Diego Forlan
Diego Forlán Corazzo (Montevideo, May 19, 1979) is a Uruguayan former soccer player and coach. He worked as a striker or midfielder. He was an absolute international with the Uruguayan soccer team, of which he was its captain.
He won two Golden Boots in the 2004-2005 and 2008-2009 seasons, in addition to the Golden Ball for the best player in the 2010 World Cup, he is also considered one of the best footballers in the history of Villarreal Club de Fútbol and Atlético de Madrid.
Biography
Son of Pablo Forlán, also a soccer player, and maternal grandson of Juan Carlos Corazzo -technical director of the Uruguayan team in the 1962 World Cup- and 1967 South American Champion in Montevideo, he started out in tennis, but later decided to continue with the family tradition and dedicate himself to Soccer.
Trajectory
Independent
After playing in the lower ranks of the Danubio Fútbol Club, he went to Independiente de Avellaneda, in Argentina, a club he joined at the age of 17. He debuted in the first team on October 25, 1997.
Manchester United
After passing through the Argentine League, he signed for Manchester United of England, in January 2002, at the express request of Sir Alex Ferguson. After an irregular start to his first half-season, in which he could not scoring goals, he won the Premier League in the 2002-03 season and the FA Cup in 2003-04. During his time at the English club he scored 17 goals.
Villarreal
On August 31, 2004, he was transferred to Villarreal in Spain, where he won the Spanish league Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Boot (which he shared with Arsenal's French player Thierry Henry) by scoring 25 goals during the 2004-05 season, contributing decisively to Villarreal finishing the League in third place. In the same year that they won the UEFA Intertoto Cup, Diego Forlán also established himself as the top scorer in the history of Villarreal with 59 goals.
Atletico Madrid
On June 30, 2007, his signing for Atlético de Madrid was confirmed for 23 million euros, plus bonuses based on objectives achieved. On May 8, 2008, he became the top Uruguayan scorer in the Spanish League with 69 goals, surpassing José Luis Zalazar who had 67 goals. Forlán scored his 69th goal against Espanyol. During the 2008-09 season, the Uruguayan Atlético de Madrid player once again won the Pichichi Trophy and the Golden Boot, scoring 32 goals and in his country he was awarded the Charrúa de Oro Award, which recognizes the best Uruguayan athlete in each season.
In the 2009-10 season, Diego Forlán played a key role in Atlético Madrid's European success, scoring five of his team's last six UEFA Europa League goals, leading to the title win. His goal against Valencia in the quarterfinals, the two against Liverpool in the semifinals and the two in the grand final against Fulham, in which he was voted best player of the match, installed him forever on the rojiblanco historic pedestal. In the Spanish League he scored 18 goals in 31 games, to close the season with figures of 28 goals in 46 games. The 2010-11 season could not have had a better start because on August 27, 2010 he achieved his second title as an Atlético by winning the European Super Cup against Inter Milan 2-0. However he then suffered a series of ups and downs during the rest of the season. On January 30, 2011, he played his 500th game at the Vicente Calderón between the different clubs he has played for, against Athletic Bilbao on the twenty-first round of the league, ending the match with a 0-0 defeat. 2. With his goal against Villarreal on March 5, 2011, he entered the top 10 top scorers in the First Division in the history of Atlético de Madrid.
Inter Milan
At the end of August 2011, he was signed by Inter Milan. The Uruguayan said goodbye having won two titles, a Golden Boot and 96 goals as a rojiblanco, making him the tenth highest scorer in history of the club in the First Division.
On September 11 of that year, he made his debut for Inter Milan in the second matchday of the league (the first play, since the first matchday was postponed due to a players' strike), scoring a goal in the 4-game defeat. 3 against Palermo. Nine days later, in another 3-1 defeat against Novara, Forlán played the 600th game of his career. On February 23, 2012, he made his debut for Inter in the Champions League in the 1-0 defeat against Olympique de Marseille in the first leg of the round of 16. Forlán was unable to participate in the group stage with Inter because he had already played in the Europa League with Atlético Madrid. On April 7, 2012, he played, against Cagliari, his 400th league game, having scored a total of 177 goals among the different leagues in which he has played: Argentina, English, Spanish and Italian. This match, corresponding to the thirty-first day of Serie A, ended with a draw at two.
