BLINK and you'd have missed it. Diego Forlan's brief Champions League appearance for Manchester United this season was enough to rule him out of Middlesbrough's trip to the Costa Azahar tomorrow night.

The striker's late introduction for United in an August qualifier against Dinamo Bucharest was an epitaph to an Old Trafford career that was always more stop that start.

But as Forlan walked on to that little piece of Romanian turf, just a couple of weeks before moving to Villarreal, he was restricting the number of appearces he was going to enjoy for the rest of the campaign.

He was ineligible for European competition, meaning he was cup-tied for his new club's quest in the UEFA Cup.

"I played two minutes," sighed Forlan. "It has cost me so much. I would love to be playing in the UEFA Cup. But it's something I can only sit and watch now, for this season at least."

Villarreal's loss is Middlesbrough's gain.

Forlan may not have been the prolific marksman Sir Alex Ferguson wanted during his two and a half years in Manchester, nor did he fulfil the potential Boro boss Steve McClaren once saw in him prior to the player's last-minute switch to Lancashire instead of Teesside.

However, he has found a new lease of life in Spain. Forlan is still only 25 and he is one of the top-scorers in the Primera Liga since his switch after grabbing five for his new club.

At Villarreal the Uruguayan has found life a lot easier to come to terms with.

His new home town - which you could drive through in minutes - has a population of only 45,000 and if everyone of those made the journey to Old Trafford there would still be over 22,000 seats spare.

Forlan is acutely aware of the difference but has not regretted the move one iota.

"Manchester United was huge and this is a lot smaller. But I know what it's like to play in a stadium that is not always full.

"I had that in Uruguay and it can be calmer here.

"It's quiet here at times because it's a small town. But the fans love their club and we are all aware of that here," he said.

Ferguson paid £7.5m for his talents in January 2002. He moved to the Primera Liga for a fraction of that price in August.

There were other offers on the table for Forlan, most notably from Atletico Madrid and Levante, but he favoured a move to Villarreal, where he would join up with a number of fellow South Americans.

One of those, Juan Roman Riquelme, has forged a strong friendship both on and off the field.

Riquelme will be someone Middlesbrough will have to watch closely at the El Madrigal Stadium tomorrow night.

At 26 he is approaching his peak. He cost Barcelona £7m two years ago and was allowed to join Villarreal on a season-long loan in the summer.

Not only is he the playmaker for the Spaniards he has also emerged as the creative spark for the Argentina national side.

"Riquelme's passes are pure genius. He understands my movement and he knows how to move the ball.

"He can really pick out a player and is a danger to any side," said Forlan, whose strike partner Jose Mari will be gunning to breakdown Middlesbrough's defence. He once cost AC Milan £14m alongside Brazilian Sonny Anderson.

Villarreal reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup last year before being defeated by neighbours and the eventual winners Valencia.

It is to that picturesque city that Middlesbrough fly this morning ahead of tomorrow night's game.

It is also where the squad will be staying to prepare for the short trip north up the Castellon coast.

The Group E fixture - in which Boro need only claim a point to progress through to the last 32 - has attracted more attention this time around.

That's because Boro will become the first Premiership club to visit Spain since last Wednesday's international friendly between England and Spain.

The racism row that has erupted since has snowballed and Villarreal officials have claimed they do not expect anything similar to happen at the El Madrigal, particularly in light of UEFA's demands for a 'zero tollerance approach' to the issue.

English-based Spanish journalist Guilleme Balague, from the AS newspaper and a regular on Sky Sports, has urged people in this country to remember that the Iberian country is not full of racists.

"What happened last week was badly handled by everyone and as a result many of you in England have decided that Spain is a country full of racists," Balague revealed in a weekend article.

"The day after the match, I was the only journalist who mentioned the embarrassment of what was heard.

"By Friday, criticism of the Bernabeu crowd was almost unanimous. There were thousands abusing the players.

"Those at the Bernabeu, the majority non-regulars, were a younger audience attracted by the cheap prices (£4 a ticket).

Valencia have been accused twice in the past two years of racist abuse at the Mestalla (both unpunished by UEFA).

"But try to get your head above the hysteria produced by a tabloid-led media who will make you believe that Spain has changed for the worse since you last visited it.

"It has not. Do you think you might have been led astray?"