Diego Tristán Herrera

Diego Tristán Herrera, Tristán (born 5 January 1976 in Seville), is a Spain professional Football (soccer) currently playing as striker for West Ham United. He has also represented the Spain national football team.

At his peak, Tristán was considered amongst the best strikers in Europe, displaying a vast array of skills: dribble, shot accuracy, aerial ability and off-the-ball movements. He is best known for his Deportivo de La Coruña spell.

Club career

Andalusia Tristán came through the Real Betis B of Real Betis Balompié to finish his sporting formation with the RCD Mallorca B of RCD Mallorca. After some seasons in Segunda División B, he made his La Liga debut in La Liga 1999-00, against CD Numancia, on September 12, 1999 (scoring in the process) and finished his first top flight season with 18 goals.

After nearly moving to league powerhouse Real Madrid during the 2000 summer, deal barred by Lorenzo Sanz's exit from the club's presidency, Tristán joined Galicia (Spain) club Deportivo de La Coruña, forming a dreaded offensive partnership (on occasions, as Depor mainly operated in a 4-5-1 formation) with Holland Roy Makaay.

As Makaay was first-choice during La Liga 2000-01, Tristán threatened to quit Deportivo, when he found himself in and out of the side, but eventually became an undisputed starter La Liga 2001-02 and responded, netting 21 league goals (competition best) for the Javier Irureta-led side. He added 6 in the UEFA Champions League 2001-02 and 5 in the Copa del Rey (totalling 32).

Afterwards, Tristán injured his ankle on international duty, losing again the starting berth to Makaay, who even won the European Golden Boot for his performances. Tristán could not adapt to his secondary role, but still scored 19 goals overall during La Liga 2002-03.

Even when Makaay left Deportivo in June 2003, for Bayern Munich, Tristán never regained his form and confidence. In the La Liga 2003-04, he played just 10 full matches and was taken off in 20. His 18 further appearances as substitute (football) made him miss only 8 out of 56 matches, but he only produced 13 goals (8 in the league, 2 in domestic cup and 3 in the Champions League). However, his strike against AS Monaco (in the notorious November 5, 2003 8-3 defeat) was chosen by Eurosport as the competition's Goal of the Year.

In total, Tristán scored 87 goals in the shirt of Deportivo in 4 seasons, leaving the club in July 2006, amidst accusations he did not live like a professional athlete, also not doing all he's capable of to reach his best level. He was released on September 1, 2006, along with teammate Lionel Scaloni.

After being linked with several clubs in Spain and overseas, including Bolton Wanderers, Tristán agreed to rejoin Real Mallorca after a six-year hiatus,but was released side on January 31, 2007, due to a lack of fitness, form and goals.

He signed a one-year contract with Serie A side A.S. Livorno Calcio in July 2007, as the Italy searched for a replacement for Ukraine-bound Cristiano Lucarelli, who signed with Shakhtar Donetsk, but Tristán ultimately failed to impress with the Tuscany team, scoring only once during Serie A 2007-08, in which Livorno eventually dropped to Serie B.

On September 30, 2008 it was confirmed Tristán was undergoing a trial at West Ham United F.C..On October 14, he signed a first-team contract with the team.

International career

On June 2, 2001, Tristán, courtesy of his stellar Deportivo performances, earned a debut for the Spain national football team, scoring in a 4-1 home win against Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team, in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification in Oviedo.

During the next summer, he was picked for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, wearing shirt 10. Injured during the tournament, he appeared sparingly for the quarterfinalists,and did not manage to find the net.

Accordingly, Tristán scored on his last cap (football), a 3-0 friendly win in Portugal national football team, on September 6, 2003.