Inter Porto Alegre
After a season at Inter in Italy, he was signed in July 2012 by Inter Porto Alegre. His debut with his new club took place on July 28 in a match against Vasco da Gama corresponding to the Serie Because it ended in a 0-0 draw, while on September 2 he scored his first two goals with Internacional in a four-one victory against Flamengo, corresponding to the twenty-first round of the league.
Osaka Cherry Tree
After an irregular campaign with Internacional, where they did not participate in the Copa Libertadores and the team finished in 14th place in the Brasileirao, in January 2014 Forlán signed a contract with Cerezo Osaka of the J1 League of Japan until December of the same year.
On March 20, 2014, Forlán closed the scoring of Cerezo Osaka's 4-0 win against Buriram United, competing for the Asian Champions League.
Peñarol
In June 2015, Cerezo Osaka decided not to extend the Uruguayan's contract. The 36-year-old player was fired in style, with great recognition from the Japanese club, his teammates and the fans who cheered his name and raised several thanks flags.
On July 9, 2015, he returned to his homeland after 18 years abroad, so that one day later, he was officially presented at Peñarol in Uruguay, signing a contract for a year and a half. obtaining the Tournament Opening on December 6, 2015 against Youth for the Uruguayan Championship.
On February 21, 2016, Forlán scored his first hat-trick at the Carbonero after defeating Defensor Sporting 5-1 in the same tournament.
On June 12, 2016, he won the 2015-16 Uruguayan Championship, after Peñarol beat Plaza Colonia 3-1 in the definition, he ended up contributing 8 goals and 12 assists, in 34 games played. Finally, on June 14, the player called a press conference to announce his departure from Peñarol.
Kitchee SC
On January 4, 2018, 38-year-old Diego Forlán headed to Hong Kong, to play the BOCG Life Hong Kong Premier League with Kitchee Sports Club. In May 2018 he announced his departure from the Kitchee Sports Club. He would later abandon his professional career as a player.
Professional retirement and subsequent activity
Diego Forlán celebrated his farewell as a professional soccer player with a special match held at the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, in which renowned soccer players and friends of the protagonist participated. This event pitted a special team from the Uruguayan team against the "Los Amigos de Forlán" team. Among the many figures present were Óscar Washington Tabárez, Diego Lugano, Andrés Scotti, Diego Pérez, Egidio Arévalo Ríos, Luis Suárez, Sebastián Abreu, Fabián Carini, Antonio Pacheco, Juan Sebastián Verón, Juan Román Riquelme, Andrés D'Alessandro and Diego Milito, among many others.
In the farewell game there was also a musical show at halftime by Emiliano Brancciari, vocalist of the group No Te Va Gustar, and a fireworks display at the end of the game.
Since then, Forlán worked as a coach at Peñarol during the first half of 2020, and at Atenas de San Carlos during a semester of 2021.
In addition, since his retirement as a professional soccer player, he has not only worked as a coach and technical director, but has also continued to be linked to soccer given his importance as a historic player for the Uruguayan national team and his relevance on the international scene of this sport For these reasons, he is frequently consulted about the news on the football scene in the media both in Uruguay and in other parts of the world.
In July 2021, he was named an international ambassador for the FIFA Museum, in recognition of his valued role in global football. From this position, Diego Forlán leads activities as a promoter of football culture in different countries of the world.
National team
He has been capped for the Uruguay national soccer team 112 times and has scored 36 goals. His debut with his national team was on March 27, 2002, in a friendly match against Saudi Arabia played in the city of Riyadh.
In the 2002 World Cup, he scored Uruguay's second goal in a 3-3 draw against Senegal, when his team was eliminated from the tournament. In this match, he made his World Cup debut at the beginning of the second half of the game, when his team was defeated 0-3 at halftime. As with other players, the controversy in Uruguay about his late inclusion revolved around the fact that his representative was not & # 34; Paco & # 34; Casal, an influential businessman in the Uruguayan sports and popular sphere.[citation required]
During the Fossati era, the striker was called up for all Uruguay matches, both in the 2004 Copa América, in which he reached third place, and in the 2006 Germany qualifiers. In these, he scored six goals, including two in the 3-3 draw against Brazil at the Maracana after trailing 0-2, but missed the playoff rematch against Australia due to injury.
