of the Club World Cup last December.

But which is Nacional's real face? Last Saturday the Tricolores followed up their victory with a 3-0 league thrashing at the hands of Uruguayan champion Danubio. They'll need to recover from that defeat quickly in order to confront their biggest test yet: Vélez Sársfield, in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. How Nacional performs in that match will give us a better idea if it's the real deal or not.

"It's going to be an open match," Castro said. "Vélez plays with an attacking incentive, so we will try to damage them on the counterattack and then look to close the result. I think we have enough quality to win the three points."