to qualify for the tournament, where the talented Uruguayan squad were disappointingly eliminated in the group stage. In the 2004 Copa América, Montero and Uruguay reached the semi-finals, finishing the tournament in third place. Montero also captained his country in their bid to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in an intercontinental playoff against Australia, the country the Uruguayans defeated by a very convincing margin of 3–0 to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup tournament four years before. Sadly for Montero, he limped off with a hamstring injury during the second game in Sydney, and later Australia went on to narrowly snatch the win and the World cup qualification via penalties. After the defeat, Montero immediately announced his international retirement, saying "what happened today was such a pity as this group of players deserved to be at the World Cup finals." Montero made over 60 appearances for his country in between 1991 and 2006, scoring 5 goals. Retirement Paolo Montero reportedly retired in late May 2007 after attending a team training session in order to say goodbye to his teammates. His current squad had tried to persuade him to come back to football, with teammate Rubén Capria saying that "it's a tough blow to lose our captain". He played his final match in what was also Marcelo Salas' farewell match, a former Juventus teammate of Montero's. In August 2019, Montero enrolled in the UEFA Pro Licence courses at Coverciano. Style of play Considered to be one of the best defenders of his time, and one of Juventus's greatest ever centre-backs, Montero has been described as "skilful on the ball and calm under pressure", and a "wonderfully talented and intelligent footballer". In his prime he was regarded as one of the best defenders in the world. His international reputation is one of a man who was "fearsome, immovable and essential, in a back line that conquered Italy and Europe". A versatile defender, he was capable of playing in the centre (both as a stopper or as a sweeper) or on the left (although this was not his favoured position), and was known for his strength, consistency, leadership and organisational skills. Montero also stood out during his career due to his aerial ability, timing, technical ability, and distribution. A combative, tenacious, complete, and talented defender, he was also frequently criticised for his aggression and hard tackling playing style throughout his