Leo Ulloa was not aware of the anniversary which had just passed as he set foot back in the Amex.

But, relaxing at Café Malbec and LatinoAmerica in Hove on Saturday evening, he said a trip back to one of his former footballing homes was special.

The man from Argentina was at the game versus West Ham as guest of chairman Tony Bloom.

He received a warm welcome from fans when interviewed pitchside before kick-off and then watched from one of the best seats in the house as his compatriot Alexis Mac Allister fired the Seagulls on the way to a stylish 4-0 win.

Ulloa, who finished his career at Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish second tier, is now tackling a new life.

He is involved with Sweet Monkey, a confectionary company in his adopted home city of Madrid, and also does some work related to player representation “so as not to get too distanced from football”.

From Albion days, he keeps in touch with former colleagues including Andrea Orlandi, Bruno and Inigo Calderon.

His relationship with fans and staff still at the club has clearly not been diminished by time or distance.

He said: “I really wanted to come back because I hadn’t been here for three or four years.

“The people from the club invited me and it was really nice to feel the affection of the people, of the club.

“I was with Tony and Paul Barber.

“And, of course, the match was very good. You see how Brighton are growing - the team and the club - and I’m really happy about that.”

Ulloa was around pitchside and the tunnel area just ahead of the game.

“I said hello to a few players but we couldn’t talk much because they were heading out on to the pitch.

“I saw Dunky (Lewis Dunk), Alexis, Pascal (Gross) and I spoke to (West Ham’s Manuel) Lanzjni as well.”

Fittingly, the first goal he saw on his return was fired home by an Argentinean.

“I knew Alexis as a player from Argentinos Juniors and Boca,” Ulloa said.

“I had seen a few games before he got here. As a player he has matured a lot here.

“He is still young but he has done great things, going to Boca, coming to Brighton, playing at a World Cup, winning a World Cup.

“He has a great maturity for his age and he is doing really well, including with the national team.”

As a centre-forward, Evan Ferguson also caught Ulloa's eye.

"He is a player I like. He is very young and has a lot to learn but at 18 he is starting, scoring a few goals and I think that says a lot about him.

"They don't just throw crosses in. They play their way through, look for one-twos, but he protects the ball well, combines with team-mates very well.

"But give him time. He will keep improving, keep progressing but he can become a great No.9."

It is three years now since Ulloa suffered a serious knee injury while playing for Rayo Vallecano.

His time at Rayo was not a great success on the pitch but the silver lining was that it took his family to Madrid, where they have settled.

Finding a home from home for yourself, wife and daughters is not so easy as a player.

When he first signed for Leicester, Ulloa tried to keep the family located in Hove before realising after a few months that the travel would be too much.

He said: “I stopped playing at Rayo Vallecano.

“We were able to get the team back into the first division.

“I had injured my knee and decided to not play anymore.

“I’d had some offers from Argentina and Chile to go back but I decided not to because of the family, because of me, because of everything.

“After retiring there’s a lapse when you need to adapt yourself because I’ve always been involved in football but I’m getting used to this new life.

“Mentally, I was prepared for it. The injury worked against me but, in the end, it was still my decision.

“It wasn’t like football retired me. I retired from football.”

Over a chilled Quilmes beer, there was chance to reflect on some of the good old days.

Did he know, for example, his return came ten years, almost to the day, since he scored the first hat-trick at the Amex?

“Against Huddersfield? No, I didn’t realise. Ten years already? Time goes quickly.

“I wasn’t here that long - two years - but I had great experiences.”

Two which stand out were his goalscoring debut against Arsenal and his late winner at Nottingham Forest to clinch a play-off place.

It was the latter which was shown on the big screens at the Amex before he was interviewed by Richard Reynolds.

But he also scored a couple at Elland Road, where Albion are heading this weekend.

“One I remember up there was early in the first half when Bruno played a diagonal pass in behind the shoulder of the centre-back I scored with my first touch.

“That was the first game of the season, first game with Oscar (Garcia).”

He also headed home at Leeds to clinch the play-off berth in 2013.

“Yes, I remember it but it wasn’t so tight as the following year at Forest, different.

“But I was happy to have scored those goals and also to have enjoyed myself.

“I’m happy to come back because I loved my football here.

“It was a new football, a different football.”