Bruno Fornaroli

Bruno Fornaroli Mezza (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbɾuno foɾnaˈɾoli]; born 7 September 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a forward for A-League club Perth Glory. He is nicknamed as El Tuna, which means "The Prickly Pear".[1]

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Fornaroli and the second or maternal family name is Mezza.
Bruno Fornaroli
Fornaroli with Melbourne City in 2016
Personal information
Full name Bruno Fornaroli Mezza
Date of birth (1987-09-07) 7 September 1987
Place of birth Salto, Uruguay
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Perth Glory
Number 9
Youth career
2005–2007 Nacional
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2008 Nacional 29 (15)
2008–2012 Sampdoria 11 (0)
2009 → San Lorenzo (loan) 12 (2)
2009–2010 → Recreativo Huelva (loan) 17 (2)
2011 → Nacional (loan) 9 (4)
2012–2013 Panathinaikos 17 (0)
2014–2015 Danubio 25 (5)
2014 → Figueirense (loan) 0 (0)
2015–2019 Melbourne City 70 (48)
2019– Perth Glory 16 (10)
National team
2003 Uruguay U17
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 February 2020

Club career

Fornaroli was born in Salto, Uruguay.

Sampdoria

On 22 July 2008, Fornaroli, who has Italian ancestry, moved to Italian Serie A side UC Sampdoria for a €3 million transfer fee, signing a five-year contract worth €300,000 per year.[2] He made his Serie A debut on 14 September 2008, coming on for Paolo Sammarco in the 75th minute in a 2–0 defeat to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico. He then scored in both legs of Sampdoria's UEFA Cup matches against FBK Kaunas. He made five Serie A appearances by January 2009, without scoring a goal.

Loans to San Lorenzo, Recreativo Huelva, Nacional

In February 2009, he moved on loan to Argentine Primera División side San Lorenzo de Almagro. At San Lorenzo, Fornaroli scored twice in 15 appearances. In August 2009, Fornaroli was loaned to Spanish Segunda División side Recreativo Huelva.[3] At Recreativo, he scored two league goals in 17 appearances. Fornaroli returned to Sampdoria for the 2010–11 season, but after playing just three minutes for the first team in the first half of the season, Fornaroli was loaned back to Club Nacional de Football in January 2011. During his loan spell, Fornaroli scored four times in 13 appearances.

Return to Sampdoria

After Sampdoria's relegation to Serie B, Fornaroli was given another chance in the first team at the club. However, he failed to score in 11 appearances in the 2011-12 Serie B season.

Panathinaikos

On 21 July 2012, Fornaroli signed a three-year contract with Panathinaikos F.C. after manager Jesualdo Ferreira requested to have him in his team.[4] He made 20 league and 7 continental appearances for the Greek giants without scoring a goal. On 2 September 2013 he terminated his contract with Panathinaikos.[5]

Danubio

Fornaroli then joined Uruguayan side Danubio F.C. in January 2014. On 8 July 2015, Danubio FC confirmed that he would leave the club and continue his career at Melbourne City.

Melbourne City

2015–16 season
Fornaroli in 2015

On 10 August 2015, Melbourne City confirmed that they had signed Fornaroli on a two-year deal.[6] He scored his first goal for Melbourne City on his debut on 26 August 2015 against Wellington Phoenix in an FFA Cup match. In the following round of the FFA Cup, the quarterfinals he scored two goals against Heidelberg United. Fornaroli scored his first A-League goal in a 3–2 defeat to rivals Melbourne Victory. The following week Fornaroli scored a brace in City's 3–1 victory over the Central Coast Mariners. He continued his rich scoring form with a brace against Adelaide United making him the top scorer of the league by round 5. Fornaroli also became the quickest A-League player to score 11 goals in the league.[7] On 5 March 2016, Fornaroli notched a hat-trick against Sydney FC at AAMI Park to become the first A-League player to score 20 goals in a regular season.[8] Melburnians, a City supporters group, honoured Fornaroli with a dedicated display, reading "El Tuna 23 Rey de Melbourne", at City's next home game on 18 March 2016.[9] Fornaroli capped the season by winning the A-League Golden Boot after scoring 23 goals in the regular season (5 ahead of his nearest challenger), and was the joint winner of Melbourne City's Player of the Year award.[10]

2016–17 season

On 8 August 2016, City confirmed Fornaroli had signed a new three-year deal, with the striker being elevated to marquee player status.[11] On 25 September 2016, Fornaroli was announced as Melbourne City's captain, taking over from retired Patrick Kisnorbo.[12][13] After scoring 2 goals against Newcastle Jets in Round 6, Fornaroli became the fastest player to score 30 goals in the A-League.[14] Fornaroli finished the A-League season with 17 goals in 27 games.

In the 2016 FFA Cup Final, City defeated Sydney FC 1–0 and achieved its first senior men's trophy as a club. Fornaroli was given the Mark Viduka man of the match award.[15] In his victory speech, he uttered an expletive which saw him earn a reprimand from the Football Federation Australia.[16][15]

2017–18 season

In August 2017, Fornaroli suffered a broken ankle in an FFA Cup match against Hakoah Sydney City East FC.[17] The injury, and a subsequent setback, meant that Fornaroli had to wait until Round 20 before he could play his first match of the 2017–18 A-League season. Fornaroli was quick to return to form, scoring in 5 of the last 6 matches of the home and away season.

