 Forlán playing for Uruguay in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diego Forlán Corazzo | ||
| Date of birth | 19 May 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Internacional | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1990–1991 | Peñarol | ||
| 1991–1994 | Danubio | ||
| 1994–1997 | Independiente | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1997–2001 | Independiente | 80 | (37) |
| 2001–2004 | Manchester United | 63 | (10) |
| 2004–2007 | Villarreal | 106 | (54) |
| 2007–2011 | Atlético Madrid | 134 | (74) |
| 2011–2012 | Internazionale | 18 | (2) |
| 2012– | Internacional | 24 | (10) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2002– | Uruguay | 107 | (36) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 March 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12:39, 14 August 2013 (UTC) | |||
Diego Forlán Corazzo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈdjeɣo foɾˈlan]; born 19 May 1979) is an Uruguayan footballerwho plays as a forward for Internacional 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 (1970–1975) and Uruguay in the 1966 and 1974 World Cups and his maternal grandfather, Juan Carlos Corazzo, forIndependiente in Argentina.[2]
Forlán joined Independiente himself after rising through their youth team, and after a successful four-year spell, he signed for Manchester United of England's Premier League. His form for United was not as successful as at Independiente, although he won the Premier League in 2003 and the FA Cup in 2004. In the summer of 2004, he moved on to La Liga side Villarreal CF.
In his first season in Spanish football with Villarreal, 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 sinceRonaldo achieved this feat in the 2003–04 season. Forlán scored in Atlético's 2010 Europa League finalvictory against Fulham. In 2011, he joined Inter Milan of Italy's Serie A before moving to Internacional in 2012.
Forlán also has a successful international career, having scored record 33 times for his country since his 2002 debut. He scored once at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. He was the joint top scorer by scoring 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 againstGermany in the third place play-off. Despite being the joint top scorer in the tournament, Forlán did not receive an award for his goals due to tiebreakers. Forlán was however recognised with the Golden Ballaward, given to the best player at the tournament.[3]
On 12 July 2011, at the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, Forlán earned his 79th international cap, againstMexico, breaking the record held by former goalkeeper Rodolfo Rodríguez since 1986. On 20 June 2013, in a match against Nigeria at the 2013 Confederations Cup, he became the first Uruguayan to win 100 caps.[4] Forlán was Uruguay's all-time leading top scorer at international level until Luis Suárez overtook him on 23 June 2013.
Club career
Early career
Born in Montevideo, Forlán, son of former player and Uruguayan international Pablo Forlán, was a tennis player in his youth.[citation needed] He decided to follow the occupation of his father in playing football when his sister Alejandra was involved in a horrific car accident, which killed her boyfriend and left her in intensive care for five months and handicapped thereafter. In 1995, when he was 16, Forlán was brought to France by manager László Bölöni, and spent several months on trial at AS Nancy. However, the club opted against signing him, and Forlán returned to South America.
Independiente
He has played for several South American clubs, including Argentine side Independiente, where he scored 36 goals in 77 league games.[5] His goalscoring attracted the attention of European sides, and in January 2002 Independiente agreed a £6.9 million deal with Middlesbrough of the English Premier League; the transfer fee would be paid over 18 installments. Forlán travelled to England expecting to negotiate with Middlesbrough, but at the last minute Manchester United gazumped the Teesside club, offering a single payment of £6.9 million to Independiente, as well as a more financially lucrative salary for Forlán. On arriving in England, the Uruguayan negotiated with United officials for four hours, then informed the press of his decision. "Manchester United is a big club, so I've decided to go there," he explained. "The thing is, they offered more money than Middlesbrough."[6] He signed for United soon after.[7]
Manchester United
Diego Forlán was signed for Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson for £6.9 million on 22 January 2002. He made his debut on 29 January as a 76th minute substitute for Ole Gunnar Solskjær in a 4–0 away win at Bolton Wanderers. He made his first start in 4–0 home victory over Tottenham Hotspur on 6 March. Forlán played 13 Premier League and five Champions League appearances in the 2001–02 season but did not score.[8]
On 18 September 2002, Forlán came on as a 56th minute substitute for Ryan Giggs in a Champions League match versus Maccabi Haifa. He scored his first United goal as an 89th minute penalty kick in the 5–2 win. His first Premier League goal was a 77th minute equaliser in a home 1–1 draw against Aston Villaon 26 October. In Forlán's next Premier League game, at home to Southampton on 2 November, he came on as a 79th minute substitute for United's goalscorer Phil Neville with the score at 1–1, and scored the winner with a dipping shot over Southampton goalkeeper Antti Niemi in the 85th minute.[9] On 1 December, he scored his first brace for Manchester United with goals in the 64th and 67th minute of an away 2–1 Premier League win at rivals Liverpool.[10]On 17 December 2002, Forlán scored the winning goal as United defeated Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the Football League Cup. On 18 January 2003, Forlán scored a 90th minute winning goal to again defeat Chelsea, this time in a Premier League match.[11]
