Diego Forlan leads Uruguay to Copa America victory
- Published
Forlan (centre) is the third generation of his family to win the Copa America
Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez scored as Uruguay beat Paraguay 3-0 to win the Copa America for a record 15th time.
Suarez scored the opener on 12 minutes and strike partner Diego Forlan gave Uruguay a 2-0 half-time lead.
Forlan, making a record 82nd appearance for La Celeste, added the third in the last minute to register his 31st international goal.
The victory gives Uruguay their first Copa America title since 1995, and one more than Argentina.
"My grandfather won it, my father won it and now I have won it," said Forlan. "It is a pride for the family.
"Three generations of my family have won this tournament - Forlan will be the last name in history of football.
"It was a complicated game but the team played well. The early goal helped to simplify things."
Suarez gave Uruguay the lead after 12 minutes, beating defender Dario Veron to score from a deflected left-footed shot that went in off the far post behind goalkeeper Justo Villar.
Forlan, voted the best player at last year's World Cup, made it 2-0 with a left-footed shot that left Villar flat-footed.
And he added a third in the final minute, taking a pass from Suarez and slotting the ball into the far corner.
Uruguay, a country with a population of 3.5m, reached the World Cup semi-finals a year ago, and at the Copa America once again surpassed the performance of continental powers Brazil and Argentina.
Paraguay keeper Villar admitted that Uruguay deserved their victory in the tournament.
"It was fair that Uruguay are the champions because they are a very solid team and their attackers are two lions," said Villar.
"They are among the best strikers in the world. We got to the final because we had guts and luck. In the second half we had a lot of the ball and we created some good chances but we just couldn't score."