Bruno Fornaroli - "El Tuna"

[n i k o]

[Murfy1]

Was named the striker in Mark Bosnich's TOTW:

[kingofhearts]

They can't be serious with retre? Did they watch the game today? Thought he wasn't at his best today tbh.

[Tony999]

Imagine when novillo comes in the lay offs he would have for him!

[jeffplz]

They can't be serious with retre? Did they watch the game today? Thought he wasn't at his best today tbh.

that assist was the best thing he did all season

[loriente]

bruno forny makes me horny

[Heart_fan]

I love his attitude and hunger to win. 

That goal last week showed not only that he can score but also tries to fire up the team and the fans. 

He he is a player that many seemed to write off at the start as a journeyman but sometimes things click. Let's hope he continues to star and brings the team along with him.

[Kiro Kompiro]

the guy is being played with his back to the goals when he really is a six yard target man.  He was doing his nut due to the appalling service from the wingers- thats Zinni Kuzi and later Gameiro. 

[mulhollanddrive]

Scored more than Misfud and Kennedy already.

[Jimmy]

the guy is being played with his back to the goals when he really is a six yard target man.  He was doing his nut due to the appalling service from the wingers- thats Zinni Kuzi and later Gameiro. 

You couldn't be more wrong tbh.

[thisphantomfortress]

You couldn't be more wrong tbh.

Agree, his hold up play and pressing is quality 

[Tesla]

The scary thing is we aren't even close to getting the best out of him. Service pretty poor, and of course the whole JVS being manager thing.

[Jovan]

This bloke just needs ball to feet, not into space and definitely not in the air. Yesterday the only ones that hit him up regularly were Retre and Mooy. If the rest of the team (mainly Melling and Mauk) do this all the time this guy will score 20+ goals and create 10+assists. Problem is that the team really have not got the concept of what's required yet. (JVS ).

[millm103]

The best display by a target forward (from a team I support)  since Viduka 

[HOLLYWOOD]

 

Fornaroli is life

Edited October 25, 2015 by HOLLYWOOD

[Kiro Kompiro]

You couldn't be more wrong tbh.

Of course he is!  Just because Van Shit plays them that wa doesn't make it so.

Its not his job at 5 and bit foot to holdoff 6 foot plus defenders.  He plays for the free, and already the refs are onto it and not giving it to him.

Yesterday he was at L fucking back because of he shtness of his team mates to cover for Garrucio who was getting skinned time and time again.

Get the ball to him somwhere close to the box and he'll out-Berisha Berisha.

This bloke just needs ball to feet, not into space and definitely not in the air. Yesterday the only ones that hit him up regularly were Retre and Mooy. If the rest of the team (mainly Melling and Mauk) do this all the time this guy will score 20+ goals and create 10+assists. Problem is that the team really have not got the concept of what's required yet. (JVS ).

Its not just teh mdiefielders ts also the wingers who 1.  Can't see his runs  and 2. Can't make th pass.

[pattyd89]

The scary thing is we aren't even close to getting the best out of him. Service pretty poor, and of course the whole JVS being manager thing.

And he's only 28. 

[strider]

can we make a banner like this for him:

but sky blue background and red stripes? i want him to look at it and give us a cheeky smile love u tunalicious 

[NewConvert]

can we make a banner like this for him:

but sky blue background and red stripes? i want him to look at it and give us a cheeky smile love u tunalicious 

Careful with the use of the sky blue which are the Argentinian colours. Just FYI when it comes to football everyone hates the Argies. Maybe a prickly pear in sky blue or something. 

[Dylan]

Just use the sun. He will know what it means

[strider]

Just use the sun. He will know what it means

ye use da sun!

 

[cadete]

Careful with the use of the sky blue which are the Argentinian colours. Just FYI when it comes to football everyone hates the Argies. Maybe a prickly pear in sky blue or something. 

Say that to a Spurs fan.