Under the command of Óscar Washington Tabárez, in the 2007 Copa América he was one of the most outstanding Uruguayan figures of the tournament, contributing with three goals to obtain a fourth place, in addition to converting seven goals in the qualifiers for South Africa 2010.
In the 2010 World Cup, Forlán was a key player in the success of the Uruguayan team that reached the semifinals of the tournament, shared the title of goalscorer in the competition and was awarded the Ballon d'Or, an award given to the best player in the tournament. The crossbar of the goal defended by Neuer witnessed the striker's last effort: with time served and no chance of a rebound, the last chance for the Uruguayan team crashed there, in a personal and team performance that will go down in history.
After the World Cup, he failed to score goals in the friendlies that the team played in preparation for the 2011 Copa América. However, he ended this dry spell with two goals in the final against Paraguay that the Uruguayan national team would end up winning by 3 -0, obtaining the fifteenth cup in its history, a record in the list of winners of the competition.
On May 12, 2014, the coach of the Uruguayan national team, Óscar Washington Tabárez, included Forlán in the provisional list of 25 players with whom he began preparing for the 2014 Soccer World Cup. He was finally confirmed in the final list of 23 players on May 31. He announced his retirement from the national team in March 2015.
Matches
He played a total of 112 matches with the Uruguayan national team, of which he won 42, drew 35 and lost 32, contributing to a 49.7% effectiveness rate for Uruguay in the matches he played. He started 96 games while coming on as a substitute in another 16. He scored 36 goals, averaging 0.35 goals per game.
Participations in World Cups
Goals in Soccer World Cup
Soccer World Cup South Africa 2010
Diego Forlán had an excellent participation with the Uruguayan team. In the first game of the group stage, their rival was the French team and they obtained a pale goalless draw, but despite this, they won the Budweiser Player of the Match award. In the second game, played on the 16th of In June 2010, he unquestionably defeated South Africa, hosts of the World Cup 3-0 and scored two goals, one of them from a penalty, and was also voted man of the match. In his third and final first round match, played on June 22, 2010, he had a good participation, appearing in his teammate Luis Suárez's first and only goal against the Mexican team, thus taking first place in group A with seven points. in the quarterfinals against Ghana, Forlán tied the score at one with a great goal from a free kick, and converted one of the penalties in the final shootout that gave his team a pass to the semifinals, taking the award for the third time. best player of the match In the semifinals, he played against the Netherlands, gave a memorable performance and scored the goal that momentarily tied the game at one, but in the end it was not enough, as his team lost 3-2.
In the match against the German team, for third and fourth place, Forlán scored the partial 2-1 in favor of the Uruguayan team at 51' minute. of the match with a volley from the edge of the area, after a cross from his teammate Arévalo Ríos, in what was the best goal of the world cup.
The last opportunity was for Forlán due to a violation by Friedrich at the gate of the area. The Mexican referee Benito Archundia, a good job, warned that there was not even a rebound. The Uruguayan striker had the chance to define in alarque at his feet, but it couldn't be because the terrible shot moved the crossbar and it was all over. With goals from Jansen and Khedira, Germany took third place with a 3-2 victory, but Uruguay finished a dignified fourth place, their best position in forty years.
Forlán shared, with 5 goals, the first place in the scorers table with Thomas Müller, Wesley Sneijder and David Villa forming part of the all-star team. In addition, he won the Ballon d'Or for the best player in the World Cup, receiving 23.4% of the votes of people accredited by FIFA, being also part of the ideal team of the World Cup.
Participations in the Confederations Cup
| Cup | Headquarters | Outcome | Parties | Goles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Confederations Cup 2013 | Brazil | Fourth place | 4 | 1 |
Participations in Copa América
| Cup | Headquarters | Outcome | Parties | Goles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copa América 2004 | Peru | Third place | 6 | 1 |
| Copa América 2007 | Venezuela | Fourth place | 6 | 3 |
| Copa América 2011 | Champion | 6 | 2 |
Copa America Venezuela 2007
Diego Forlán had a good participation in this 2007 Copa América, in which he scored 3 goals: 2 in a match against Venezuela in the quarterfinals, which meant the passage of the Uruguayan team to the semifinal where he scored a goal against Brazil. In this, however, a penalty was missed in the definition from the eleven steps to unbalance the tie between Uruguay and Brazil in the 90 minutes of 2-2 (where the Brazilian goalkeeper stepped noticeably from the goal line and the referee did not score the foul), being one of the three marrados that caused the defeat to "Celeste" by 5-4 in said contest.