2018–19 season

Fornaroli started the 2018-19 season in fine fashion, scoring a late extra-time winner against Brisbane Roar FC in Round 32 of the 2018 FFA Cup.[18]

On 26 February 2019, Fornaroli and Melbourne City mutually agreed to terminate his contract following a falling out with club manager Warren Joyce. Fornaroli subsequently spent a large portion of the 2018–19 season on the sidelines.

Perth Glory

2019–20 season

In March 2019, Fornaroli signad a two-year deal with Perth Glory.[19] On October 27 he scored his first A-League goal for the team versus Wellington Phoenix.[20] On November 23 he scored his 50th goal on his 76th appearance at the A-League.[21]

International career

Fornaroli was a member of the Uruguay team at the 2003 South American U-17 Championship in Bolivia. He scored in Uruguay's group match against Venezuela.[22][23]

Career statistics
As of 16 July 2019[24][25][26][27][28]
Club Season League Cup Continental[A] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Nacional 2007–08 2915––823717
Sampdoria 2008–09 501142103
2010–11 1000––10
2011–12 11000––110
Sampdoria total 1701142224
San Lorenzo (loan) 2008–09 122––30152
Recreativo Huelva (loan) 2009–10 17231––203
Nacional (loan) 2010–11 94––40134
Panathinaikos 2012–13 2004270312
Danubio 2013–14 142––00142
2014–15 113––60173
Danubio total 2550060315
Melbourne City 2015–16 292533––3228
2016–17 271753––3220
2017–18 10521––126
2018-19 4 1 3 2 – – 7 3
Melbourne City total 7048139008357
Total 19976211132425294

Footnotes
A. ^ Includes appearances in the Copa Libertadores, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League.

Honours

Club

Nacional

Danubio

Melbourne City

Individual

Records
  • Quickest to reach 30 goals in the A-league

References
  1. Hill, Simon (11 December 2019). "Bruno Fornaroli proving a smart acquisition for Melbourne City". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney: News Corp. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  2. http://www.nacional.com.uy/mvdcms/uc_1688_1.html
  3. "El delantero uruguayo, Bruno Fornaroli, nuevo jugador del Decano" (in Spanish). Recreativo de Huelva. 30 August 2009. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009.
  4. "Fornaroli kai me ti voula" [Bruno Fornaroli with stamp] (in Greek). Leoforos.gr. 21 July 2012.
  5. http://www.pao.gr/el/news/?itemid=31c6660c-2bf3-4e89-a548-6133cef5bf90
  6. http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/article/melbourne-city-fc-signs-bruno-fornaroli/1x99vmz4xf2f91cwovyvfp3em0
  7. See here
  8. Report: City 3–0 Sydney
  9. Fornaroli banner: Melburnians Facebook Group
  10. "Mooy, Fornaroli share City A-League honour". Sky News Sport. 9 April 2016.
  11. "Fornaroli recommits to City with new three-year deal". Melbourne City FC. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  12. Lynch, Michael (25 September 2016). "Bruno Fornaroli, Steph Catley get captains' armbands at Melbourne City". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  13. Windley, Matt (25 September 2016). "Bruno Fornaroli named as Melbourne City's new captain for 2016–17 A-League season". Herald Sun.
  14. http://www.mfootball.com.au/fornaroli-unaware-of-goal-scoring-record/
  15. "Bruno Fornaroli's FFA Cup F-bomb earns reprimand after Melbourne City striker's expletive". ABC News. AAP. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  16. "Melbourne City FC ● 2016 FFA Cup Champions". YouTube. Monners Sports. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  17. "City shock as Fornaroli likely out two months". 30 August 2017.
  18. "FFA Cup: Stunning Bruno Fornaroli strike secures 1-0 win for Melbourne Victory against Brisbane Roar". The Courier Mail. 7 August 2018.
  19. Taylor, Nick (22 March 2019). "Perth Glory recruit Bruno Fornaroli faces baptism of fire against Manchester United". The West Australian.
  20. Ramsey, Michael (1 November 2019). "Perth Glory's forward line scary enough, ahead of clash with Central Coast". Perth Now.
  21. "Sydney FC wins A-League grand final rematch against Perth Glory". ABC News. 23 November 2019.
  22. "Sub-17: sudamericanos siglo XXI" (in Spanish). Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  23. Hassett, Sebastian (25 January 2018). "Why Fornaroli will never be able to play for the Socceroos". The World Game. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  24. "Bruno Fornaroli profile". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  25. "Bruno Fornaroli profile". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  26. "Bruno Fornaroli profile". Guardian.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  27. "Uruguay 2007/08". rssf. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  28. "Bruno Fornaroli – Melbourne City FC". Melbourne City FC. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  29. Windley, Matt (9 April 2016). "Bruno Fornaroli and Aaron Mooy share Melbourne City's Player of the Year award". Herald Sun. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
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