Diego Matabuena debuts for Sporting: assist for the 3rd goal vs Celta Fortuna

Diego Matabuena, Sporting’s academy midfielder, made his debut with the rojiblanco shirt in the win over Celta Fortuna, standing out for both character and a key assist for the third goal. He came on in the second half in a match where the team didn’t play its best football, but still managed to hold the advantage.

The move started with a pass into space from Manu Rodríguez. Matabuena controlled to buy time and then laid it off for Guille Rosas, who finished past the Celta goalkeeper. His father, Ramón Matabuena, summed it up as: “Lo vi negro” and added that his son “played more forward than he usually does.”

From Mareo to the pitch

It was his second call-up to Sporting. Last season, Borja Jiménez had summoned him for a trip to Córdoba, but he didn’t get on the pitch then. This time, with squad number 34, he celebrated in El Molinón as his family watched the debut with tension easing into joy.

The 2007-born player (from Oviedo, raised in Gijón) is seen as “more a six than an eight” by his father, who also wants him to attack more and shoot more. Off the field, Matabuena is studying a Superior Vocational Degree in Marketing and Advertising at La Laboral.