Franco Acosta Machado (5 March 1996 – 6 March 2021) was a Uruguayan professional footballer who played as a striker.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Franco Acosta Machado | ||
| Date of birth | 5 March 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||
| Date of death | 6 March 2021 (aged 25) | ||
| Place of death | Pando, Uruguay | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2013 | Fénix | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2015 | Fénix | 20 | (3) |
| 2015–2020 | Villarreal B | 48 | (7) |
| 2018 | → Racing Santander (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | → Plaza Colonia (loan) | 24 | (3) |
| 2020–2021 | Atenas | 7 | (0) |
| Total | 103 | (13) | |
| International career | |||
| 2013 | Uruguay U17 | 15 | (12) |
| 2015 | Uruguay U20 | 14 | (6) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career edit
Born in Montevideo, Acosta joined Centro Atlético Fénix's youth setup in 2009, aged 13. On 23 November 2013, he made his first team debut, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 home loss against Liverpool F.C. for the Primera División championship.[1]
Acosta scored his first professional goal on 16 February 2014, netting the second in a 3–0 away win against Racing Club de Montevideo.[2] On 1 July he agreed to a deal with S.C. Braga,[3] but returned to Fénix in September.[4]
Acosta was eventually included in the main squad and appeared in eight matches, scoring once. On 19 January 2015, he signed a 5+1⁄2-year contract with Villarreal CF, being assigned to the reserves in Segunda División B.[5]
On 15 January 2018, Acosta joined Segunda División B team Racing de Santander on loan until the end of the season.[6] Acosta was then loaned out to Plaza Colonia for the 2019 season.[7] He left Villarreal at the end of 2019 and remained without a club until 10 August 2020, when he signed with Atenas de San Carlos.
Death edit
On 6 March 2021, a day after his 25th birthday, Acosta disappeared after trying with his brother to swim across the Arroyo Pando, located in the Department of Canelones, Uruguay. Two days later, on 8 March 2021, his body was found, and was declared dead at the scene.[8]
References edit
- ^ Liverpool sigue de buena racha (Liverpool keeps the good run); Ovación, 23 November 2013 (in Spanish)
- ^ Contragolpe y eficacia, el gran argumento de Fénix para ganarle 3:0 a Racing (Counterattack and efficiency, the great plot of Fénix to defeat Racing by 3–0) Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine; Tenfield, 16 February 2014 (in Spanish)
- ^ Sp. Braga: Franco Acosta é reforço e já está em Portugal (Sp. Braga: Franco Acosta is an addition and is already in Portugal); Mais Futebol, 1 July 2014 (in Portuguese)
- ^ Fénix: Franco Acosta recupera y podría ser utilizado (Fénix: Franco Acosta returns and could be utilized) Archived 7 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine; Tenfield, 24 September 2014 (in Spanish)
- ^ Un delantero de proyección (A forward of showing) Archived 12 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine; Villarreal's official website, 19 January 2015 (in Spanish)
- ^ González, Roberto (15 January 2018). "El Racing abre el mercado con el uruguayo Franco Acosta". Cadena SER (in European Spanish). Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ^ Plaza suma dos refuerzos más para el primer equipo Archived 19 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine, plazacolonia.com.uy, January 2019
- ^ Observador, El. "Encontraron el cuerpo de Franco Acosta, que había desaparecido en el arroyo Pando". El Observador. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
External links edit
- Villarreal official profile (in Spanish)
- Franco Acosta – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Franco Acosta at Soccerway