Diego Forlán

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Forlán and the second or maternal family name is Corazo.
Diego Forlán
Diego Forlán - Atlético de Madrid.jpg
Personal information
Full name Diego Forlán Corazo
Date of birth 19 May 1979 (1979-05-19) (age 31)
Place of birth Montevideo, Uruguay
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Atlético Madrid
Number 7
Youth career
Peñarol
Danubio
Independiente
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1998–2002 Independiente 80 (37)
2002–2004 Manchester United 63 (10)
2004–2007 Villarreal 106 (54)
2007– Atlético Madrid 103 (68)
National team‡
2002– Uruguay 69 (29)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 April 2010.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 July 2010 (UTC)

Diego Forlán Corazo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈdjeɣo foɾˈlan]; born 19 May 1979 in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan footballer who currently plays for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Uruguayan national team, as a striker. 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 FIFA World Cup.

Forlán was born into a family of footballers, his father Pablo having played for Uruguay in the 1966 and 1974 FIFA 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 signed for Manchester United. Forlán's two-year stint in the Premier League saw him fail to achieve the form he held at Independiente, and he was signed by 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, in which he has scored 29 times for his country. He scored once at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, and five times at the 2010 FIFA 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. He later received the Golden Ball award, given to the best player at the tournament.

Contents

Club career

Early years

Forlán, son of former player and Uruguayan international Pablo Forlán, 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. 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 England for a fee of £6.9 million.

Manchester United

Forlán endured a difficult time at Manchester United. Although he made his debut for the club on 29 January against Bolton Wanderers, he did not score his first goal until 18 September, a penalty in a Champions League game against Maccabi Haifa. This goal drought, which lasted for 27 games during an eight month period, saw him dubbed "Diego Forlorn" and "Diego Birtles" (after Garry Birtles, a former United striker who had flopped) by some quarters of the English press.

Forlán enjoyed the occasional purple patch of scoring, though. He was noted 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 Premiership-winning season of 2002–03, and 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 for the re-start of play, resulting in the spectacle of Forlán briefly running around the Old Trafford pitch bare-chested, with his shirt still in his hand, then recovering the ball for his team. The referee soon stopped play and ordered Forlán off the pitch to get dressed.

Forlán's record of 17 goals from 95 appearances for the club does not compare favourably to his former teammate Ruud van Nistelrooy's 150 goals in 210 games, and it was widely thought that he would not start the 2004–05 season in the Red Devils' team colours. That eventually proved true after signing for Villareal in August 2004, the same month Manchester United signed Wayne Rooney.

Villarreal

Forlán was strongly linked to a move to Spanish club Levante UD, but signed on 21 August 2004 with another Spanish club, Villarreal CF, where he became the Spanish 2004–05 season Pichichi Trophy winner with 25 goals, helping Villareal 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 Villareal underwent several changes, but in 2006-07 he began to hit form again, and ended the season high in the scoring charts.

Atlético Madrid

Forlán playing for Atlético Madrid

Forlán was linked to transfer with Juan Román Riquelme to Atlético Madrid in exchange for Luis Perea and money 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.[3] 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.[4] He ended his first season in Madrid with 23 goals, and formed a potent partnership with Argentinian striker Sergio Agüero. On 9 May 2009, Forlán scored twice against Espanyol to help Atlético clinch Champions League qualification for a second successive year.[5] 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.[6] He ended the 2008-09 season with a very impressive 32 goals in 33 matches.

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,[7] as well as criticism for Forlán, who was subsequently left out of the squad for the next game.[8] 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.[9] 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 Hamburg's HSH Nordbank Arena on 12 May.[10] Forlán scored twice against Fulham in the Final, in a 2–1 win and was confirmed the best player of the final match.[11] He ended the season with a total of 28 goals, including six in Atlético's succesful Europa League campaign.

