Diego Forlan Led The Renaissance Of Uruguayan Football
Uruguay was the forgotten Nation in the World of Football. They have not been able to reaffirm their superiority over football, despite winning two World Cups in 1930 and 1950. They have achieved even more success in Copa America, but the superiority of the likes of Brazil and Argentina has remained unchallenged for the most of the time. The best result that Uruguay has shown in the World Cup, after their last success, was a fourth place finish in 1970. However, in the last two decades they could not manage to qualify for United States, France and Germany. In Italy, they were 16th; while in South Korea and Japan, they could not get past the group stages of the World Cup.
The Qualification Round for South Africa was also unimpressive for Uruguay, as they qualified at the bottom of the group in fifth place. The World had almost forgotten about the football heroes of the past, as no one expected them to do well in the tournament. The Uruguayans were placed alongside the home team, South Africa, France and Mexico. It was at that moment that the team began to perform well, as they finished on top of their group, while eliminating France and South Africa.
This renaissance of Uruguayan football was led by their captain Diego Forlan, who was by far their most successful player in European football. Forlan scored two goals in the group stages, and made one assist, to book his team’s place in the second round. In the second round, Uruguay faced South Korea, a match they won easily. The real test for the Uruguayans came in the Quarter Final, against Ghana. The early lead was taken by Ghana, but a sublime goal by Forlan neutralized the advantage. The match was ultimately won on penalties. In the Semi-Final, Uruguay faced the Dutch, a match which ended the further advancement of the South Americans in the World Cup. Diego Forlan, again found himself on the score-sheet, as he scored from another long distance perfect shot. In the third place match against Germany, Forlan hit another brilliant goal to keep his team in contention. However, in the last minute Forlan’s free-kick hit the crossbar, eventually giving a 3-2 narrow win to Germans.
Due to his brilliant performance at the World Cup, Diego Forlan was awarded the Golden Ball by FIFA. He outclassed the likes of Thomas Muller, Wesley Sneijder and David Villa for the ultimate award. All these players scored five goals, however, Muller got the Golden Boot because of more assists that he made. However, the man of the tournament was Diego Forlan, who led his team from the front, for every single moment of the game. He was the real driving force behind the Uruguayan attack, and he showed ultimate class with his sublime finishing touch.
No one can really deny the fact that Diego Forlan is a goal machine. He had his tough days in Europe, when playing for Manchester United he was unable to perform well. However, his luck was shining as soon as he entered Villarreal. He won the Pichichi trophy, for highest goals in the season, and the European Golden Boot. After a while, he got transferred to Athletico Madrid, and again he won the Pichichi trophy and the European Golden Boot in his second season with the club. As soon as he transferred from EPL to La Liga, Forlan turned himself into a goal-machine, a quality that would captivate the spectators at the FIFA World Cup.
Another major achievement for Forlan was that he was able to help his team finish ahead of all other South American Nations. As, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay could not get past the Quarter Final stages, Uruguay kept the South American flag waving in the Semi-Finals. This would prove to be a good thing in the future, as the Copa America is next, and Uruguay looks good to reclaim their position within the South American nations.
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