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Diego Forlán

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Diego Forlán
Forlán in 2010
Personal information
Full name Diego Forlán Corazo
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Atletico Madrid
Number 7
Youth career
Peñarol
Danubio
Independiente
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2001 Independiente 80 (37)
2001–2004 Manchester United 63 (10)
2004–2007 Villarreal 106 (54)
2007– Atlético Madrid 134 (74)
International career‡
2002– Uruguay 74 (29)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:50, 17 May 2011 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 00:50, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Diego Forlán Corazo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈdjeɣo foɾˈlan]; born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan footballer who plays as a striker for Atlético Madrid and the Uruguayan national team. He is a two-time winner of both the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe, and also received the Golden Ball as the best player at the 2010 World Cup.

Forlán was born into a family of footballers, his father Pablo having played for São Paulo FC (1970–1975) and Uruguay in the 1966 and 1974 World Cups and his grandfather, Juan Carlos Corazo, for Independiente in Argentina.[2] Forlán joined Independiente after rising through their youth team, and after a successful four-year spell, he signed for Manchester United. Forlán's disappointing two-year stint in the Premier League saw him fail to achieve the form he held at Independiente, and he moved on to La Liga side Villarreal.

In his first season in Spanish football, Forlán scored 25 league goals and won the Pichichi Trophy. After two more successful seasons with Villarreal, Forlán joined Atlético Madrid, where he once again became the league's top scorer, and became the first player to win the Pichichi Trophy twice since Ronaldo achieved this feat in 2003-04.

Forlán also has a successful international career, having scored 29 times for his country. He scored once at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, and five times at the 2010 World Cup, in which he scored twice against the host nation South Africa, once against Ghana in the quarter-finals, once against the Netherlands in the semi-finals and once against Germany in the third place play-off. Despite scoring five goals, Forlan was beaten to the Golden Boot by Thomas Müller of Germany, as he also had 3 assists. David Villa of Spain won the Silver Boot. Wesley Sneijder of Holland won the Bronze Boot. Forlán was however recognized with the Golden Ball award, given to the best player at the tournament.

Club career

Early career

Born in Montevideo, Forlán, son of former player and Uruguayan international, was a promising tennis player in his youth. But he decided to follow the family tradition and concentrate on football when his sister Alejandra was involved in a car accident, which killed her boyfriend and left her in intensive care for five months and handicapped thereafter. He was tested at Nancy Lorraine (France) during 5 months but the staff doesn't believe in Diego. So he returned in Uruguay and went to Argentina. He played for several South American clubs, including Argentine side Independiente, where he made his name in football as a goalscorer, before attracting European attention and transferring in January 2002 to play for Manchester United in the English Premier League for a fee of £6.9 million.

Manchester United

While Forlán's spell at Old Trafford was disappointing, he did enjoy the occasional purple patch of scoring. He had a knack for scoring important goals, such as the late equaliser at home to Aston Villa and the remarkable volleyed winner in the last minutes of the home game against Chelsea during United's Premier League-winning season of 2002–03. He became a fan favourite when he scored two goals against Liverpool in a 2–1 victory at Anfield. During this period, Forlán became known for removing his shirt and baring his torso in celebration of his goals. The first such example of this resulted in quite an amusing incident: Forlán whipped his shirt off in excitement after scoring an 85th minute winner against Southampton in November 2002 but struggled to get it back on in time before play restarted, resulting in the spectacle of Forlán briefly running around the Old Trafford pitch bare-chested with his shirt still in his hand, before recovering the ball for his team. The referee soon stopped play and ordered Forlán off the pitch to get dressed.

Forlán's 17 goals in 95 appearances (goal every 5.5 games) for United did not compare favourably to his former teammate Ruud van Nistelrooy's 150 goals in 210 games (goal every 1.4 games), and it was widely thought Forlán would not start the 2004–05 season in the United team colours. That was proved true when he signed for Villarreal CF in August 2004, the same month Wayne Rooney joined United.

