Forlan hopes ‘the best’ will win Europa League final
Punta Ballena, Uruguay, May 24 (EFE).- The former Villarreal and Manchester United forward Diego Forlan did not pick a favorite in the upcoming Europa League final pitting his former teams against each other.
“May the best team win. I have affection for both teams. It is difficult to choose one or the other,” the Uruguayan second-tier Atenas SAD coach said in an interview with Efe ahead of the final scheduled for 26 May.
Villarreal made the final having knocked out Arsenal in the semifinal, a clash reminiscent of the 2005-2006 Champions League last-4 match in which the Yellow Submarine were axed by the Gunners, he said.
A few days before the Europa League semifinal, former members of Villareal who lost to the Gunners 14 years ago held a virtual meeting, according to Forlan who played for Villarreal between 2004 and 2007.
“We were able to remember that moment where it did not happen, but well, it was something very beautiful that was experienced, how people took to the streets and everything that a team as unknown as the ‘Yellow Submarine’ achieved at that time,” he added.
During the “very beautiful” two years and a half he spent at Manchester United (2003-2004) he shared the locker room with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Red Devils’ current coach.
By then, the Norwegian was already involved in “all the little details” of each training session and each game.
Forlan said he was happy with the good form his countryman Edinson Cavani has been displaying with the Red Devils.
“He looks very happy, in a great moment (…) He can become one of the players tipping the balance in this final,” he added. EFE
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