Diego Forlán: "The youth academy gave identity to United"

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Forlán celebrates a goal with Atlético.

The crowd of Stretford End, the west stand of Old Trafford where the loudest Manchester United fans gather, still sings a song in memory of Diego Forlán (Montevideo, 42 years old) every time Liverpool pays a visit.

"Diego!

He came from

, he made the scousers cry!”, “Diego!

He came from Uruguay and made the s

(Liverpool name)!”, the Mancunian fans sing excited and nostalgic in memory of the two goals scored by the striker at Anfield in a match in 2002 -he played with the red devils from 2001 to 2005, until 2007 at Villarreal and from then until 2011 at Atlético-.

Every time he steps on the Metropolitano, as in his day at the Calderón, he also still resounds the “U-ru-gua-yo!”.

"Things like Old Trafford is what one worked so hard for as a child," she says from Uruguay in a telephone conversation with EL PAÍS.

"The atmosphere will be hellish, but Atlético always plays the same and they have to know how to detect that they will have the pressure that they are United and they are at home to take advantage of it".

With just 17 goals in 98 games, Forlán left his mark on the club.

The controversial Roy Keane respected him.

He would drag you to help him because of his work in training”, said the legendary Irish captain.

Also Sir Alex Ferguson, although he did not line up what he wanted, has praised him every time he has been asked about the Uruguayan.

"Diego ran into the uniqueness of Van Nistelrooy, who preferred to play without another striker next to him, but he scored priceless goals," said Ferguson.

One of those goals, against Chelsea, was decisive for United to snatch the championship title from Arsenal in the 02-03 season.

“Ferguson's brother saw me at the Independiente de Avellaneda.

The negotiation was not easy.

Later, Sir Alex had a conversation with me in which he explained that he came to a large club that worked with the closeness of a family.

He had the club in his head, he handled everything by heart and knew anything about us or the lower categories.

He carried it in a very simple and professional way”, recalls Forlán, who talks about the before and after of Ferguson.

“I speak from the outside, but with the change of owners, the objectives seem to be different.

In that United there were many youth players, (Giggs, Beckham, Butt, Scholes, the Neville brothers...) That, with the good players that there were, increased the quality and gave identity that marked differences.

Today there are not so many quarry players,

of young players.

The surrounding clubs have grown, in my time there was only Arsenal.

Now there are City, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Liverpool have resurfaced."

The evolution of the game of the Premier that Forlán knew the style of now nuances it in two aspects.

“There are teams with possession and also with vertiginous transitions like before.

It's an interesting mix within a rhythm and a physical demand that English teams have always had”.

The paradigm of this new football takes its toll on players like his compatriots Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani, who will surely be substitutes, although depending on the duel, they may have minutes.

“The two of them can still contribute goals and skills because they have a lot of knowledge of the game.

It is a luxury to still be able to count on them, but there are the injuries, the moments of the teams... It is not easy to assimilate when you were a figure because you always want to play and there is the hand of the coach to manage that.

Now the top manager of Durazno, a Uruguayan Third Division club, Forlán senses an open match between his two former teams.

“The tie in the first leg makes it uncertain.

The two teams arrive at a similar time.

Atlético has had four wins in a row and perhaps arrives with more harmony.

Simeone has repeated the team and that is good for the confidence of players like João Félix, who looks looser.

Manchester United is more irregular and has had problems with Cristiano Ronaldo, but playing in the Champions League and at Old Trafford, United will push with the strength of their fans.

Knowing how to play with that pressure will be in the hand and in the quality of each Atlético player because that is an individual matter”, concludes Forlán.

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