Villarreal

Forlán was strongly linked with a move to Spanish clubs Levante UD and Athletic Bilbao (the latter as he is of Basque descent[3]), but signed on 21 August 2004 with another Spanish club, Villarreal CF, where he became the La Liga 2004–05 season Pichichi Trophy winner with 25 goals in 38 appearances (goal every 1.5 games), helping Villarreal to their first ever UEFA Champions League spot. He also jointly won the European Golden Boot award with Thierry Henry. His form dipped in the 2005–06 season as Villarreal underwent several changes, but in 2006–07, he hit form again, ending the season with 19 goals in 36 appearances (goal every 1.9 games).

Atlético Madrid

2007–08 season

Forlán was linked with a transfer jointly with Juan Román Riquelme to Atlético Madrid in exchange for Luis Perea plus cash in June 2007. On 30 June 2007, following the departure of their captain Fernando Torres to Liverpool, Atlético Madrid confirmed that they had agreed to a fee of around €21 million.[4] He returned to England in February 2008 to take part in Atlético's UEFA Cup clash against Bolton Wanderers (the club against whom he made his Manchester United debut), but the side lost out 1–0 on aggregate. In May 2008, Forlán helped Atlético qualify for the Champions League for the first time in over a decade, scoring the winning goal against Deportivo La Coruña.[5] He ended his first season in Madrid with 23 goals, and formed a potent partnership with Argentinian striker Sergio Agüero.

2008–09 season

On 9 May 2009, Forlán scored twice against Espanyol to help Atlético clinch Champions League qualification for a second successive year.[6] Los Rojiblancos were trailing 2–0 at half-time and had seen Luis Perea sent off, but came back to win 3–2 thanks to a goal of the season contender from Forlán, as well as a last minute winner. He also scored crucial goals in wins over Barcelona, Villarreal and Valencia. On 23 May 2009, Forlán scored a hat-trick against Athletic Bilbao, which helped him win the La Liga Pichichi Trophy award, as well as the European Golden Boot for a second time.[7] He ended the 2008–09 season with a very impressive 32 goals in 33 matches (essentially a goal per game).

2009–10 season

Forlán playing for Atlético Madrid.

Forlán started the 2009-10 season slowly, and struggled for form as Atlético made their worst start to a league season since their relegation in 2000. On 24 October 2009, Forlán scored a penalty and missed another as Atlético were held to a 1–1 draw at home against Mallorca, who had played the majority of the second half with just nine players on the field. The disappointing result and performance led to protests from Atlético supporters,[8] as well as criticism for Forlán, who was subsequently left out of the squad for the next game.[9] Atlético started to improve after the arrival new manager Quique Sánchez Flores, and once again, Forlán flourished in the second half of the season, as Atlético reached the finals of both the Europa League and Copa del Rey. On 14 February 2010, Forlán scored the first goal as Atlético beat Barcelona 2–1 at the Vicente Calderón, inflicting the eventual Champions only league defeat of the season.[10] On 22 April 2010, Forlán scored the only goal of the game in Atlético's Europa League semi-final first leg at home to Liverpool. A week later, Liverpool took the tie to extra time before taking a 2–1 aggregate lead. Forlán then scored again to make it 2–2 on aggregate, giving Atlético the away goal they needed to reach the final, in which they played against Fulham at Volksparkstadion on 12 May.[11] Forlán scored twice against Fulham in the final, in a 2–1 win and was awarded man of the match.[12] He ended the season with a total of 28 goals, including six in Atlético's successful Europa League campaign.

