The tale of Fornaroli and Suárez: Two kids from Salto, Uruguay،
When Bruno Fornaroli was 12, he traveled 500 kilometers by bus from his home in Salto to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, to join Nacional, one of the biggest and most prestigious football clubs from the country.
His parents didn't want him to leave, they said he was too young, but he insisted; Playing for Nacional, he told his father, was his dream. Shortly after beginning his journey to the capital, Fornaroli met someone who would become a lifelong friend, someone who was also visiting Nacional after returning to Salto to see his own family, and who had somehow chosen Fornaroli as a football buddy. and sparked a conversation. That person was Luis Suárez, who would go on to become one of the best strikers in the world and, as of last month, the latest player to join Major League Soccer giants Inter Miami CF.
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Salto is something of an anomaly in football. A town of just 100,000 residents on the Argentine border with Uruguay, it is Suárez's hometown of Fornaroli. And Uruguayan legend Edinson Cavani, among others – he's a real aimmine. This is where Fornaroli's footballing journey begins, marked by a moment of remarkable chance with his meeting with Suarez; auguring an odyssey that has become almost defined by its ability to constantly surprise and take the Uruguayan to unexpected places, far from home.
Some 24 years after that bus ride, Fornaroli finds himself in Doha, Qatar, preparing not to represent Uruguay or watch June's Copa América, but rather the AFC Asian Cup. While in his youth he had idolized Rubén Sosa and Enzo Francescoli, emulating the luminaries of the Uruguay national team, the 36-year-old now wears green and gold: he is part of the Australian national team 26 players who compete will be crowned kings of Asia in the coming weeks.
“He would be surprised!” Fornaroli, reflecting on his youth, told ESPN. “He would be surprised but at the same time, it's football. It's crazy. That's why it's so exciting. It changes a lot, you never know. You never know in 90 minutes, imagine in one only career.
“That little kid would be surprised but I know I made the right decisions in my career.
“I'm proud. It's an honor to play against Australia. It has nothing to do with 'Oh, he couldn't play for Uruguay.' No, no, no. I'm so happy to be here, I have Australian children and my son was born in Melbourne. There are many reasons.”
Even allowing for the madness of football, it's pretty remarkable how one can bring even a tangential end to the careers of Fornaroli and Suárez. For a time, the former was favored over Suárez in Nacional's youth teams, alongside Martin Cauteruccio in attack while the latter came off the bench. But ultimately Suárez's talent, despite a somewhat eccentric reputation, allowed him to rise above his academy peers and earn a call-up to the Nacional first team, before joining Dutch club Groningen the year next.
“Luis and I spent a lot of time together,” Fornaroli said. “Five years sharing the same dressing room and playing together, we were both number 9 and we have good memories together.
“We are close friends and I am very happy to see him and what he has done for football. Not just for Uruguay or for every club he plays for, I think about what he has shown to the new generation. I think he's a top player. and I know him as a person and he's even better.”
Fornaroli would make his debut for Nacional's first team under Daniel Carreño in the same year of Suárez's departure, then move to Italian side Sampdoria after two good seasons. This is where the similarities between the two friends would end, at least temporarily, as Fornaroli failed to hit the ground running in Europe like his compatriot did. Instead, after stints in Italy, Argentina, Spain, returning from Nacional, Greece and Brazil, Fornaroli eventually found himself in Australia, playing in the men's A-League with Melbourne City in 2015, a competition in which he started scoring and simply never scored. stopped. He is now the third highest scorer in the 19-year history of the competition.
Australia became Fornaroli's home. The country is all his children have ever known, and he was granted citizenship in 2022. After his famous spell with City – 51 goals in 71 games in all competitions – which ended with his exclusion by the manager of time, Warren Joyce, Fornaroli never knew. He did not leave the country but instead signed for a spell with Perth Glory, before joining City's bitter rivals Melbourne Victory – recruited at the latter two stops by current manager Tony Popovic.
A change in FIFA eligibility rules in 2020 meant the former Uruguay under-17 representative was suddenly available for an international switch of allegiance and, amid an availability crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fornaroli was called up by Australia for two appearances during qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. It was a watershed moment for a player who had become widely beloved down under, even among apparent league rivals. His parents came from Uruguay to watch the game, the first time he had seen them in three years after the pandemic closed Australia's borders. But that's what it was supposed to be, a “break the window in case of emergency” call-up with no future national team appearances in sight. There were no surprises when others returned to the Socceroos setup ahead of Fornaroli in the months that followed.
But that's what makes Fornaroli's inclusion in Australia's Asian Cup squad so remarkable. Because, quite simply, it's not supposed to be there. At 36, he doesn't fit coach Graham Arnold's intentions to begin ushering in a new generation as the road to the 2026 World Cup begins, and he doesn't have the history in the squad to provide a any function bonus. As an A-League Men's player, there is no incentive to be out of season during the August, September and October international windows. Even Fornaroli admits he hadn't considered the possibility of a national comeback until local journalist Anna Harrington asked him about it after a four-goal game against the Newcastle Jets in late October.
A truly great goal from Bruno Fornaroli 🤯🚀
The nutmeg 😮💨 The superb strike in the skylight 🔥
Fold it like Bruno 🙌
It's 1-1 at halftime between @CCMariners And @gomvfc.
📰 https://t.co/3gggNGTLya
#CCMvMVC #ALM pic.twitter.com/XqtJ9D73bO
– Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) December 3, 2023
Yet, with 13 goals in just 10 games to start the 2023-24 season, so has Fornaroli had to be included. No Socceroos-eligible striker has played as well or as consistently as the veteran ahead of the Asian Cup. His ability to maintain the game, maneuver the ball in tight spaces and his deadly instinct help Fornaroli bring something different to the other attackers in the team. He took the adage “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough” and turned it on its head. Yes, he's 36, but what kind of message would Arnold have sent to his team regarding minutes and form if Fornaroli hadn't been picked?
“I realized over the last two years, when you start to realize that this could happen at the end of your career…I don't want the last two years of my career to not play or perform “,” says Fornaroli. “I want to finish my career enjoying my football and doing my best.
“Nacional was the biggest team in Uruguay and when you play for a big team like Nacional… they put it in your head that it doesn't matter who, it doesn't matter if you play at home or away. You have to win. “
This Nacional mindset that helps spur the return of a national team against all odds is appropriate because it is here that we find the other bookend between Fornaroli and Suárez – two children from Salto, refusing to enter quietly into the night and instead experiencing a career renaissance.
Because Suárez's international career was also supposed to be over. After Uruguay's exit from the 2022 World Cup and the arrival of new coach Marcelo Bielsa, The Celeste were going through their own period of rejuvenation. But Suárez never stopped scoring; 26 goals in 53 games for Brazilian side Grêmio clearly caught the attention of Inter Miami and earned Bielsa's national team recall in the November window.
“Back when the World Cup qualifiers were starting, there was a time when Bielsa didn't call him for a few games,” Fornaroli said. “And then he keeps scoring, keeps scoring, keeps scoring and then he gets to a point where Bielsa can't look the other way anymore.
“It also showed me, I still believe in it. Why not? He is my age, he still scores goals, he still performs well.
“It sends a message to everyone, to every player.”
