Bruno Fornaroli

This name 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)[1]
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
 Melbourne City
Number 23
Youth career
2005–2007 Nacional
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006-2008 Nacional 29 (15)
2008–2012 Sampdoria 17 (0)
2009 → San Lorenzo (loan) 12 (2)
2009–2010 → Recreativo Huelva (loan) 17 (2)
2011 → Nacional (loan) 9 (4)
2012–2013 Panathinaikos 20 (0)
2014–2015 Danubio 25 (5)
2014 → Figueirense (loan) 0 (0)
2015– Melbourne City 37 (34)
National team
2003 Uruguay U17

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 November 2016.


Bruno Fornaroli Mezza (born 7 September 1987 in Salto) is a Uruguayan footballer currently playing for Melbourne City as a forward. At 23 goals, he holds the Australian A-League record for most goals scored in a regular season, earning him the 2015-16 season golden boot.[2] He is also nicknamed El Tuna, meaning "The Prickly Pear".

Career

Nacional

Fornaroli came through the youth ranks of Club Nacional de Football, making his first team debut in July 2006 against Rentistas in a 3-0 loss away from home.

Sampdoria

On 22 July 2008, Fornaroli, who has Italian ancestry, moved to Italian Serie A side UC Sampdoria for a €3m transfer fee, signing a five-year contract worth €300k per year.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]

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

On 10 August 2015, Melbourne City confirmed that they had signed Fornaroli on a two-year deal.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] Fornaroli capped the season by winning the league golden boot, 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.[11]

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.[2] 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]

Career statistics

As of 10 November 2016[15][16][17][18][19]
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 2004070310
Danubio 2013–14 142––00142
2014–15 113––60173
Danubio total 2550060315
Melbourne City 2015–16 292533––3228
2016–17 6643––109
Melbourne City total 353176004237
Total 15655121032420069

Footnotes

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

Honours

Club

Nacional

Danubio

Melbourne City

Individual

Records

References

  1. ↑ "B. FORNAROLI". Soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Fornaroli recommits to City with new three-year deal". Melbourne City FC. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  3. ↑ http://www.nacional.com.uy/mvdcms/uc_1688_1.html
  4. ↑ "El delantero uruguayo, Bruno Fornaroli, nuevo jugador del Decano" (in Spanish). Recreativo de Huelva. 30 August 2009.
  5. ↑ "Fornaroli kai me ti voula" [Bruno Fornaroli with stamp] (in Greek). Leoforos.gr. 21 July 2012.
  6. ↑ http://www.pao.gr/el/news/?itemid=31c6660c-2bf3-4e89-a548-6133cef5bf90
  7. ↑ http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/article/melbourne-city-fc-signs-bruno-fornaroli/1x99vmz4xf2f91cwovyvfp3em0
  8. ↑ See here
  9. ↑ Report: City 3-0 Sydney
  10. ↑ Fornaroli banner: Melburnians Facebook Group
  11. ↑ "Mooy, Fornaroli share City A-League honour". Sky News Sport. 9 April 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 profile". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  16. ↑ "Bruno Fornaroli profile". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  17. ↑ "Bruno Fornaroli profile". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  18. ↑ "Uruguay 2007/08". rssf. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  19. ↑ "Bruno Fornaroli - Melbourne City FC". Melbourne City FC. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  20. ↑ 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.

External links

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