Diego Tristán Herrera is a Spanish retired professional footballer 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: dribble, shot accuracy, aerial ability and off-the-ball movements. He is best known for his Deportivo de La Coruña spell, where he spent six years, often overshadowed by physical and personal problems. Over eight La Liga seasons, Tristán amassed totals of 227 matches and 95 goals. He appeared with the Spanish national team at the 2002 World Cup.
After nearly moving to league powerhouse Real Madrid during the summer of 2000, a deal barred by Lorenzo Sanz's exit from the club's presidency, Tristán joined Deportivo de La Coruña, forming a dreaded attacking partnership with Dutchman Roy Makaay. As Makaay was first-choice during 2000–01, Tristán threatened to quit Deportivo when he found himself in and out of the side, but eventually became an undisputed starter in the following season and responded, netting 21 league goals for the Javier Irureta-led team, a competition best. He added six in the campaign's UEFA Champions League and five in the Copa del Rey; this included a hat-trick in a 5–0 home win against former club Mallorca, on 7 April 2002. 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. The former could not adapt to his secondary role, but still scored 19 overall goals for the Galicians during that season. Even when Makaay left Deportivo in June 2003 for FC Bayern Munich, Tristán never regained his form and confidence: in the 2003–04 campaign he played just ten full matches and was taken off in 20. His 18 further appearances as substitute made him miss only eight out of 56 matches, but he only produced 13 goals.
Journeyman
In total, Tristán scored 87 goals in the shirt of Deportivo in four seasons, leaving in July 2006 – he was released on 1 September along with teammate Lionel Scaloni. After being linked with several clubs in Spain and overseas, including Bolton Wanderers, he agreed to rejoin Mallorca after a six-year hiatus, but was released on 31 January 2007 due to a lack of fitness, form and goals. Tristán signed a one-year contract with Serie A's A.S. Livorno Calcio in July 2007, as the Italians searched for a replacement for Ukraine-bound Cristiano Lucarelli, who signed with FC Shakhtar Donetsk, but he ultimately failed to impress with the Tuscany team, scoring only once during the campaign and eventually dropping down to Serie B. On 29 September 2008, it was confirmed Tristán was undergoing a trial at West Ham United of the Premier League. On 14 October he signed a contract, making his debut on 8 December as a late substitute in the 0–2 home defeat against Tottenham Hotspur. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 home victory over Stoke City on 28 December, also coming from the bench.
Cádiz
On 24 July 2009, Tristán joined second division club Cádiz CF after having been released by West Ham at the end of the season, thus returning to his native Andalusia after 14 years. He regained some of his scoring form in his first and only season, but his team was relegated after finishing in 19th position; in the last league match, a 4–2 home win against Numancia on 19 June 2010 – with the striker grabbing a brace – proved insufficient.
