Diego Forlan on management

The former Manchester United striker is in his first job in management with Penarol – but only took charge of five matches before lockdown struck

Why did you become a manager?

I thought about being one a lot when I was a player. I wouldn’t say I always wanted to be a manager, because that always depended on my mood, but I knew I wanted to stay in football after I finished playing. Whether that was as a coach, sporting director or in the media, I didn’t know. Football is in the DNA of my family and I watched a lot of it. I became more interested in being a manager in my 30s, but first I felt that I needed to understand the game, so that I could take advantage when I became one. As a player, I tried to be in the shoes of everyone else on the pitch, even defenders – to learn what to do and what not to do, so that I could tell others. I started to do my badges, even though I wasn’t 100 per cent certain of going down that road. They take three or four years, so it was better to have them in case a chance came along.

And one did: Penarol...

I retired from playing last July, and was working as a La Liga and FIFA ambassador. The league in Uruguay finished and Penarol didn’t win it. That’s a big deal here. At the end of 2019, the club president and director came to see me and said that they really wanted me to have my first managerial job with Penarol’s first team. I never imagined that I’d start with such a big club in Uruguay, but sometimes when opportunities come, you just have to accept them. It’s like when Man United came in for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, my old team- mate. I still speak to him and I know he’d been coaching for many years, but only he knows if he was prepared to take the United job. It’s hard to say no.

You chose your brother Pablo as your assistant. Why was that?

He’s always been my right hand for everything – he was with me through my whole career around the world. He’s not working with me just because he’s my brother, but because he had a very good career as a player and was a champion in Uruguay – as was our father. Pablo played in Chile and North America, too. Maybe he didn’t have the success I had, but he was a very good defender. He’s my closest friend and we’ve been talking about football forever. I know how passionate he is. He’s 10 years older than me – so while he defends me, he also says the things that I don’t like to hear. He’s excellent from a defensive perspective.

Your first job in management has come during a very strange year globally. Were you able to enjoy the role before the pandemic hit?

I thought I’d enjoy it, but didn’t realise how much I’d enjoy it. It was nice to be on a football pitch, to be involved in a championship. It has been my life. We’d only played five games – two of them in the Copa Libertadores – when the lockdown came along in March. Everyone in the world was in the same situation, though – I was at home in Montevideo with my family and three kids. In July, we started training again and were really enjoying it, then the league restarted in August.

What’s the standard of football like in Uruguay?

Good. I’m not saying it’s the Premier League, but a top English goalscorer wouldn’t find it easy here. The pitches are different, a little slower than in

England, so you’d have to adapt. I’ve played in many countries and they’re all different – I know the top leagues are in Europe, but it’s a good one here and should be respected. Uruguay has a tiny population, but we still produce great footballers. Look at our history – we’re very proud of it.

What type of football will a Diego Forlan side play, then?

Good attacking football, although as a manager you need to survive – and to do that, you need to win. Personally, I believe that you win more matches than you lose if you play good football, but I also want a tough defensive side with players who are really confident on the ball.

Are you teaching your strikers?

I can help with finishing and try to show them. Sometimes I join in training if a player is missing – I’m still fit but I usually like to be on the sidelines, too! [ Laughs] Players ask me questions and I want to help. If they are better, we are better.

From Alex Ferguson to Cesar Luis Menotti, you’ve worked under quite a few fantastic managers. Who has influenced you the most?

All of them. I learn from the way they worked with players; their honesty and the way they talked to them. There are many different ways, of course, but as you say, I worked under some greats. I’ll use that to do my best for the team I’ve supported all my life – the one my dad was a champion of South America with, and the one he managed to win the 1966 Intercontinental Cup with, beating Real Madrid 2- 0 in Montevideo and then again at the Bernabeu.