Matias disagrees.

The result? His team lost 1-0. He was benched for three games by his manager for "treason." But the away fans gave him a standing ovation. Authenticity, for Matias, is more valuable than three points. Most footballers speak in clichés: "We take it one game at a time. The boys gave 110%."

The next time you watch a game and see a player roll around seven times after a phantom touch, think of Ignacio Matias. Think of the man in Montevideo, sitting in a sparse locker room, taping his own ankles, reading a decaying paperback of Eduardo Galeano’s "Soccer in Sun and Shadow."