Copa America Argentina 2011
Diego Forlán achieved his first title with the Uruguayan team in the 2011 Copa América, in which he commanded the Uruguayan attack together with Luis Suárez during the 6 matches of the tournament. On a personal level, he was awarded the man of the match award in the group stage win against Mexico and scored two goals, both in the tournament final against Paraguay, which ended 3-0.
With this title, Diego Forlán is the third member of his family to be crowned champion of this tournament. His grandfather, Juan Carlos Corazo, and his father, Pablo Forlán, were champions in the past.
As a coach
Peñarol
The historic Uruguayan goalscorer began his career as technical director at the head of Club Atlético Peñarol in December 2019. Cachavacha, accompanied by his brother Pablo, Juan Castillo and Santiago Alfaro on his coaching staff, held the place left vacant by Diego López, who left after not renewing the relationship. He made his debut in a friendly match on a tour of the United States at the Banc of California Stadium, being defeated by the Los Angeles Football Club 2 - 0, previously the Peñarol's team in a practice match would beat the Seattle Sounders. In the Uruguayan Championship he made his debut with a 2-1 victory against Cerro with an agonizing goal at the end of the game, at the Campeón del Siglo Stadium. On August 31, 2020, he was dismissed after losing against Wanderers on Date 9, due to irregularity in the results. The club was currently 7th in the Uruguayan Championship and was tied on points with the rest of its group with 3 points and 2 games played.
Athens of San Carlos
On March 17, 2021, he is officially announced as the new technical director of Atenas, of the Second Division of Uruguay. The team had recently been acquired by Grupo Pachuca from Mexico. On September 16, 2021, after the 2-1 defeat against Rampla Juniors, he was dismissed as DT of Athens, after disagreements with the club's board of directors.In this club, Forlán led 12 games, with 4 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses. At the time of his dismissal, the Athenian team was 6th, reaching the playoff zone for the third promotion.
Personal life
Diego Forlán was born into a family of soccer players. His father, Pablo Forlán, was the American and World Champion with Peñarol in 1966 and the São Paulo champion in Brazil with São Paulo (1970-1975), also playing for the Uruguayan soccer team in the World Championships in England 1966, Mexico 1970 and Germany 1974. His maternal grandfather, Juan Carlos Corazzo, played for the Club Atlético Independiente of Argentina until 1937, directed the Uruguayan soccer team in the 1962 World Cup and was the 1967 South American Champion in Montevideo.
She is a founding member of the Alejandra Forlán Foundation, headed by her sister, Alejandra Forlán, who suffered a car accident in which she was paralyzed and her boyfriend died. She inspired her brother Diego to play soccer, and the whole family works together to promote the aforementioned foundation in Uruguay.
In 2009, Diego Forlán announced his engagement to the model and actress Zaira Nara. However, two years later, and for reasons that are still unknown, both announced their breakup. Even after more than ten years since this separation, media consequences continue to emerge on their behind the scenes.
At the end of 2013, Diego Forlán married Paz Cardoso and they both had a son, Martín, in February 2016, and a daughter, Luz, in May 2017. In February 2019, their third child was born, César. In March 2021, they had their fourth child, José.
On August 6, 2019, Forlán announced his final retirement as a professional soccer player on the Uruguayan TV program Telemundo.