International career

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

Forlán debuted for Uruguay in 2002. On 11 June 2002, Forlán scored in the 2002 FIFA World Cup against Senegal with a volley in a 3-3 draw. Despite coming from three goals down to draw the game, Uruguay were eliminated from the tournament along with France in Group A.[12] 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 shootout, which Brazil ultimately won 5–4.[13] Since the 2007 Copa America, Forlán has become a regular for Uruguay and often has a place in the starting XI. On 17 June 2008, he scored a hat-trick in a World Cup qualifying game against Peru.[14]

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

2010 FIFA World Cup

On 16 June 2010, during Uruguay's second group game in the 2010 FIFA World Cup against South Africa, Forlán opened the scoring with a long range effort. Later on in the game Forlán scored from the penalty spot for his second and also had a hand in Uruguay's third, ending in a 3-0 win over the host nation.[15] On 2 July 2010, Forlán scored a free kick against Ghana to equalise during the quarter-finals. The game ended 1-1 and Uruguay advanced through to the semi-finals after defeating Ghana 4-2 in the penalty shootout.[16] 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 at 1-1, Uruguay eventually lost 3-2 as the Dutch advanced to the final.[17] Forlán became the first player since Lothar Matthäus in 1990 to score three goals outside the penalty area in one tournament.[18] 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, after a pass by Arévalo Ríos was selected by FIFA as the goal of the Torunament.[19]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.[20] Forlán was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. Forlán is the fourth South American player that has received the Golden Ball in the FIFA World Cup tournament.[21] He also was chosen in the best team of the tournament, and he was one of the top goalscorers at the World Cup with 5 goals.[22]

International goals and caps

Uruguay's goal tally first.

Career statistics

Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other[23] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Independiente 1998–99 2 0 – – 0 0 – 2 0
1999-00 24 7 – – 0 0 – 24 7
2000–01 36 18 – – 6 2 – 42 20
2001–02 18 12 – – 5 1 – 23 13
Total 80 37 – – 11 3 – 91 40
Manchester United 2001–02 13 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 18 0
2002–03 25 6 2 0 5 2 13 1 0 0 45 9
2003–04 24 4 2 1 1 1 4 2 1 0 32 8
2004–05 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 0
Total 63 10 4 1 6 3 23 3 2 0 98 17
Villarreal 2004–05 38 25 0 0 – 0 0 0 0 38 25
2005–06 32 10 2 0 – 13 3 0 0 47 13
2006–07 36 19 2 1 – 2 1 0 0 40 21
Total 106 54 4 1 – 15 4 0 0 125 59
Atlético Madrid 2007–08 36 16 6 1 – 11 6 0 0 53 23
2008–09 33 32 3 1 – 9 2 0 0 45 35
2009–10 33 18 6 3 – 17 7 0 0 56 28
2010–11 1 2 0 0 – 0 0 1 0 2 2
Total 103 68 15 5 – 37 15 1 0 156 88
Career total 352 169 23 7 6 3 86 25 3 0 470 204

Statistics accurate as of match played 31 August 2010[24]

Honours

Club

Manchester United
Villarreal
Atlético Madrid

Individual

(* Jointly shared with Thierry Henry)

Personal life

Forlán lives with the Argentine fashion model and actress Zaira Nara.[25]

A founding member of the Fundación Alejandra Forlán, headed by his sister, Forlán is outspoken on the perils of dangerous driving. Alejandra was paralyzed in a car accident when Diego was a pre-teen, and the whole family has gathered round to make sure the foundation is given as high a profile as his in Uruguay.[26]

Alejandra Forlan is the sister of Diego Forlan, from Uruguay. Back in 1991 she suffered a car accident where she lost her boyfriend. And she became an integral part of his inspiration to play soccer. Diego Maradona met Forlan's father during that time, since he was a footballer in the 1970s, and helped him raising funds for his daughter’s treatment.

