A look at Diego Forlan - From zero to hero
Diego Forlan announced himself to the world of football when he joined Manchester United from Argentine side Independiente for a fee of around 7 million pounds. The Uruguayan found it very difficult to settle at Old Trafford and it took him 27 games to open
his goal scoring account for the Red Devils. After breaking that jinx he found himself on the scoring sheet on a regular basis and was known for scoring important goals. His best moment with Manchester United came at Anfield when he scored twice against Liverpool.
The individual brilliance against one of United’s bitter rivals earned him the respect of the United fans. However, with lack of regular first team opportunities he decided to leave United for Spanish side Villareal in 2004 after scoring 17 goals for the English
giants.
The move proved to be a great one for him as he started netting goals after goals for his new club. In his first season with the yellow submarines, he won the Pichichi title after scoring 25 goals and jointly won the European Golden Boot Award as well. His
goals also helped Villareal to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time. He scored 59 times for Villareal during his three seasons before moving on to Atletico Madrid as a replacement for Fernando Torres.
Forlan joined Atletico in 2007 and helped them qualify for two successive Champions leagues. He won the Pichichi title and the European golden boot award again in 2009 after ending that campaign with 32 goals. He played a key role in Atletico Madrid’s Europa
League success last season. Forlan scored the decisive goal in extra time against Liverpool which earned his side a place in the final against another English opposition in the shape of Fulham at Hamburg’s HSH Nordbank Arena. Forlan scored both the goals for
Atletico Madrid as they overcame their opponents by 2-1 to win the first Europa league. Forlan scored 28 goals in that season, including 6 in the Europa League.
Diego Forlan carried his great form to the World Cup in South Africa where he was leading his national team. He scored his first goal of the 2010 FIFA World Cup against the hosts South Africa with a long range effort.He then converted a spot kick to put
his side two goals up and later played a part in setting up Uruguay’s third goal in the 3-0 thrashing. In the quarter-final against Ghana, the former Manchester United man scored the equaliser from a freekick to take the match into penalty shootout which his
side won 4-2.On 6 July 2010, Forlán scored with another long range strike, this time with his left foot to equalise against the Netherlands in the semi-final. Uruguay eventually lost 3-2 and were knocked out of the World Cup. The South Americans took on Germany
in the third place play-off on 10 July 2010. A brilliantly executed volley from Forlan put the Uruguayans ahead after going 1-0 behind in the beginning. However, the Germans managed to restore their lead through Sami Khedira in the second half. Germany were
leading 3-2 in stoppage time when Uruguay were awarded a freekick near the penalty box. Forlan stepped up to take it but his superb effort came back off the cross bar and his side lost out on the 3rd spot.
His partnership along with Ajax’s Luis Suarez was probably the most lethal during the tournament. Diego Forlán was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. He became the fourth South American player that has received the Golden Ball in the
FIFA World Cup tournament. He was one of the top goal scorers at the World Cup with 5 goals and was also named in the best XI of the tournamanent.
With a career littered with achievements, Forlan still believes that he has a long way to go and is just as hungry as the young boy that scored against Liverpool years ago.
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