Stats as player
Clubs
Updated according to the last game played on May 13, 2018.Selections
Updated according to the last match played on June 28, 2014.| Selection | Season | Friendly | South America(1) | World(2) | Total | Average score | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part. | Goles | Assist. | Part. | Goles | Assist. | Part. | Goles | Assist. | Part. | Goles | Assist. | |||
| Sub-20 Uruguay | 1999 | - | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 0.15 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 0.15 | |
| Adult Uruguay | 2002 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0.40 | ||
| 2003 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | - | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0.71 | |||
| 2004 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 1 | - | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0.18 | |||
| 2005 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | - | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0.22 | |||
| 2006 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |||||
| 2007 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 3 | - | 9 | 5 | 3 | 0.56 | |||
| 2008 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0.43 | |||
| 2009 | - | 9 | 3 | 2 | - | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0.33 | |||||
| 2010 | 4 | 2 | 0 | - | 7 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 0.64 | |||
| 2011 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 1 | - | 14 | 3 | 3 | 0.21 | |||
| 2012 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | - | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0.11 | |||
| 2013 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0.21 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | |||
| Total | 36 | 9 | 4 | 63 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 113 | 37 | 17 | 0.33 | |
| Total career | 36 | 9 | 4 | 72 | 22 | 14 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 126 | 39 | 20 | 0.31 | |
(1) Includes South American Sub-20 (1999) matches; South American Classifications / American Cup (2003-13). (2) Includes FIFA Confederations Cup matches (2013). | ||||||||||||||
Statistical summary
Updated according to the last game played on May 13, 2018.| Competition | Parties | Goles | Average | Assistance | Average | Targets and assistance | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Division | 511 | 212 | 0.42 | 77 | 0.14 | 289 | 0.55 |
| Second Division | 16 | 10 | 0.63 | 3 | 0.19 | 13 | 0.81 |
| Regional | 13 | 9 | 0.69 | 3 | 0.23 | 12 | 0.92 |
| National Cups | 50 | 15 | 0.31 | 5 | 0.10 | 20 | 0.41 |
| International Cups | 111 | 28 | 0.26 | 12 | 0.10 | 40 | 0.36 |
| Adult selection | 113 | 37 | 0.33 | 17 | 0.15 | 54 | 0.48 |
| Sub-20 selection | 13 | 2 | 0.15 | 3 | 0.23 | 5 | 0.39 |
| Total | 827 | 340 | 0.41 | 120 | 0.14 | 433 | 0.59 |
Hat-tricks
Matches that scored three or more goals: Updated according to the last game played on February 3, 2018.Stats as a manager
Clubs
- Updated to 15 September 2021.
| Club | Country | Year | PJ | PG | PE | P | GF | GC | Dif. | Effectiveness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peñarol | Uruguay | 2020 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 45.45% |
| Athens | 2021 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 47.22% | |
| Total | 23 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 46.37% | ||
Honours of Prizes
National titles
International Titles
Individual distinctions
| World Cup Golden Ball | Gold Boot |
|---|
Individual awards
| Distinction | Year |
|---|---|
| Trofeo Pichichichi de la Liga de España (25 goals) | 2004-05 |
| UEFA Gold Boot | 2005 |
| EFE Trophy | 2004-05 |
| Maximum Goleador of the history of the Villarreal | 2007-2011 |
| Maximum Uruguayan Goleador in the Spanish League | 2008 |
| Trofeo Pichichichi de la Liga de España (32 goals) | 2008-09 |
| UEFA Gold Boot | 2008-2009 |
| Charrúa de Oro al Mejor Deportista de Uruguay | 2009 |
| Best player at the end of the UEFA Europa League | 2010 |
| FIFA World Cup Golden Ball | 2010 |
| FIFA World Cup Star Team | 2010 |
| Best goal of the FIFA World Cup | 2010 |
| Charrúa de Oro al Mejor Deportista de Uruguay | 2010 |
| GQ Award for Best Sportsman of the Year | 2010 |
| Fox Sports Award for Best Soccerr of the Year | 2010 |
| Fox Sports Award for Best Athlette of the Year | 2010 |
| Fifth place in the FIFA Golden Ball 2010 | 2011 |
| Honorary Partner of Peñarol | 2011 |
| 2010 season Olympic Altar | 2011 |
| Official Cross of the Order of Isabel la Católica | 2011 |
| Maximum historic scorer of the Uruguay Selection in FIFA recognized matches | 2011 to 2013 |
| Seventh place at FIFA Golden Ball 2011 | 2012 |
| Maximum Gaucho Championship Tour | 2013 |
| Second best goal of the 2013 Confederations Cup | 2013 |
| Best Player of the Tournament Opening[chuckles]required] | 2015 |
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