In 2009, Forlán appeared in a music video for Coti starring alongside Maxi Rodríguez.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "FORLAN" (in Spanish). clubatleticodemadrid.com. http://www.clubatleticodemadrid.com/index.php?op=2. Retrieved 2010. 
  2. ↑ Ben Lyttleton: In Suarez's absence Uruguay will lean even more heavily on Forlan at Sports Illustrated, 4 July 2010.
  3. ↑ "Forlán accepts Atlético offer". UEFA.com. 2007-06-30. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/intertotocup/news/kind=1/newsid=556914.html. 
  4. ↑ "Atletico de Madrid confirm return to Europe's elite". soccerway.com. 2008-05-12. http://www.soccerway.com/news/2008/May/12/atletico-de-madrid-confirm-return-to-europes-elite. 
  5. ↑ "Atlético Madrid 3-2 Espanyol". soccernet.espn.go.com. 2009-05-09. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=253097&cc=5739. 
  6. ↑ "Forlán claims Golden Shoe and Pichichi awards". UEFA.com. 2009-06-01. http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/news/kind=2/newsid=835149.html. 
  7. ↑ "Atlético Madrid fans stage protest following Real Mallorca draw". Goal.com. 2009-10-24. http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2009/10/25/1582906/atletico-madrid-fans-stage-protest-following-real-mallorca. 
  8. ↑ "Diego Forlán Left Out Of Atlético Madrid Squad To Face Marbella". Goal.com. 2009-10-26. http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2009/10/26/1585322/diego-forlan-left-out-of-atletico-madrid-squad-to-face. 
  9. ↑ "Atlético Madrid 2-1 Barcelona". Goal.com. 2010-02-14. http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/88/spain/2010/02/14/1790948/atletico-madrid-2-1-barcelona-los-colcheneros-steal-the. 
  10. ↑ Ornstein, David (2010-04-29). "Liverpool 2 – 1 Atletico Madrid (agg 2 – 2)". BBC Sport (BBC). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8649664.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
  11. ↑ McNulty, Phil (2010-05-12). "Atletico Madrid 2 – 1 Fulham". BBC Sport (HSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg: BBC). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8675486.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-13. 
  12. ↑ "Senegal cling on to qualify". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Company). 2002-06-11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/matches_wallchart/senegal_v_uruguay/default.stm. Retrieved 2010-06-16. 
  13. ↑ "Copa America: Brazil eliminates Uruguay on penalties". International Herald Tribune. 2009-03-29. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/11/sports/LA-SPT-SOC-Brazil-Uruguay.php. Retrieved 2010-06-26. 
  14. ↑ "Uruguay 6-0 Peru". ESPN Soccernet (ESPN). 2008-05-17. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=230019&cc=5739. Retrieved 2010-06-16. 
  15. ↑ "South Africa 0-3 Uruguay". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Company). 2010-06-16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/matches/match_179. Retrieved 2010-06-16. 
  16. ↑ "Uruguay 1-1 Ghana (aet)". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Company). 2010-07-02. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/matches/match_58. Retrieved 2010-07-02. 
  17. ↑ "Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Company). 2010-07-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/matches/match_61. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
  18. ↑ "Happy Holland edge Uruguay 3-2 to reach their third World Cup Final". www.sportsfeatures.com (Sports Features). 2010-07-06. http://www.sportsfeatures.com/soccernews/story/47129/holland-explode-into-3-1-lead-to-close-in-on-third-world-cup-final. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
  19. ↑ "Goal of the tournament. FIFA Wordlcup 2010.". http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/goalofthetournament/video/video=1272480/index.html. 
  20. ↑ "Uruguay 2-3 Germany". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Company). 2010-07-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/matches/match_63. Retrieved 2010-07-10. 
  21. ↑ "World Cup 2010: Diego Forlan collects Golden Ball award". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Company). 2010-07-11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8804708.stm. Retrieved 2010-07-11. 
  22. ↑ http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/futbol/copa-mundial/blog?entryID=1059182&name=Sudafreaka_2010
  23. ↑ Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
  24. ↑ Endlar, Andrew. "Diego Forlan". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/playermenu/forlan.html. 
  25. ↑ Sport (2010-05-31). "Die "Champions League" der Spielerfrauen". Sport.de.msn.com. http://sport.de.msn.com/fussball/bilder.aspx?cp-documentid=150457006. Retrieved 2010-06-26. 
  26. ↑ Forlan ushers Uruguay into new era, June 19, 2010 sportsillustrated.cnn.com, Retrieved July 2, 2010
  27. ↑ "Coti – Nunca Tendré – Maxi Rodriguez y Forlán". Mazcue.com.ar. http://www.mazcue.com.ar/coti-nunca-tendre-maxi-rodriguez-forlan/. Retrieved 2010-06-26. 

External links

Atlético Madrid – current squad

1 Asenjo · 2 Valera · 3 A. López · 4 M. Suárez · 5 Tiago · 6 Camacho · 7 Forlán · 8 R. García · 10 Agüero · 11 Mérida · 12 Assunção · 13 De Gea · 14 Filipe · 15 Godín · 16 Juanito · 17 Ujfaluši · 18 Domínguez · 19 Reyes · 20 Simão · 21 Perea · 22 Diego Costa · 27 Joel · TBA Elías · Coach: Quique Flores