[Pete Heartspur]

Say that to a Spurs fan.

A couple of the finest to have ever pulled on a Tottingham shirt!

[NewConvert]

Say that to a Spurs fan.

Apologies - that only applies between South Americans.  At last years world cup the Brazilian kid that was meant to walk out with the Argentinian rep & flag refused to do so, so these rivalries get started early.

[carlings]

I like how he wears an XL jersey, very nice, very swag. 

[rass]

I like that he scores goals.......

[dr lime]

One doubter here!

I hope Tuna proves me wrong and you end up being right. I like his attitude but the guy can't friggin stand up for 5 seconds! The Sydney goal and second goal in the Derby came directly from him going down on the half way line and coughing the ball up. He spends as much time on his arse as on his feet. No wonder they call him the Tuna, Hopefully he will realise that the game and refs here don't like guys that drop onto the ground so easily and will stay on his feet more.  But not holding my breath for a bag of goals, he plays 70% of the game more than 50 metres from goal: as a #9 he is a very good midfielder. Apart from Vukovic shitting himself in the Derby and giving him a gift, he hasn't really threatened to score. But it's early days and I may be wrong, I hope I am. I'd rather play him at #10, get rid of Koren and buy a proper #9....       

Very happy to be proven wrong, at least in the short term.Tuna has already done more than the Flea could manage in many more games and he spent far more time on his feet than his arse!. I think he will live and die by service from the midfield and wingers (as all #9s do I suppose). Looked better when Williams and Gameiro were on. My only worry is that we just punted long goal kicks to him in the second half. He did very well holding off the defender and getting it down, but it won't be long before opponents just plonk someone in the hole in front of him.  Should have had a hatrick too if Mooy had cut the ball instead of shooting from an angle. But not sure CCM's defense is within a bull's roar of the best few in the league. Fingers crossed he keeps doing it (and stays fit!)... 

Edited October 29, 2015 by dr lime

[Murfy1]

Melbourne City striker Bruno Fornaroli talks about his renewed love for football

 

Matt Windley

October 29 2015

 

BRUNO Fornaroli can still hear his father’s words.

“Don’t go, don’t go,” Fornaroli Snr said, trying to persuade his then 13-year-old son not to leave the small Uruguayan town of Salto for the big smoke of Montevideo, about 425km away, where he wanted to chase his football dreams.

But even as a fresh-faced teen, Fornaroli was as bloody-minded as he is ruthless on the pitch now.

Luckily for Melbourne City the striker went against his father’s wishes, because had he stayed at home Fornaroli has no idea how his life would have turned out.

“I say to him, ‘This is my dream, I want this’,” Fornaroli said.

“I think this is the mentality you need to play out in Europe or anywhere. All the children in Uruguay have this passion for football.

“In Uruguay we have 3.5 million people, it’s small country. I remember when I was younger I have 16 balls in my home. Every birthday I get a new one.

“When I go to my home you see the children play football in the street, and that was me too, you see this passion for the football.

“When I leave, it was a difficult moment for my family, but now I say ‘thank you’ to my family for support in every moment.”

As determined as he was to leave, it was actually a decision to go back to Uruguay last year which helped revitalise his career.

Fornaroli the footballer is well travelled, having played in Uruguay, Italy, Greece, Spain, Argentina, Brazil and now Australia at nine clubs in eight years.

He had shown glimpses of the potential that City fans have borne witness to over the past two months or so, but also battled inner demons that ate away at his confidence as well as his love of the game.

Asked why he had failed to settle in one place for a prolonged period of time, the 28-year-old said he struggled to find continuity anywhere he went.

“I don’t take this confidence to stay in one only place,” he said.

“It’s difficult when you don’t take this confidence and you change and change club. And when you change one, two, three, the ball is more bigger, you know?

“In this moment the support is only from my family and two friends.

“In football you have many, many friends when you score and you win. The other day, when I score (twice in the 3-1 win over Central Coast) I go to change room and I have 10, 20, 30 messages.