2010–11 season

The 2010-11 season began with another trophy for Forlán and Atlético, winning the UEFA Super Cup, beating Internazionale 2–0 in Monaco on 27 August 2010.[13] Again Forlán started the season slowly, and despite finding the net three times in the opening two league games, he then went 12 matches in all competitions without a goal before finally scoring a double in a 3–0 win against Osasuna on 13 November.[14] He speculated Beşiktaş, Real Madrid and American club Seattle Sounders attempted to sign him in the January transfer window.[15]

International career

Forlán made his debut for Uruguay on 27 March 2002, scoring his first goal in a 2–3 friendly defeat against Saudi Arabia.[16][17] During the 2002 World Cup, he scored a volley on 11 June 2002 in the group stage 3–3 draw against Senegal.[18] Despite coming from three goals down to draw the game, Uruguay were eliminated from the tournament along with France in Group A.[19] He also scored against Brazil in the 35th minute of the 2007 Copa América semi-final. However, he missed his shot during the subsequent penalty shoot-out, which Brazil ultimately won 5–4.[20] Since the 2007 Copa America, Forlán has become a regular for Uruguay, often in the starting XI. On 17 June 2008, he scored a hat-trick in a World Cup qualifying game against Peru.[21]

Diego Forlán and Youri Djorkaeff were, respectively, members of the Uruguay and France squads that met in the 2002 World Cup. Their fathers, Pablo and Jean, featured in the match between Uruguay and France at the 1966 World Cup.

Forlán is currently only 8 games short of Uruguay's all-time most capped player, the goalkeeper Rodolfo Rodríguez, who played 79 times for his country, and only 2 goals behind the leading scorer in Uruguay's history, Hector Scarone, who has been the country's top scorer with 31 international goals for more than 80 years.

2010 World Cup

Forlán (right) with Luis Suárez at the 2010 World Cup.

On 16 June 2010, during Uruguay's second group game in the 2010 World Cup against South Africa, Forlán opened the scoring with a long range effort. Later in the game, Forlán scored from the penalty spot for his second and also had a hand in Uruguay's third, in a 3-0 win over the host nation.[22] On 2 July 2010, Forlán scored a free kick against Ghana to equalise in the quarter-final. The game ended 1-1 and Uruguay advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Ghana 4-2 in the penalty shootout.[23] On 6 July 2010, Forlán scored another long range goal, this time with his left foot to equalise against the Netherlands in the semi-final. Despite a half-time score of 1-1, Uruguay eventually lost 3-2 as the Dutch advanced to the final.[24] Forlán became the first player since Lothar Matthäus in 1990 to score three goals from outside the penalty area in one tournament.[25] On 10 July 2010, Forlán scored for the final time in the tournament as he netted a well-executed volley from the edge of the area to give Uruguay the lead. This goal, from a pass by Arévalo Ríos, was selected by FIFA as the Goal of the Tournament.[26] Forlán then hit the crossbar with the final kick of the game from a free-kick as they lost to Germany 3-2 in the third place play-off.[27] Forlán was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. He was also picked for the team of the tournament, and was one of the top scorers at the World Cup with 5 goals.[28]

International goals and caps

Uruguay's goal tally first.

Statistics accurate as of match played April 2011[31]

Honours

Club

Manchester United
Villarreal
Atlético Madrid

National Team

Uruguay

Individual

(* Jointly shared with Thierry Henry) y

Personal life

Forlán announced on March 9, 2011 on his official Twitter page that he and Argentinian model/actress Zaira Nara were engaged to be married.[32]

A founding member of Fundación Alejandra Forlán, headed by his sister, Forlán is outspoken on the perils of dangerous driving. Back in 1991, Alejandra suffered a car accident where she lost her boyfriend and became paralyzed as a result. Diego Maradona met Forlan's father during that time, since he was a footballer in the 1970s, and helped him raise funds for his daughter’s treatment. She became an integral part of his inspiration to play football, and the whole family has gathered round to make sure the foundation is given as high a profile as his in Uruguay.[33]

