Óscar Washington Tabárez Silva (Latin American Spanish: [ˈoskaɾ taˈβaɾes]; born 3 March 1947), known as El Maestro (The Teacher), is a Uruguayan former professional football manager and former player.

In October 2017 Tabárez qualified Uruguay for a fourth time; reaching the 5th position at the 2018 World Cup tournament.

He managed the team at the Pan American Games, in 1983 in Caracas, where Uruguay won the gold medal, defeating Guatemala in the final.

In 1987, Tabárez led Peñarol to its fifth Copa Libertadores title after defeating América de Cali in the tournament final.

Uruguay finished in second place, eliminating Diego Maradona-led Argentina in the process, losing to hosts Brazil at the Maracanã Stadium.

Uruguay reached the round of 16 of the tournament after a draw with Spain, a loss to Belgium and a win against South Korea.

His spell, however, would only last a few months: after a Supercoppa Italiana defeat against Fiorentina at home at the San Siro, a 2–3 loss at Piacenza for the league cost him his position.

[5] Tabárez then worked with Real Oviedo in Spain, with the club eventually only maintaining top division status in the promotion/relegation play-offs against Las Palmas, winning 4–3 on aggregate.

In the last minute of extra time, a penalty kick was missed by Asamoah Gyan, after a handball by Luis Suárez.

[9] In South Africa, the national team reached the semi-finals for the first time in 40 years,[10] where it lost 3–2 to the Netherlands,[11] only conceding five goals in six matches until that point.

[12] In the 2011 Copa América, Tabárez led Uruguay to its 15th victory in the tournament, with the national side winning three games and drawing three in Argentina, and only conceding three goals.

In 2011 and 2012, under Tabárez's leadership, Uruguay remained undefeated in 18 consecutive games from June 2011 to August 2012, a national team record previously set by Juan Carlos Corazzo.

[15] After a victory against the United Arab Emirates U23 (2–1), the team lost the next two games against Senegal U23 (2–0) and Great Britain (1–0), marking the end of the Olympic adventure.

[20] On 19 June, the Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol made a video tribute to celebrate Tabárez's 150 games at the helm of the Uruguay national team.

In a game marked with the controversy between Edinson Cavani and Chile's Gonzalo Jara, Uruguay were eliminated after a 1–0 defeat.

Also, Luis Suárez tied Argentinian Hernán Crespo as the top goal scorer in World Cup Qualifications for CONMEBOL.

In August, Uruguay obtained a draw in the Centenario against Argentina, but a victory in September (the first time ever when visiting Paraguay), returned the team to the running for the World Cup.

Following the tournament, Tabárez's contract expired, and its intended renewal was initially not completed due to controversy surrounding the national federation which included the resignation of its president Wilmar Valdez.

[23] One friendly match in September 2018 was overseen on an interim basis by the Under-20 coach Fabián Coito;[24][25] the contract was renewed a few weeks later.

After poor results in the qualifying rounds of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Tabárez was fired on 19 November 2021, ending 15 years as coach of the Uruguay national football team.

The list also includes such names as Hugo Meisl, Alf Ramsey, Mario Zagallo, Helmut Schön, Carlos Alberto Parreira, Joachim Löw, Lars Lagerbäck, Bruce Arena, Berti Vogts, Guillermo Stábile, Ignacio Trelles, Walter Winterbottom, Lajos Baróti and Vicente del Bosque.