Forlan hoping for Atletico victory
Inter Milan striker Diego Forlan revealed that he would be watching the Europa League final hoping that his former club would win the tournament once more.
By ESPNSTAR.com staff
Atletico will play Athletic Bilbao in Bucharest seeking to win their second Europa League cup on Wednesday. They last won the tournament in 2010 beating Fulham in the final.
Forlan was part of the squad that played in the match and he scored two goals, including one in extra time, to help Los Rojiblancos become the only Spanish side to succeed in Europe that year. Champions League powerhouse Barcelona were eliminated by Inter Milan at the semi-final stage.
In a similar manner, Atletico will play Athletic Bilbao and with both Real Madrid and Barcelona exiting the Champions League after losing out in the last four stage, a victory for either of the two clubs would lead to the European trophy returning to the Iberian peninsula.
Forlan left the club last summer in order to join Inter but he has fared poorly at the Milanese club. He has scored only two goals from 18 Serie A appearances.
He will still get some solace from seeing his old club progress, however, and he confessed that he would thus be keenly watching the final and "rooting" for Atletico.
"I'll be rooting for Atletico; I am their fan even more now," Forlan was quoted as saying by Internews.it.
"I hope we [Atletico] can rewrite history, I have great memories of my experience there and even now when I see people from the club, they still welcome me.
"I remember the final two years ago, and it was really something excellent and unforgettable."
The Uruguayan international's future is under doubt as Inter could look to clear out and rejuvenate the squad. He has told the club fans that "the real Forlan is yet to arrive" but it appears as if the patience of the club hierarchy is running out.
Inter are currently in sixth place and have a reasonable chance of qualifying for the Europa League. They play Lazio in their final match on Sunday and need to win the match in order to leapfrog the Edy Reja's side and finish in fifth place.