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Widely regarded as one of Uruguay’s greatest players of all time, Diego Forlán, known as “El Cachavacha”, was one of the game’s most lethal forwards in the 2000s. Forlán forged himself a memorable career in Spain for both Villarreal and Atletico Madrid where he won several individual awards becoming one of the most prolific strikers to ever feature in La Liga. He is Uruguay’s second all-time most capped player and top scorer in official matches.
We take a look at how his memorable career played out till the 2010 World Cup:
#1 Early career
Born in Montevideo, Forlán spent his younger years travelling around South America in search of a club. But, before that, Forlán spent several months on trial at French side AS Nancy when he was 16, however, the French outfit decided against signing the youngster and he returned to South America.
Before joining Manchester United the forward played for Argentinian side Independiente where his goalscoring record caught the attention of clubs from around Europe. Sir Alex Ferguson made the decision to take Forlán to Old Trafford after blowing Middlesbrough out of the water at the last minute.
#2 La Liga success
After his unsuccessful spell with Man United Forlán made the move to Spain in the summer of 2004 with Villarreal. This move was the best thing that happened to the Uruguayan as his career would start to take off and the forward’s ability in front of goal would really come to the forefront.
During his three-year spell with the Yellow Submarine Forlán amassed over a goal in every two matches and in the 04-05 season, he even won the Pichichi trophy.
In 2007 Atletico came calling and Forlán replaced the outgoing Fernando Torres at the Estadio Vicente Calderón. The best of Forlán was still yet to come. That was highlighted in the 08-09 season when the striker won his second Pichichi trophy – he is the only player to win two Pichichis without playing for Barcelona or Real Madrid. Unbelievable achievement.
His finest moment in the red and white stripes came at the Volksparkstadion against Fulham of all teams in the UEFA Europa League final. The Uruguayan scored twice to hand Atletico the trophy as they also won the Copa Del Rey in that season.
#3 2010 World Cup
Forlán’s exploits at the 2010 World Cup rubber-stamped his ability to perform on the biggest stage of them all. The forward’s goals guided Uruguay to the semi-finals in South Africa, exceeding expectations, as they eventually finished fourth in the tournament after losing the third-place play-off 3-2 to Germany.
The then Atletico striker scored five goals throughout the tournament, including two world-class strikes against Germany and South Africa. Forlán picked up the FIFA Golden Ball, an award for the best player of the World Cup. The Uruguayan was inevitably picked in the team of the tournament as well.
Forlán wasn’t finished there as he also finished in a four-way tie with David Villa, Wesley Sneijder and Thomas Muller for the Golden Boot – but unfortunately for the striker, Muller took the award home thanks to amassing more assists.
Uruguay seems to deliver the goods when it comes to forwards. Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez now take over from the legacy that the country’s record goalscorer left.
