Diego Forlán

Diego Forlán

Personal information
Full name	Diego Martín Forlán Corazo
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	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	102	(66)
International career‡
2002–	Uruguay	69	(29)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 April 2010 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 July 2010 (UTC)

Diego Martín 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.

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. 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. In 2010 he also received the Golden Ball as the tournament's most outstanding player.

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.

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 again.

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 a fee of around €21 million. 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. For the 2008–09 season, he was once again the recipient of the La Liga Pichichi Trophy award, with 32 goals in 33 matches, as well as the European Golden Boot for a second time.

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. Forlán scored twice against Fulham in the Final, in a 2–1 win.

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. 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. 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.

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. 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.. On 6 July 2010, Forlán scored another long range goal, this time with his left foot to equalise againt 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. Forlán became the first player since Lothar Matthäus in 1990 to score three goals outside the penalty area in one tournament. 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. Forlán would 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. On 11 July 2010, shortly after the conclusion of the final, Forlán was named as the recipient of the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.

International goals and caps

Uruguay's goal tally first.

Career statistics

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		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	7	5	–		17	7	0	0	55	30
	Total	102	66	14	5	–		37	15	0	0	153	86
Career total		351	167	22	7	6	3	86	25	2	0	467	204

Statistics accurate as of match played 12 May 2010

Honours

Club

Manchester United

• Premier League (1): 2002–03
• FA Cup (1): 2003–04
• FA Community Shield (1): 2003

Villarreal

• UEFA Intertoto Cup (1): 2004

Atlético Madrid

• UEFA Europa League (1): 2009–10

Individual

• European Golden Shoe (2): 2004–05*, 2008–09
• Pichichi Trophy (2): 2004–05, 2008–09
• FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (1): 2010

(* Jointly shared with Thierry Henry)

Personal life

Forlán is in partnership with the Argentine fashion model and actress Zaira Nara.

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.

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

External links

• Diego Forlán – FIFA competition record (archived)
• FootballDatabase :: Diego Forlán
• Portrait at Soccernet
• Profile at Yahoo Sports