Diego Forlan gets his reward

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and co may have had all the hype before this World Cup, but different names have ended up on all the prizes. Despite what Nike and Pepsi wanted us believe, there were other players at this World Cup, players at the top of their games playing hard for their time in the spotlight. The World Cup in South Africa decided to shine its lights on the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, David Villa and Thomas Mueller. The superstars left early, and other names rushed in to take their place.

Diego Forlan had been in the shadow of the world’s so called best for too long, despite having plenty of silverware and a magnificant goalscoring record. The lack of attention was mainly due to a combination of not playing for a ‘big’ International side and being labelled by the English media as the Manchester United ‘flop’. Despite this however, with 5 goals and a Golden Ball award at his side, Diego Forlan has shown his class to the World.

Profile
Diego Forlan was born on 19 May 1979 in Montevideo. His father, Pablo Forlan, also played for Uruguay as a defender, and appeared at the 1966 & 1974 World Cup finals.

Making a name
Forlan started his career in South America, and made his name playing for Argentine club Independiente between 1998 and 2001. He quickly made a name for himself as a goalscorer, scoring 40 goals in 91 appearances. This record had attracted attention from Europe and from Sir Alex Ferguson in particular.

In January 2002, at the age of twenty two, Diego Forlan joined Manchester United for a fee of £6.9 million. Forlan played at Manchester United over the course of two and half seasons, and his struggles are well known in English football circles. Forlan was relatively young when he came to England, in a new continent speaking a new language. The environment and the pressure of playing for one of the World’s biggest clubs at a young age seemed too much for the Uruguayan. He was also not helped by being in the shadow of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, one of Manchester United’s record goalscoreres. Forlan scored a disappointing 17 goals in 98 appearances, and ultimately left English football in 2004.

New life in Spain
In August 2004, Diego Forlan joined Villarreal where he was an instant success. In his first season, Forlan scored 25 league goals, winning the Pichichi Trophy and his first European Golden Boot. His goals helped Villarreal reach the Champions League for the first time in their history. Needless to say, Forlan’s first season in Spain was a resounding triumph. Forlan spent three seasons at Villarreal before signing for Atletico Madrid in June 2007. Atletico had recently sold Fernando Torres to Liverpool and Forlan was seen as a direct replacement.

Life in Madrid was equally rewarding for Forlan, and the 2008-09 season was a remarkable one for the Uruguayan. He again won the Pichichi Trophy in La Liga as well as the European Golden Boot for the second time, scoring a staggering 32 league goals in 33 appearances. In the 2009-10 season Forlan inspired Atletico to victory in the Europa League, scoring home and away against Liverpool in the semi and getting both goals against Fulham in the final in Hamburg. Despite Atletico having a poor season, Forlan still managed to score 18 league goals, often in important matches.



International rise
Diego Forlan had to wait until he was 22 years old before he finally made his debut for Uruguay in a friendly match against Saudi Arabia. He was at Manchester United during this time, and was very much in the shadow of more established players such as Alvaro Recoba. Forlan did make the Uruguay squad for the 2002 World Cup. After being brought on as a substitute in the last group game, Forlan scored a magnificant volley in a 3-3 draw with Senegal.

Uruguay failed to reach the second round in 2002, and did not qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. In 2010, Uruguay were the last team to qualify for South Africa, beating Costa Rica in a playoff. A Diego Forlan inspired team reached the semi final of the 2010 World cup, with Forlan himself scoring 5 goals and winning the Golden Ball trophy for the best player of the tournament.

Brazil and Ghana out of the World Cup

Friday in South Africa produced two marvellously exciting World Cup Quarter Finals that have set the tournament alight. Brazil, the favourites to lift the trophy were dumped out by the Dutch, and Ghana left the tournament after Asamoah Gyan missed a penalty in the last seconds of extra time.

Brazil lost to Holland in a very uncharacteristic way, despite taking the lead early in the first half. Their inability to defend properly from a short free kick and a near post corner was surprising to say the least. The Brazilian public looked as though they were starting to accept Dunga’s approach after witnessing their team masterfully move through the rounds looking almost impenetrable at the back. An apparent lack of flair and attacking intent was seen as this team’s only possible weakness, yet indiscipline and sloppy defending ultimately cost Dunga’s team. Holland were very poor in the first half, and looked to be heading out at half time. However, they played much better in the second half, and put the Brazilian defence under enough pressure to force an error which dragged them back into the match. Holland’s second goal was both basic and brilliant, with the simplest of near post flicks from Dirk Kuyt providing Wesley Sneijder with a header that couldn't be missed. Felipe Melo was very reckless and stupid to get himself sent off and Brazil could not find a way back. Holland did provide Brazil’s first test of the World Cup, and Brazil failed it.

If the first Quarter Final was exciting, the second was World Cup drama at its best. Ghana and Uruguay ended with Uruguay going through on penalties, but things could have been so different. Sulley Muntari put Ghana ahead at the end of the first half with a great long range effort, and Diego Forlan equalised in the 55th minute. Forlan crushed a free kick from the left corner of the eighteen yard box which rifled into the top right hand corner of the net, a simply sensational strike from a fantastic player. It was Forlan’s third goal of the tournament, and his second from long range. The game ended a draw and went into extra time. As the extra time neared its end, penalties awaited, but one more moment of drama was left in the match. Luis Suarez handled on the line in the last minute of extra time, got sent off and gave away a penalty. Up stepped Asamoah Gyan with the last kick of the game, to send Ghana into the Semi Final, but he smashed his shot against the crossbar. Uruguay won the shoot-out with a magnificent final penalty, but Gyan’s pain was difficult to watch at the end. Such a shame for Ghana and Gyan.