Franco Acosta

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Acosta and the second or maternal family name is Machado.
Franco Acosta
Personal information
Full name Franco Acosta Machado
Date of birth (1996-03-05)5 March 1996
Place of birth Montevideo, Uruguay
Date of death 6 March 2021(2021-03-06) (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

Franco Acosta Machado (5 March 1996 – 6 March 2021) was a Uruguayan professional footballer who played as a striker.

Club career

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

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

  1. ^ Liverpool sigue de buena racha (Liverpool keeps the good run) Archived 31 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine; Ovación, 23 November 2013 (in Spanish)
  2. ^ 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)
  3. ^ 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)
  4. ^ 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)
  5. ^ 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)
  6. ^ González, Roberto (15 January 2018). "El Racing abre el mercado con el uruguayo Franco Acosta". Cadena SER (in European Spanish). Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  7. ^ Plaza suma dos refuerzos más para el primer equipo Archived 19 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine, plazacolonia.com.uy, January 2019
  8. ^ Observador, El. "Encontraron el cuerpo de Franco Acosta, que había desaparecido en el arroyo Pando". El Observador. Retrieved 8 March 2021.