RIO DE JANEIRO: As Diego Forlan ran off the pitch, he seemed to take away Uruguay’s World Cup chances with him.

The man, who’d been Uruguay’s — and South America’s — shining star at the World Cup four years ago, made his final appearance for the national team as La Celeste lost 2-0 to Colombia at the Maracana Stadium in their round-of-16 clash on Saturday.

The Cerezo Osaka striker hadn’t played for Uruguay since their opening World Cup game — a 3-1 loss to Costa Rica — where he was substituted after an hour.

On Saturday, the former talisman was brought into replace the team’s current talisman.

Luis Suarez had been banned for nine international matches for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini in their in their final Group ‘D’ match on Tuesday.

And coach Oscar Tabarez hoped Forlan could inspire the side like he did four years ago in Uruguay’s run to the semi-finals that saw him being voted the best player of the tournament.

Maracana had been the scene of one of Uruguay’s finest triumphs when they stunned Brazil in the final of the 1950 World Cup.

At a Maracana with a reduced capacity 64 years later, they were looking to add to those memories with the 35-year-old Forlan looking to make an impression at this year’s finals.

It didn’t happen though.

The passage of time waits for no man and the former Manchester United, Atletioc Madrid and Inter Milan striker cut a forlorn figure before he was substituted on the hour mark. Last year before his move to the J-League and Cerezo, Forlan said he’d like to match his father Pablo Forlan’s achievements and play till the age of 39.

After Saturday’s loss, he was coy on his future plans but he did reflect on the defeat.

“We played a team which was better than us,” he told reporters after the match. “They knew how to keep possession and opened the scoring with a great goal.

“They scored another goal into the second-half which hurt us a lot. We did have some chances to reduce the deficit but we didn’t take it.”

The player who scored both goals was James Rodriguez. With five goals to his name already, if he continues his rich vein of form and the Colombians progress, he seems very likely to pick up Forlan’s baton.

And maybe it was fitting that both South American’s crossed paths at the Maracana — the predecessor and the possible successor.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2014