Diego Tristán facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Diego Tristán

Tristán in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Diego Tristán Herrera
Date of birth	(1976-01-05) 5 January 1976 (age 49)
Place of birth	La Algaba, Spain
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Betis
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1995–1998	Betis B	94	(33)
1998–1999	Mallorca B	39	(15)
1999–2000	Mallorca	35	(18)
2000–2006	Deportivo La Coruña	179	(77)
2006–2007	Mallorca	13	(0)
2007–2008	Livorno	21	(1)
2008–2009	West Ham United	14	(3)
2009–2010	Cádiz	29	(8)
Total		424	(155)
International career
2001–2003	Spain	15	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Diego Tristán Herrera (born on January 5, 1976) is a Spanish former footballer. He played as a striker, which means he was mainly responsible for scoring goals.

At his best, Diego Tristán was one of the top strikers in Europe. He was known for his great skills, like dribbling the ball, shooting accurately, and being good in the air. He was most famous for his time at Deportivo de La Coruña, where he played for six years.

During his eight seasons in La Liga (Spain's top football league), Tristán played 227 matches and scored 95 goals. He was the top scorer in the league during the 2001–02 season. He also played for the Spanish national team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Club Career Highlights

Starting Out in Football

Diego Tristán was born in La Algaba, a town in Spain. He started playing football in the youth teams of Real Betis, a local club. Later, he finished his training with the reserve team of Mallorca.

After playing one season in the Segunda División (Spain's second league), he made his debut in La Liga in the 1999–2000 season. He scored his first goal on September 12, 1999, against Numancia. In his first season in the top league, he scored 18 goals.

Star Player at Deportivo

Tristán playing for Deportivo in 2009

In the summer of 2000, Tristán almost joined Real Madrid, a very famous club. But the deal didn't happen, and he instead moved to Deportivo de La Coruña. At Deportivo, he often played alongside Dutch striker Roy Makaay.

In the 2000–01 season, Tristán was not always a starter. However, in the next season, he became a key player. He scored 21 goals in the league and won the Pichichi Trophy, which is given to La Liga's top scorer. This included scoring a hat-trick (three goals in one game) against his old club, Mallorca, in a 5–0 win.

That same season, he also scored six goals in the UEFA Champions League and five goals in the Copa del Rey (Spain's main cup competition). His team, Deportivo, won the Copa del Rey by beating Real Madrid in their own stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. In total, he scored 32 goals that season.

In 2002, Tristán got an ankle injury while playing for his country. This meant he lost his starting spot to Makaay again. Even though Makaay later left Deportivo, Tristán struggled to get back to his best form. He still scored 111 goals in total for Deportivo before leaving in July 2006.

Playing for Different Teams

After leaving Deportivo, Tristán returned to Mallorca for a short time in 2006. He didn't play much there and left in June 2007.

In July 2007, he signed a one-year contract with Livorno in Italy's Serie A league. He scored only one goal during his time in Italy.

On September 29, 2008, Tristán had a trial with West Ham United in the English Premier League. He signed a deal on October 14 and made his debut in December. He scored his first goal for West Ham later that month against Stoke City.

Return to Spain with Cádiz

On July 24, 2009, Tristán joined Cádiz, a club in Spain's second division. This meant he was back in his home region of Andalusia after 14 years. He scored more goals in his only season with Cádiz. However, his team was relegated to a lower league, even though he scored two goals in their last game.

Playing for Spain

International Appearances

Diego Tristán made his debut for the Spanish national team on June 2, 2001. This was thanks to his excellent performances for Deportivo. He scored a goal in his first game, which was a 4–1 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina. This match was a qualifier for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

In the 2002 World Cup, which was held in South Korea and Japan, Tristán played a few times. He had an injury during the tournament and did not score any goals. Spain reached the quarter-finals of the competition.

Tristán scored his last goal for Spain in his 15th and final game. This was a 3–0 friendly win against Portugal on September 6, 2003.

Career Statistics

Club Matches and Goals

International Matches and Goals

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tristán goal.

List of international goals scored by Diego Tristán

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	2 June 2001	Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo, Spain	Bosnia and Herzegovina	4–1	4–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	1 September 2001	Mestalla, Valencia, Spain	Austria	1–0	4–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	2 April 2003	Antonio Amilivia, León, Spain	Armenia	1–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
4.	6 September 2003	D. Afonso Henriques, Guimarães, Portugal	Portugal	3–0	3–0	Friendly

Awards and Trophies

Deportivo

• Copa del Rey: 2001–02 (This is Spain's main football cup, like the FA Cup in England)
• Supercopa de España: 2000 (This is a Spanish super cup played between the league and cup winners)

Individual

• Pichichi Trophy: 2001–02 (Award for the top goal scorer in La Liga)

See also

In Spanish: Diego Tristán para niños