“But when you don’t score it’s only my wife, my mother and my father and two friends. This is football. It’s bad like this, but it’s football and you need to understand.

“The most important thing for a player is the confidence. The last year I play in Danubio in Uruguay and I get again this confidence and play good.

“At that moment my wife is pregnant and it is good for us to go back to Uruguay, for support from family.

“For me it’s difficult to go back, to start again, but after I recover my passion for football. I play better and it makes this possible to come to Australia.”

And, more specifically, to City, a club which he said inspired him with its vision to win its first title in the near future.

After some failed experiments with strikers in the past, there was some skeptisism about the Uruguayan’s signing.

But the diminutive forward has already silenced the doubters, scoring six goals in six competitive matches — already eclipsing the total of five goals Josh Kennedy, Harry Kewell and Michael Mifsud scored for the club in a combined 42 games.

“I take those other experiences with me and now I have another mentality,” Fornaroli said.

“I am more positive, more strong, and I think those other experiences are good for me, to grow.

“At this moment I like everything. I want to play, I want to win, I feel good.

“To score, is good for me, I’m a striker so it’s normal. But I think when you play for the win and you play 100 per cent for your team then the score come, your moment will come.

“This is my mentality and if the team take confidence then it is easier for me.”

 

http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/a-league-melbourne-city-striker-bruno-fornaroli-talks-about-his-renewed-love-for-footballd/story-e6frf4gl-1227587413032

[strider]

sikest kent

[Jimmy]

But the diminutive forward has already silenced the doubters, scoring six goals in six competitive matches — already eclipsing the total of five goals Josh Kennedy, Harry Kewell and Michael Mifsud scored for the club in a combined 42 games.

Lol

[pattyd89]

Well hopefully he likes Melbourne and the club and ships his family out like Germano and he stays at a club longer than a year or so, and feels the love here.

[jw1739]

IMO Tuna is one of the few really exciting players we have ever had. I just hope that we don't put too much expectation on him and think that with Mooy the two of them can take us to silverware. We're going to need the whole team firing to do that.

[n i k o]

That's where Gameiro and Novillo fit into it. They're all big game players and will carry the load of expectation as well. 

[strider]

Bruno will score 1 and assist 1 today - have a feeling Gamjam will pop one in 

[Jovan]

IMO Tuna is one of the few really exciting players we have ever had. I just hope that we don't put too much expectation on him and think that with Mooy the two of them can take us to silverware. We're going to need the whole team firing to do that.

So do you think Tuna and Mooy are comparable to Broich and Berisha during the Roar championship seasons? 

Yes they've only played a few games together 6 I think and scored half a dozen each?

Really keen on seeing them develop this season.

[HeartFc]

Surely Hattrick 2night...

[Murfy1]

Great article:

 

 

Fornaroli finding his feet

 

Will Stratmann

November 3rd, 2015

 

The A-League has seen a large number of imports over the years, but few have started better than Melbourne City’s Bruno Fornaroli. In his first four matches, the Uruguayan has contributed three goals, as well as an assist, to bring City to life in an attacking sense.

What’s more, he plays with a seriously high level of intensity, often scrapping for the ball with hulking centre backs twice his size, and the fact that he regularly comes out on top speaks to his passion for the game.

“Fans can expect lots of sacrifice for the shirt,” Fornaroli said upon signing for City. “That’s the first thing I put in my head when I arrive at a club.”

This kind of old-school mentality, of course, makes him enormously likeable, but there’s a lot more to Fornaroli than simple grit. In fact, the Salto-born striker is just as good from a technical standpoint, combining close control and slick link-up play when leading the line for City. Throw in a solid understanding of space, especially in and around the penalty area, and it’s no surprise that John van ‘t Schip was so eager to bring him to the club.

