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

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)
2018Racing Santander (loan) 4 (0)
2019–2020Plaza 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

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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+12-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

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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

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  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.
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