On the day Ruud van Nistelrooy was asked to take temporary charge of Manchester United, one of his former strike partners was busy preparing for his own new sporting challenge.
‘In the morning, I was doing some serves and practising a little,’ says Diego Forlan, speaking to Mail Sport from his home in Montevideo in Uruguay, where he will make his professional tennis debut next month. ‘When I got into the car and turned on the radio, I heard the news. I was surprised.’
Forlan was a team-mate of Van Nistelrooy’s at Old Trafford between 2002 and 2004 – and football was not the only sport the Uruguayan and Dutch frontmen played together.
‘I remember we once played a tiebreak during pre-season in 2003 in Portland at the headquarters of Nike,’ recalls the 45-year-old. ‘David Gill was playing tennis with another director and I saw that they were playing and they gave us their racquets.
‘Everyone was trying to see who was going to win. I had all the pressure! Ruud did not play as much as me, but he still knew how to play. In the end I won, but it was not easy. I did some double faults and gave him some points.
Diego Forlan will make his professional tennis debut when he at the Uruguay Open next month
Forlan’s former Manchester United team-mate and strike partner Ruud van Nistelrooy has been put in interim charge of the Red Devils following the sacking of Erik ten Hag on Monday
‘The other players knew I played when I was a kid, but they didn’t know my level in the moment. It was just 15 minutes before a training session, so it was a bit of fun.
‘On a day off or a weekend when we didn’t have a game, I played in Manchester indoors at David Lloyd.
‘Tennis is very physical so, as a footballer, you have to be careful. I was not playing like I am today, in competition, I was just playing for entertainment. But I don’t think Sir Alex knew!’
Forlan has been combining his love of tennis and football since the age of two, when he first picked up a racquet at the Carrasco club in Montevideo, where his father Pablo, a former Uruguay international defender, was a member. His fondest tennis memory to date also came at that club, when he shared a court with one Diego Maradona.
‘I met him in 1993 when he came to Uruguay and we played football and tennis doubles at this club,’ says Forlan. ‘Imagine for a kid having the opportunity to be around him and play football and tennis. It was unbelievable.
‘He was very competitive, and it was a nice game. I remember we played on No10 Court at Carrasco. I have a photo from that moment.’
Forlan could have pursued a career in tennis but instead opted to follow in the footsteps of Maradona and his father. His first club was Independiente in Argentina, before he moved to United, where he scored 17 goals in 98 appearances. Forlan enjoyed his most prolific spells in La Liga, with Villarreal and Atletico Madrid.
He also won 112 caps for Uruguay, scoring 36 goals and appearing in three World Cups, including winning Golden Ball for player of the tournament in 2010, when he finished joint top scorer.
He won the Europa League and two European Golden Boots after leaving Old Trafford in 2004
When Forlan retired from football aged 40 in 2019, he never dreamt of having a second coming as a sportsman.
‘If you asked me when I was playing if I was going to play a professional tournament on the ATP, I would not have imagined that,’ admits Forlan, who names Boris Becker as his childhood tennis hero.
‘When I finished my career and retired from football, I started playing tennis at my local club and I started playing and competing in different tournaments around Montevideo.
‘I’m left-handed and I hit it hard. I have a good serve and I’m working on that – trying to use my legs more and be more powerful.
‘My coach is Enrique ‘Bebe’ Perez. He was coaching Davis Cup for more than 20 years, and he was coaching Alex Corretja, Nicolas Lapentti, many, many great players.
‘I try to train two hours every day if I can. Last year, I started playing in the ITF Masters and played in the 45 and over category and it was really fun.’
That has led to Forlan receiving a wildcard for the Uruguay Open in Montevideo, a recognised ATP event which sits on the second-tier Challenger Tour, beginning on November 11. His doubles partner will be Federico Coria, the 32-year-old Argentine who is world No104 in singles and has a career-high of 49.
‘A couple of months ago, Ignacio Carou, who plays Davis Cup for Uruguay, sent me a picture of Coria and said “I have your partner for the Challenger in Uruguay”,’ says Forlan. ‘I thought it was a joke, but he said, “I’m not joking, he wants to play with you”, and now I am here.
The 45-year-old will be partnered by singles world No 101 Federico Coria at the tournament
‘Playing with the professionals, I know it will be difficult. I’m far from the level that they play. But at least in doubles, you can play one half of the court and if you have a good partner, he will help you.
‘It’s still going to be really tough, but I don’t have anything to lose. I’m not the professional tennis player. I’m an ex-professional football player. So I’m going to enjoy it and it doesn’t matter the result.
‘It is a privilege to have the opportunity to be a professional football player and a professional tennis player – even just for one match.’
One match is also all that Van Nistelrooy is likely to get in charge of United, with Ruben Amorim expected to be appointed boss following tonight’s Carabao Cup game with Leicester. But Forlan is backing his old team-mate to go on and have a successful managerial career.
‘Ruud did really well at PSV before coming to Manchester United,’ says Forlan. ‘He was a great football player. Of course, it is not the same being a great football player and a great manager. But if he has the opportunity, you never know, maybe he will go on to be as great a coach as he was a player.’
Amorim’s first match in charge could be Sunday’s home clash with Chelsea, a fixture that brings back fond memories for Forlan, who scored a famous injury-time winner against the Blues in January 2003. United went on to the win the Premier League that year – a trophy that has eluded the club since Sir Alex Ferguson left 11 years ago.
Forlan believes that Van Nistelrooy will go on to have a success career as a manager, although his interim spell as United is only expected to last only one game
Forlan has been disappointed by the blight of United since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure
‘It’s disappointing,’ adds Forlan on United’s demise. ‘When Sir Alex retired, it was a big blow for the club for so many years. When he left, so many things left with him.
‘Still, they managed to win things, but everybody wants the Premier League and the Champions League. I agree with that, because being such a big club, you expect to fight for the big things. Hopefully, they will be fighting again for the that top spot soon.’