“We believe Bruno’s experience in South America and his technical ability as a number 9 will greatly complement our other attacking players,” the Dutchman noted.

Starting with Fornaroli’s hold-up play, here are a few important ways in which the 28-year-old adds to, and improves, City’s system.

Hold-up play

Despite his diminutive stature, Fornaroli excels when bringing his teammates into the game. This is especially prevalent in transition, or on the counter-attack, as his first instinct is usually to come towards the ball while City attempt to play out from the back.

In these instances, he doesn’t like to waste much time. His first challenge, of course, is to shrug off the attentions of an opposition defender, either by using his low centre of gravity, to keep them away from the ball, or by swiftly turning his marker once he’s gained a bit of separation. On other occasions, too, he will offer a simple one-touch pass, but the key thing is that he always attacks the play with purpose, and it’s that which allows him to facilitate City’s transition game.

Fornaroli is therefore the instigator. His task is to kick-start City’s ‘breakaways’, which often revolve around the pace of their wingers. Indeed, van ‘t Schip has gone out of his way to populate the team with fleet-footed wide men, the type who like to break in behind the opposition defence through athleticism and directness. They then look to provide a goal threat, and so, for Fornaroli his link play must enable them to do that. And so far, it often has.

 

Take, for instance, his brilliant piece of play against the Central Coast Mariners last Sunday. Here in the 17th minute he moved to meet the ball carrier with a Mariners midfielder, Nick Montgomery, closing him down aggressively. Fornaroli then turned the man tracking him, with a clever first-touch, before sending a pass out to the left-hand side. Stefan Zinni soon sprinted onto it and though it allowed him the space to take a touch and shoot on goal, the young winger only managed to hit the post from close range.

 

Even still, this illustrated what Fornaroli can do in transition. He did something similar in his most recent match too, fending off Newcastle Jets defender Lee Ki-je before, rather smugly it must be said, playing a no-look pass to Ben Garuccio on the opposite flank. The move ended with Aaron Mooy failing to beat Daniel Mullen in the Melbourne penalty area but the fact that Fornaroli created the opportunity, through a blend of technique and intensity, was no less impressive.

 

Obviously these examples were among Fornaroli’s more flamboyant pieces of play, but in more straightforward moments, he’ll just link the play with a simple pass to a nearby teammate. (Against Central Coast he found Stefan Mauk with a short ball, which then allowed the youngster to spread the play to Corey Gameiro on the left-hand side.) Either way, the ex-Sampdoria man’s aim is usually the same. He wants to hold the ball up, find a City player quickly and, in turn, allow those onrushing wingers the chance to use their pace in open spaces.

This makes him an ideal fit for van ‘t Schip’s transition game, and though he loves to drop back to meet the play in these situations, what’s interesting about Fornaroli is the way his style differs when City come up against a deep-sitting defence.

Movement in and around the box

In contrast to his hold-up work on the counter, Fornaroli usually opts to stay high up the pitch in City’s slower build-up sequences. In fact, he prefers to position himself between the two opposition centre-backs while the likes of Mooy and Mauk probe for an opening, and again, this gets back to purpose.

Unlike other strikers who excel when exchanging passes, Fornaroli isn’t one to meander through the midfield zone. He won’t casually drop back in search of possession, in the mould of a false 9, even though his skills might lend himself to such a task. Instead, he likes to use his link play in advanced positions, right on the shoulder of the last defender.

From there, Fornaroli can either find a teammate or use his movement to generate goalscoring opportunities. In recent games, he’s truly excelled when attempting to do the latter, and in general terms, it’s been his appreciation of space that has allowed him to do so. By way of example he brilliantly worked his way in behind Liam Rose, who had dropped in at centre-back to help out a dishevelled Central Coast defence, in the lead-up to his second goal against the Mariners.

