BRUNO Fornaroli was just 12 when he left home for Montevideo to pursue his dream, leaving behind his emotional family. Moments into the six-hour bus trip he was made to feel welcome by a soon-to-be teammate.

“It was a difficult decision, my parents said it was too far and I was too young to move, but I cried, I wanted to go,’’ Fornaroli said.

“I sat down with my father and said my dream is to play for the first team of Nacional, I want this, if you say no I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, please support me.

“The first time I took the bus a kid sat in front of me, same age and asked, ‘Are you going to Montevideo? ‘I am, you’? ‘Yes. You play football yeah?’

“‘Yes, how do you know?’ He said, ‘I’m from Salto but I live in Montevideo, I think we’re going to play for the same team’.’’

The inquisitive kid was Luis Suarez, the megastar who, 16 years on, dominates for Barcelona.

Having just played in Salto with Edinson Cavani, a superstar with Paris St-Germain, his new teammate in Montevideo would be Suarez.

“This was the first contact I had with Luis and after this we played four or five years together,’’ Fornaroli said.

“I played first with Cavani in Salto. At Nacional I played up front with Martin Cauteruccio (now with San Lorenzo, Argentina) and Suarez was on the bench. It’s crazy when you look back.

Fornaroli (middle row, second left) with Luis Suarez (back row, third left) in 2001. Source: Supplied

“Suarez didn’t play but every time he came on he scored, he had this instinct for scoring. Sometimes he didn’t pass the ball, he would lose it and everybody would go crazy at Suarez, ‘pass the ball’.

“But at 16 he jumped up age group up, then soon the first team coach picked Suarez and he didn’t stop.

“I think it was his hunger, real hunger, he always wanted more, have a look at him now.

“Last season at Barca he won almost everything and scored but this season’s even better. Next season he’ll again improve. This is the difference between him and other players — he was never satisfied.’’

They all started playing young — Fornaroli was four — and played regularly on the streets with similar heroes. ‘The old Ronaldo’, Raul, plus Uruguayan stars Ruben Sosa and Enzo Francescoli.

In 1987 Salto, north-west Uruguay, population 105,000, gave birth to the nation’s next stars. Suarez was born in January, February was Cavani followed by Fornaroli, who’s broken A-League scoring records at Melbourne City, in September.

They pursued their Euro ambitions in the same order. Suarez to Dutch club Groningen in 2006, Cavani went to Palermo in 2007 before Fornaroli penned with Sampdoria in 2008.

While the folk of Salto have been exposed to Suarez and Cavani’s scoring feats regularly, Fornaroli’s career is less publicised.

Asked whether Uruguayans would be aware of his records in Australia, Fornaroli, 28, said: “I don’t know. I think no but I don’t know what they think of this league. Whether they think yeah he’s scoring but it’s Australia.

“Sometimes I think, why can’t I play in the big league? I think sometimes I didn’t have luck, or needed to train harder. I don’t know what happened.

Fornaroli might not be at Barcelona — but has had a big impact for City. Source: Getty Images

“I sometimes think I’d still love to play in a big league. In football you never know, maybe tomorrow you have a great opportunity to go to Europe, I want to demonstrate that I can play, not for other people, for me.

“Maybe I will stay and finish my career here. But you need to continue to work hard.

“Every option I’ve felt has been the right decision at that moment. Maybe a particular decision would’ve changed my path, but I’m happy.’’

While Suarez and Cavani have led Uruguay’s attack at the last two FIFA World Cups, Fornaroli has never been capped by the senior team after playing for the Under 17s.

“The front three players from the same city. For me it’s a dream to play in the national team together. I still have this dream,’’ he said.

“I had a very good relationship with both, I still speak to Cavani. Suarez changes his number all the time, I’d just need to contact one friend to get it.’’