Hero and Villain, Sambueza Hits Milestone in Liga MX
In this week’s match against Pumas, Rubens Sambueza played his four-hundredth game in Liga MX. Since his arrival to Pumas in 2007 as a loan from River Plate, he came with a reputation of being rather rogue inside the pitch. Always getting into the head of defenders and forcing faults and yellow cards. As soon as he started playing in CU he made clear that he was a witty player with an unmatched talent to drag the ball into positions of danger.
After reaching a final with UNAM and a short spell at Flamengo, Rubens was sold to the now extinct Estudiantes Tecos in 2009. There, he kept playing at a high level but due to the low profile of his team, and an incident when he head bumped a referee in a pre-season game against Atlas, his career seemed to have plateaued. However, with the arrival of Miguel Herrera to America in 2011, who had coached Rubens at Tecos, the Argentinean arrived to Coapa in what at the time was considered a bad move by Herrera.
With America, his career reached the highest heights. El Sambu was the leader of a team that brought America from relegation spots to the dominant and winning team that won the Clausura 2013 and Apertura 2014 league titles and the CONCACAF Champions League in 2015 and 2016. But America with Sambueza didn’t just win titles, his magic made a whole stadium chant his name with a passion not seen since the days of Cuauhtemoc Blanco. His game and leadership made not just America fans jump off their seats.
It was that rogue spirit that kept chasing him. He saw an unnecessary red card against Tigres in the Apertura 2016 final and this cost his team some fresh legs in an intense match that was decided in penalties. But this red was the last of many that he had accrued with America, and to do it in the ultimate stage drove him out of the team.
His talent was quick to be snatched, joining Toluca for two years before going to Leon and Pachuca. He kept gracing the fields with his game, driving defenders out of their temper and being a fan favorite. With the years he has learned to be more level headed and at 37, he has found the maturity that perhaps he once lacked.
This tournament he reached 100 assists and 50 goals in the victory of Toluca 4-1 against Mazatlan. Along with the 400 game milestone, Rubens keeps showing that there is much more football still left in his boots. We will sure tune-in to watch.
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