Bruno Fornaroli

Bruno Fornaroli Mezza (born 7 September 1987 in Salto) is a Uruguayan footballer currently playing for Melbourne City as a forward. At 23 goals, he holds the Australian A-League record for most goals scored in a regular season, earning him the 2015–16 season golden boot. He is also nicknamed El Tuna, meaning "The Prickly Pear".

Nacional
Fornaroli came through the youth ranks of Club Nacional de Football, making his first team debut in July 2006 against Rentistas in a 3–0 loss away from home.

Sampdoria
On 22 July 2008, Fornaroli, who has Italian ancestry, moved to Italian Serie A side UC Sampdoria for a €3m transfer fee, signing a five-year contract worth €300k per year.He made his Serie A debut on 14 September 2008, coming on for Paolo Sammarco in the 75th minute in a 2–0 defeat to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico. He then scored in both legs of Sampdoria's UEFA Cup matches against FBK Kaunas. He made five Serie A appearances by January 2009, without scoring a goal.

Loans to San Lorenzo, Recreativo Huelva, Nacional
In February 2009, he moved on loan to Argentine Primera División side San Lorenzo de Almagro. At San Lorenzo, Fornaroli scored twice in 15 appearances. In August 2009, Fornaroli was loaned to Spanish Segunda División side Recreativo Huelva. At Recreativo, he scored two league goals in 17 appearances. Fornaroli returned to Sampdoria for the 2010–11 season, but after playing just three minutes for the first team in the first half of the season, Fornaroli was loaned back to Club Nacional de Football in January 2011. During his loan spell, Fornaroli scored four times in 13 appearances.

Return to Sampdoria
After Sampdoria's relegation to Serie B, Fornaroli was given another chance in the first team at the club. However, he failed to score in 11 appearances in the 2011-12 Serie B season.

Panathinaikos
On 21 July 2012 Fornaroli signed a three-year contract with Panathinaikos F.C. after manager Jesualdo Ferreira requested to have him in his team. He made 20 league and 7 continental appearances for the Greek giants without scoring a goal. On 2 September 2013 he terminated his contract with Panathinaikos.

Danubio
Fornaroli then joined Uruguayan side Danubio F.C. in January 2014. On 8 July 2015, Danubio FC confirmed that he would leave the club and continue his career at Melbourne City.

2015–16 season
On 10 August 2015, Melbourne City confirmed that they had signed Fornaroli on a two-year deal.[7] He scored his first goal for Melbourne City on his debut on 26 August 2015 against Wellington Phoenix in an FFA Cup match. In the following round of the FFA Cup, the quarterfinals he scored two goals against Heidelberg United. Fornaroli scored his first A-League goal in a 3–2 defeat to rivals Melbourne Victory. The following week Fornaroli scored a brace in City's 3–1 victory over the Central Coast Mariners. He continued his rich scoring form with a brace against Adelaide United making him the top scorer of the league by round 5. Fornaroli also became the quickest A-League player to score 11 goals in the league. On 5 March 2016, Fornaroli notched a hat-trick against Sydney FC at AAMI Park to become the first A-League player to score 20 goals in a regular season. Melburnians, a City supporters group, honoured Fornaroli with a dedicated display, reading "El Tuna 23 Rey de Melbourne", at City's next home game on 18 March 2016. Fornaroli capped the season by winning the league golden boot, scoring 23 goals in the regular season (5 ahead of his nearest challenger) and was the joint winner of Melbourne City's Player of the Year award.

2016–17 season
On 8 August 2016, City confirmed Fornaroli had signed a new three-year deal, with the striker being elevated to marquee player status. On 25 September 2016, Fornaroli was announced as Melbourne City's captain, taking over from retired Patrick Kisnorbo.[12][13] After scoring 2 goals against Newcastle Jets in Round 6, Fornaroli became the fastest player to score 30 goals in the A-League.

In the 2016 FFA Cup Final, City defeated Sydney FC 1–0 and achieved its first senior men's trophy as a club. Fornaroli was given the Mark Viduka man of the match award. In his victory speech, he uttered an expletive which saw him earn a reprimand from the Football Federation Australia.

Nacional
Danubio Melbourne City
 * Uruguayan Primera División: 2010–2011
 * Uruguayan Primera División: 2013–2014
 * FFA Cup: 2016

Individual

 * Melbourne City Player of the Year: 2015–16
 * PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2015–16
 * A-League Golden Boot: 2015–16
 * Mark Viduka Medal: 2016

Records

 * Most A-League goals in a season: 23
 * Quickest to reach 30 goals in the A-league