In 2009, Forlán appeared in a music video for Coti starring alongside Maxi Rodríguez.[34] On July 2010, Forlán had his match-winning antics at the FIFA World Cup 2010 immortalised in the style of the famous Japanese series Captain Tsubasa. The celebratory song was made by the faceless band The Golden Vuvuzelas with music from the Super Robot anime series Mazinger Z.[35]

References

  1. ^ "FORLAN" (in Spanish). clubatleticodemadrid.com. Retrieved 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ Ben Lyttleton: In Suarez's absence Uruguay will lean even more heavily on Forlan at Sports Illustrated, 4 July 2010.
  3. ^ "Forlán dona su camiseta al Museo del Athletic". Canal Athletic. 2010-09-13.
  4. ^ "Forlán accepts Atlético offer". UEFA.com. 2007-06-30.
  5. ^ "Atlético de Madrid confirm return to Europe's elite". soccerway.com. 2008-05-12.
  6. ^ "Atlético Madrid 3-2 Espanyol". soccernet.espn.go.com. 2009-05-09.
  7. ^ "Forlán claims Golden Shoe and Pichichi awards". UEFA.com. 2009-06-01.
  8. ^ "Atlético Madrid fans stage protest following Real Mallorca draw". Goal.com. 2009-10-24.
  9. ^ "Diego Forlán Left Out Of Atlético Madrid Squad To Face Marbella". Goal.com. 2009-10-26.
  10. ^ "Barcelona suffer first La Liga defeat". The Independent. London. 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
  11. ^ Ornstein, David (2010-04-29). "Liverpool 2–1 Atlético Madrid (agg 2–2)". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  12. ^ McNulty, Phil (2010-05-12). "Atlético Madrid 2–1 Fulham". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 2010-05-13.
  13. ^ "Atlético stun Inter in Super Cup". BBC Sport. BBC. 2010-08-27. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  14. ^ "Forlan finds form in Atlético win". Yahoo. 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  15. ^ "Real Madrid fail in bid to sign United flop Diego Forlan from city rivals Atletico". Daily Mail. London. 29 January 2011.
  16. ^ "Diego Forlan Corazo – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  17. ^ "2002 Matches – Intercontinental (January – March)". RSSSF. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  18. ^ "Senegal cling on to qualify". BBC Sport. 11 June 2002. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  19. ^ "Senegal cling on to qualify". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Company. 2002-06-11. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  20. ^ "Copa America: Brazil eliminates Uruguay on penalties". International Herald Tribune. 2009-03-29. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
  21. ^ "Uruguay 6-0 Peru". ESPN Soccernet. ESPN. 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  22. ^ "South Africa 0-3 Uruguay". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Company. 2010-06-16. Retrieved 2010-06-16. [dead link]
  23. ^ "Uruguay 1-1 Ghana (aet)". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Company. 2010-07-02. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  24. ^ "Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Company. 2010-07-06. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  25. ^ "Happy Holland edge Uruguay 3-2 to reach their third World Cup Final". www.sportsfeatures.com. Sports Features. 2010-07-06. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  26. ^ "Goal of the tournament. FIFA Worldcup 2010".
  27. ^ "Uruguay 2-3 Germany". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Company. 2010-07-10. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  28. ^ http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/futbol/copa-mundial/blog?entryID=1059182&name=Sudafreaka_2010
  29. ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
  30. ^ Endlar, Andrew. "Diego Forlan". StretfordEnd.co.uk.
  31. ^ "Forlán, Diego". National-Football-Teams.com.
  32. ^ Sport (2010-05-31). "Die "Champions League" der Spielerfrauen". Sport.de.msn.com. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
  33. ^ Forlan ushers Uruguay into new era, June 19, 2010 sportsillustrated.cnn.com, Retrieved July 2, 2010
  34. ^ "Coti – Nunca Tendré – Maxi Rodriguez y Forlán". Mazcue.com.ar. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
  35. ^ "World Cup hero Diego Forlán turned into cartoon". Inside World Soccer. 17 July 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
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