Franco Acosta

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

Franco Acosta
Personal information
Full nameFranco Acosta Machado
Date of birth(1996-03-05)5 March 1996
Place of birthMontevideo, Uruguay
Date of death6 March 2021(2021-03-06) (aged 25)
Place of deathPando, Uruguay
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing positionForward
Youth career
2009–2013Fénix
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2013–2015Fénix20(3)
2015–2020Villarreal B48(7)
2018Racing Santander (loan)4(0)
2019–2020Plaza Colonia (loan)24(3)
2020–2021Atenas7(0)
Total103(13)
National team
2013Uruguay U1715(12)
2015Uruguay U2014(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Acosta joined Centro Atlético Fénix's youth setup in 2009, aged 13. On 23 November 2013, he made his first team debut.

On 19 January 2015, he signed a 5+12-year contract with Villarreal CF, being assigned to the reserves in Segunda División B.[1]

On 15 January 2018, Acosta joined Segunda Division B team Racing de Santander on loan until the end of the season.[2] Acosta was then loaned out to Plaza Colonia for the 2019 season.[3]

On 6 March 2021, a day after his 25th birthday, Acosta disappeared after swimming across the Arroyo Pando, in the Department of Canelones, Uruguay. Two days later, on 8 March 2021, his body was found. He was declared dead at the scene.[4]

References

  1. 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)
  2. González, Roberto (15 January 2018). "El Racing abre el mercado con el uruguayo Franco Acosta" (in es-Es). Cadena SER. http://cadenaser.com/emisora/2018/01/15/radio_santander/1516036527_609326.html. Retrieved 16 January 2018. 
  3. Plaza suma dos refuerzos más para el primer equipo Archived 2020-01-19 at the Wayback Machine, plazacolonia.com.uy, January 2019
  4. Observador, El. "Encontraron el cuerpo de Franco Acosta, que había desaparecido en el arroyo Pando". El Observador. Retrieved 8 March 2021.