Diego Forlan holds a ball during a ceremony organized by Club Atletico Penarol in Montevideo, Uruguay on August 18, 2019. (Xinhua/Nicolas Celaya)
Former Uruguayan international Diego Forlan has been appointed head coach of Atenas SAD, a second division club of his country.
MONTEVIDEO, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Former Manchester United, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan has been appointed head coach of Uruguayan second division club Atenas SAD.
It will be the 41-year-old's second job as a manager, following his spell in charge of Penarol from December 2019 to August last year.
"Hello Diego, we have been waiting you," Atenas said in a social media post, without disclosing details of the contract.
Forlan replied with a short message to his 5.1 million Twitter followers.
"I'm happy to be a part of this project," the former Uruguay international said. "There's a lot of work to do. Let's go, Atenas SAD."
Uruguay's Diego Forlan (L, front) and Edinson Cavani (R, front) react after Colombia's James Rodriguez scored a goal during a Round of 16 match of 2014 FIFA World Cup at the Estadio do Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 28, 2014. (Xinhua/Wang Lili)
Forlan, who was capped 112 times for the Celeste, retired from football in 2018 after a professional career spanning more than two decades.
Voted the best player of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, in which Uruguay reached the semifinals, he was also a key member of the Celeste team that won the 2011 Copa America in Argentina. (by Michael Place) ■