About Diego Forlán
Diego Martín Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. He is the head coach of both the Uruguay national team and the Uruguay under-20 national team. Nicknamed "Cachavacha", Forlán is regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation, renowned for his tactical intelligence, playmaking abilities, and clinical finishing. Forlán started his career in his native Uruguay as a youth player for the Peñarol and Danubio academies, before joining Argentine club Independiente in the 1997–98 season. After rising through their youth team and a successful four-year spell, he sealed a move to England with Manchester United in the 2001–02 season. Although he struggled to replicate the form he had shown at Independiente, he won the Premier League and the FA Cup with the club. Before the start of the 2004–05 season, Forlán moved to Spanish side Villarreal. In his first season with the club, he won the Pichichi Trophy and European Golden Shoe with 25 goals. After two more successful seasons with Villarreal, during which he won the UEFA Intertoto Cup and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, Forlán joined Atlético Madrid in 2007 where, in the 2008–09 season, he once again became the league's top scorer, winning both the Pichichi Trophy and European Golden Shoe for the second time with 32 goals, becoming the first player to win the Pichichi Trophy twice since Ronaldo in the 1996–97 and 2003–04 seasons. Forlán also won the UEFA Europa League, of which he scored the decisive goal in the final, and the UEFA Super Cup with Atlético Madrid, both in 2010. In the 2011–12 season, he joined Italian club Inter Milan, before moving to Internacional in Brazil the following year. After several spells in Japan with Cerezo Osaka, back in Uruguay with his boyhood club Peñarol, in India with Mumbai City and in Hong Kong with Kitchee, Forlán officially announced his retirement from professional football in August 2019. Forlán also had a successful international career, scoring 36 times in 112 appearances for the Uruguay national team. Forlán participated in three FIFA World Cups (2002, 2010, 2014) and three Copa Américas (2004, 2007, 2011). His most notable achievement came at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, in which he led Uruguay to the final four for the first time since the 1970 FIFA World Cup, scoring five goals and one assist in the process, and was ultimately awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player, selected for team of the tournament, and was the joint-top scorer. In the following year, Forlán earned his 79th international cap in a match against México, breaking the record held since 1986 by goalkeeper Rodolfo Rodríguez, at the 2011 Copa América, in which Uruguay won its first continental title since 1995, scoring two goals in the final and one assist. On 20 June 2013, in a match against Nigeria at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, Forlán became the first Uruguayan to win 100 caps. He was Uruguay's all-time leading top scorer from 2011 until Luis Suárez overtook him two years later in 2013. After retiring as a player, Forlán began his coaching career in Uruguay, managing Peñarol and Atenas in 2020 and 2021. He has also collaborated with FIFA in several ventures, having served as a tournament ambassador for the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, and since 2022, has served as an international ambassador for the FIFA Museum. Since July 2023, Forlán has continued his tennis career, competing in the ITF Masters tour, ranking in the 35+, 40+, and 45+ age categories, and played his first ATP event at the 2024 Uruguay Open in doubles with Federico Coria. On 20 June 2013, in a match against Nigeria at the 2013 Confederations Cup, Forlán became the first Uruguayan to win 100 caps. His form for Manchester United was not as successful as at Independiente, although he won the Premier League in 2002–03 and the FA Cup in 2003–04. Widely regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation, Forlán was praised for his versatility, intelligence, technique, and shooting abilities.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.