To start with, he took a couple of steps forward to receive a pass from Mauk before quickly shifting the ball out to Gameiro on the right. In response to this Paolo Retre, City’s right-back, pushed on to join the attack and soon took possession about 25 yards out from goal. This forced Rose to make a decision, and instead of sticking to Fornaroli, he opted to step out from the back four in order to close down Retre. As it turned out Fornaroli spotted this and quickly shuffled into the space vacated by Rose. Retre followed up with a smart pass to put Fornaroli in behind, and after a nifty pair of touches, he steadied himself and scored.

 

This moment, in many ways, was typical of how Fornaroli has applied himself in the final third. He stays high up, and when an opposition central defender steps out from the backline, he quickly responds by taking advantage of the space they’ve left abandoned. In addition to the example above, he also displayed this against Melbourne Victory when centre-back Thomas Deng stepped up to deal with Mauk. Fornaroli swiftly repositioned himself to hold off Deng’s defensive partner, Matthieu Delpierre, and as the ball came towards him, he decided to knock it into the area where Deng once stood. He then prodded his finish beyond Danny Vukovic, Victory’s goalkeeper, to finish the job.

 

This trend continued into the game against Newcastle as Fornaroli tried to step in behind Nigel Boogaard on a number of occasions as well. Who knows, if not for Steve Kuzmanovski’s slightly overhit 8th minute pass he might just have scored another goal in this manner too, but irrespective of that, the stocky striker typically shows a good level of craft in and around the area.

Conclusion

While it’s always risky to draw conclusions from such a small number of matches, City appear to have done their homework on Fornaroli. In his four A-League outings to date the Uruguayan has illustrated that he can help City, not just in terms of his obvious qualities, but also in terms of style.

Known as El Tuna – or ‘The Prickly Pear’ – Fornaroli’s knack for linking the play effectively, especially in transition, seems perfectly suited to the attributes of City’s wide men. He comes towards the ball as they aim to rush beyond him, and through the diminutive centre-forward’s blend of technique and toughness, he has shown a propensity to play them in along the flanks. Add in Fornaroli’s work closer to goal, which is characterised by sharp movement and an understanding of his surroundings, and he looks likely to provide a regular scoring threat as well.

This is important for all clubs, of course, but after a slew of unproductive strikers it feels particularly significant for City. In Fornaroli they have a front man who can harmonise with the rest of the side and although his first few games haven’t been faultless – he missed a sitter against Newcastle – the signs have been extremely positive.

Combining a robust approach with a gift for turning his marker, Fornaroli has the skill-set to solve City’s problems in the final third.

 

http://leopoldmethod.com.au/fornaroli-finding-his-feet/

 

 

Great article. I likewise think Bruno has turbocharged our attack, both on the counter and in possession when breaking down settled a defence. Perhaps my favourite thing about him though is that he's a long term signing, as he's signed for 2 seasons and he's just 28, unlike other useful signings such as Damien Duff, Orlando Engelaar and Gerald Sibon, who could only give us 1 season of football each.

[n i k o]

Imagine Engelaar and Fornaroli playing together 

[playmaker]

I disagree with the mention of being suited to wide play. I think he would be much more influential in a centre attack as he could use his strength and skill in close in battles with a loaded mid field supporting him. Fornaroli doesn't seem to need space to create opportunities as already seen on a few occasions.

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[Kiro Kompiro]

I disagree with the mention of being suited to wide play. I think he would be much more influential in a centre attack as he could use his strength and skill in close in battles with a loaded mid field supporting him. Fornaroli doesn't seem to need space to create opportunities as already seen on a few occasions.

 

Sent from my SM-N915G using Tapatalk

 

 

See, this is where I have the problem with how he is  being used.

Creator?

We have never had a 15 goal + per season CF.  This guy could be that IF the midfielders and the wide men get the ball to his feet inside the box.  He has the tight ball control, the tight turning, and he can get off a shot on target.  Why is he being forced to come so deep and hold the ball up- and yes before someone else says it, he CAN do that, I know, but it doesn't mean he SHOULD!