Manchester United went on to win the Premier League title in 2002–03, and Forlán scored six goals to make him the club's third best-scoring striker that season after Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjær.[12]
At the start of the 2003–04 season, Forlán played seven Premier League games without scoring. This run was broken on 25 October, when he equalised the score to 1–1 in the 45th minute of a home match versus Fulham, a game which United lost 3–1. Forlán then scored a goal in his three subsequent matches in three different competitions, starting with an extra-time goal in an away League Cup game at Leeds United which Manchester United won 3–2. This was followed by the opener in a 3–0 home Premier League victory over Portsmouth and a sixth minute goal in a win by the same score over Rangers in theChampions League. In his next Champions League game, he scored the 85th minute winner for United over Panathinaikos in a 1–0 away victory. On 6 December 2003, Forlán scored two injury-time goals as Manchester United beat Aston Villa 4–0 at home in the Premier League. These were Forlán's last Premier League goals despite him playing 10 more league games over the season. His only other Manchester United goal was in a 3–0 victory overNorthampton Town of Division Three on 24 January 2004 in the FA Cup.[13] Diego Forlán did not feature at all in United's 3–0 victory over Millwall in the 2004 FA Cup Final on 22 May 2004.[14]
He started the 2004–05 season with Manchester United and played in a Champions League qualifier against Dinamo Bucharest and a 3–1 defeat to Arsenalon 8 August in the 2004 FA Community Shield. His last match for United was their first Premier League game that season, a 1–0 defeat away to Chelsea on 15 August.[15]
Villarreal
Forlán was strongly linked with a move to Spanish clubs Levante UD and Athletic Bilbao (although Athletic only permit Basque players, Forlán is of Basque descent[16]), but on 21 August 2004 he signed with Villarreal CF.
Diego Forlán's debut for Villarreal was on 30 August 2004. He started away to rivals Valencia CF and scored his club's goal in the 77th minute of a 2–1 defeat. His next goal came in a home 2–0 win over Real Zaragoza on 3 October, and was followed with an equaliser in a 1–1 draw at Real Mallorca and the final goal of a 4–0 win at home to CD Numancia. Between 12 December 2004 and 16 January 2005, Forlán scored seven goals in five Primera División matches, including a brace in a 3–0 home victory over FC Barcelona on 9 January. On 22 May 2005, he scored his first hat-trick for a European club with all of Villarreal's goals in a 3–3 away draw against eventual league champions FC Barcelona. A week later he scored two in a 4–1 victory over local rivals Levante UD as Villarreal ended the season in third, qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.[15] Forlán won the 2004–05 Pichichi Trophy for most goals in La Liga, with 25. He also shared the 2005 European Golden Boot with Arsenal striker Thierry Henry.
His goal rate declined in the 2005–06 season as Villarreal underwent several changes, yet the club reached the semi-finals of the Champions League where they were knocked out by Arsenal.
In 2006–07, he ended the season with 19 goals in 36 league appearances.
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.[17] 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 de La Coruña.[18] 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 RCD Espanyol to help Atlético clinch Champions League qualification for a second successive year.[19] 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 FC Barcelona, Villarreal CF and Valencia CF. 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.[20] He ended the 2008–09 season with a very impressive 32 goals in 33 matches.
2009–10 season
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 RCD 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,[21] as well as criticism for Forlán, who was subsequently left out of the squad for the next game.[22] Atlético started to improve after the arrival new manager Quique 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 FC Barcelona 2–1 at the Vicente Calderón, inflicting the eventual Champions only league defeat of the season.[23] 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, Hamburg, on 12 May.[24]Forlán scored twice against Fulham in the final, in a 2–1 win and was awarded man of the match.[25] 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 Inter Milan 2–0 in Monaco on 27 August 2010.[26] 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 CA Osasuna on 13 November.[27] He speculated Beşiktaş, Real Madrid, and American club Seattle Sounders attempted to sign him in the January transfer window.[28]
Inter Milan
On 29 August 2011, it was confirmed that Diego Forlán had joined Inter Milan following the departure of Samuel Eto'o.[29] No financial details were announced but it is believed the 32-year old signed an initial two-year deal.[30] He made his debut on 11 September 2011, scoring with a high left foot shot in a 4–3 defeat at Sicilian club Palermo.[31] On 4 March 2012, Forlán scored his second goal for Inter against Catania in a 2–2 draw.[32] In April, Forlán declared his loyalty to Inter and his intention to stay when he told Sky Sports that "I want to stay at Inter. You haven't seen the real Forlán yet... I wouldn't want to leave Inter like this. I like challenges and I wouldn't want to leave when the team are not in a good position."[33] In June, his father confirmed the belief that the striker would see out his contract with the Nerazzurri.[34] On 5 July, however, after only scoring twice in 22 appearances, the Italian club confirmed that he had been released, terminating the final year of his contract.[35] Forlán has stated that his poor performance with the Nerazzuri was due to being played out of position. In addition, former Inter and Uruguay player Álvaro Recoba believed that his compatriot struggled at Inter due to the success of his predecessor Samuel Eto'o, which led Forlán to fail to live up to expectations.
