Diego Tristán
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Diego Tristán Herrera (born 5 January 1976) is a Spanish former professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as a striker. At his peak, he was considered amongst the best players in his position in Europe, displaying a vast array of skills:
dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...
, shot accuracy, aerial ability and off-the-ball movements. He was best known for his
Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...
spell, where he spent six years, often overshadowed by physical and personal problems. Over eight
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
seasons, Tristán amassed totals of 227 matches and 95 goals, being top scorer in 2001–02. He appeared with the Spain national team at the 2002 World Cup.


Club career


Early years

Born in La Algaba,
Province of Seville The Province of Seville () is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It borders the provinces of Málaga and Cádiz in the south, Huelva in the west, Badajoz in the north and Córdoba in the ...
, Tristán came through the youth ranks of local
Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...
, going on to finish his sporting development with the reserves of
Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...
. After one season in the
Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...
, he made his
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
debut in 1999–2000, scoring against Numancia on 12 September 1999. He ended his first top-flight campaign with 18 goals.


Deportivo

upleft, Tristán with Deportivo in 2009 After nearly moving to league powerhouse
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
in the summer of 2000, a deal barred by
Lorenzo Sanz Lorenzo Sanz Mancebo (9 August 1943 – 21 March 2020) was a Spanish Businessperson, businessman who was the 14th List of Real Madrid CF presidents, President of Real Madrid and a former owner of Málaga CF, Málaga. Early life He was born in ...
's exit from the club's presidency, Tristán joined
Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...
. He formed a dreaded attacking partnership – on occasions, as ''Depor'' mainly operated in a 4–5–1 formation under Javier Irureta – with Dutchman Roy Makaay. As Makaay was first-choice in 2000–01, Tristán threatened to quit Deportivo when he found himself in and out of the side, but became an undisputed starter the following season and responded, netting 21 league goals and taking home the
Pichichi Trophy In Spanish Association football, football, the Pichichi Trophy () is awarded by the sports newspaper ''Marca (newspaper), Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Pichichi (footballer), Rafael ...
, which included a
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
in a 5–0 win over former club Mallorca. He added six in that campaign's
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
and five in the
Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
, which his team won after beating Real Madrid at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (, ) is a retractable roof association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of around 83,000 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest ...
, for a total of 32 goals. Tristán injured his ankle on international duty in 2002, losing again the starting berth to Makaay who even won the European Golden Boot for his performances. The former could not adapt to his secondary role, but still scored 19 overall goals for the
Galicians Galicians ( or ''pobo galego''; ) are an ethnic group primarily residing in Galicia, northwest Iberian Peninsula. Historical emigration resulted in populations in other parts of Spain, Europe, and the Americas. Galicians possess distinct cu ...
during that season. Even when Makaay left Deportivo for Bayern Munich, Tristán never regained his form and confidence: in the 2003–04 campaign he played just ten complete matches and was taken off in 20. He only produced 13 goals (eight in the league, two in the domestic cup and three in the Champions League, including one in a 8–3 away defeat to
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
on 5 November 2003).


Journeyman

In total, Tristán scored 111 goals in a Deportivo shirt, leaving in July 2006 along with teammate Lionel Scaloni. After being linked with several clubs in Spain and overseas, including
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
, he agreed to rejoin Mallorca after a six-year hiatus. He left in June 2007, having featured rarely for the Gregorio Manzano-led side. Tristán signed a one-year contract with
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
's
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...
in July 2007, as the Italians searched for a replacement for Shakhtar Donetsk-bound Cristiano Lucarelli. He failed to impress during his stint in
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
, scoring only once during the campaign and eventually dropping down to the
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
. On 29 September 2008, it was confirmed Tristán was undergoing a trial at
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
of the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
. On 14 October he agreed to a deal, making his debut on 8 December as a late substitute in the 0–2 home defeat against
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
. He scored his first goal for the club in the 2–1 home victory over Stoke City later that month, also coming from the bench.


Cádiz

On 24 July 2009, Tristán joined second division club
Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...
after having been released by West Ham at the end of the season, thus returning to his native
Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
after 14 years. He regained some of his scoring form in his only season, but his team was relegated after finishing in 19th position; although he himself grabbed a brace in the last league match, a 4–2 home win against Numancia on 19 June 2010, it eventually proved insufficient.


International career

On 2 June 2001, courtesy of his stellar Deportivo performances, Tristán earned a debut for
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, scoring in a 4–1 home win against
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
in a
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
qualifier in
Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...
. In the finals in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
and Japan he appeared sparingly for the quarter-finalists after picking up an injury, and did not manage to find the net. Tristán scored on the last of his 15
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
, a 3–0 friendly victory in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
on 6 September 2003.


Career statistics


Club


International

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


Honours

Deportivo *
Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
: 2001–02 *
Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...
:
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
Individual *
Pichichi Trophy In Spanish Association football, football, the Pichichi Trophy () is awarded by the sports newspaper ''Marca (newspaper), Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Pichichi (footballer), Rafael ...
: 2001–02


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tristan, Diego 1976 births Living people People from Vega del Guadalquivir 20th-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Seville Men's association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Betis Deportivo Balompié footballers RCD Mallorca B players RCD Mallorca players Deportivo de La Coruña players Cádiz CF players Serie A players US Livorno 1915 players Premier League players West Ham United F.C. players Spain men's international footballers 2002 FIFA World Cup players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Pichichi Trophy winners