Internacional
On 6 July 2012, after terminating his contract with Inter, Forlán signed a three-year deal with Brazilian club Internacional.[36] Forlán was also linked to Mexican teams Tigres UANL and Club América.[37] On January 2013, Forlán was linked with another Mexican team, the recently promoted Club León. At León, Forlán had the chance to play the 2013 Copa Libertadores; Internacional, however, retained Forlán's services for the 2013 season.[38] On 28 July 2012, he made his debut for the Brazilian club against Vasco da Gama. Forlán scored his first two goals for Internacional in a 4–1 win against Flamengo.[39] Forlán also helped the club win 2013 Campeonato Gaúcho, scoring nine goals, the highest total at the tournament.[40]
International career
Forlán made his debut for Uruguay on 27 March 2002, scoring his first goal in a 3–2 friendly defeat against Saudi Arabia.[41][42] During the 2002 World Cup, he scored a volley on 11 June 2002 in the group stage 3–3 draw againstSenegal.[43] Despite coming from three goals down to draw the game, Uruguay were eliminated from the tournament along with France in Group A.[44] 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.[45] Since the 2004 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.[46]
Diego Forlán and Youri Djorkaeff were, respectively, members of the Uruguay and France squads that met in the2002 World Cup, in Group A. Their respective fathers, Pablo and Jean, featured in the match between Uruguay and France at the 1966 World Cup, which was also in Group A.
Forlán is currently Uruguay's all-time most-capped player with 100 caps, his 100th cap coming in the 2013 Confederations Cup match against Nigeria. On 11 October 2011, he scored his 32nd goal, which made him Uruguay's top scorer of all time in official matches, beating Héctor Scarone who had held the record alone with 31 goals since 1930.[47] (Héctor Scarone scored 42 goals in total, but 11 of them were in unofficial matches).[48]
2002 FIFA World Cup
Main article: 2002 FIFA World Cup
Forlán was not a regular first-team player at the time of the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, having only made his debut (scoring a goal) againstSaudi Arabia earlier that year. Then of Manchester United, Forlán wore the number 21 shirt for Uruguay in the tournament. The manager, Victor Pua, favoured an attacking three of Alvaro Recoba, Sebastian Abreu and Dario Silva. After missing the first two matches of the group (a 2–1 loss to Denmark and a 0–0 draw with France), Forlán came on as a substitute in the final group game against Senegal, as part of a half-time double switch. When he came on for Abreu, his side were 3–0 down. Forlán scored in the 69th minute to make it 3–2 and Recoba equalised from a penalty with two minutes remaining. However Denmark's victory over France put them through ahead of Uruguay.
2004 Copa América
Main article: 2004 Copa America
Forlán wore the number 21 for Uruguay at the Copa América in Peru, shortly before his transfer from Manchester United to Villarreal. He played all six games as they, under the management of Jorge Fossati, came third. Forlán's only goal was in the 2–1 victory over Ecuador, Uruguay's only group win. They advanced in third place out of four in the group.
2007 Copa América
Main article: 2007 Copa América
Forlán wore the number 21 for Oscar Tabarez's Uruguay team for the 2007 Copa America in Venezuela, shortly after his transfer from Villarreal to Atlético Madrid. He did not score in Group A as they advanced in third out of four, losing 3–0 to Peru, beating Bolivia 1–0, and drawing 0–0 with the hosts.
They met Venezuela again in the first quarter-final on 7 July. Forlán scored twice (one after 38 minutes and one in injury time) as his country won 4–1. In the semi-final against eventual winners Brazil, Forlán equalised Maicon's goal to make it 1–1 after 36 minutes, but the game ended 2–2. Uruguay lost on 5–4 onsudden-death penalties with Forlán missing the first one. Afonso Alves missed for Brazil, prompting sudden death, where Diego Lugano missed for Uruguay and Gilberto Melo scored for the Brazilians.
2010 FIFA World Cup
Main article: 2010 FIFA 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 right footed long range effort. Later in the game, Forlán scored from the penalty spot, shooting high into the net for his second and also had a hand in Uruguay's third, in a 3–0 win over the host nation.[49] 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.[50] 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.[51] Forlán became the first player since Lothar Matthäus in 1990 to score three goals from outside the penalty area in one tournament.[52] 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.[53] 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.[54] Forlán was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. He was also picked for the team of the tournament, and was the joint top scorer at the World Cup with 5 goals.[55]
2011 Copa América
Main article: 2011 Copa América
On 24 July 2011, Forlán scored twice after Luis Suárez's opening goal helping Uruguay win their 15th Copa América title and became Uruguay's joint top scorer at international level, his 31 goals matching those of Hector Scarone after beating Paraguay3–0 in the final. Forlán's father and grandfather were also South American champions with Uruguay over a period spanning the 95 years of the world's oldest active tournament.[56]
2013 FIFA Confederations Cup
Main article: 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup
On 16 June 2013, Forlán appeared as a 69th minute substitute in Uruguay's opening 2013 Confederations Cup match against Spain. In Uruguay's second group game, a match where won his 100th cap for his country, Forlán scored the winning goal to defeat Nigeria 2–1. He was subsequently rested for the next match against Tahiti. He was again in the starting line-up as Uruguay lost 1–2 to Brazil in the semi-final, where he had a penalty kick saved by Brazilian goalkeeper Júlio César.
