.jpg) Sambueza in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rubens Oscar Sambueza[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1984-01-01)1 January 1984 (age 42) | ||
| Place of birth | Mariano Moreno, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| River Plate | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2009 | River Plate | 55 | (4) |
| 2007–2008 | →UNAM (loan) | 35 | (4) |
| 2008 | →Flamengo (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2009–2012 | Estudiantes Tecos | 86 | (9) |
| 2012–2016 | América | 155 | (21) |
| 2017–2018 | Toluca | 62 | (10) |
| 2019 | León | 14 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | →Pachuca (loan) | 24 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | Toluca | 54 | (8) |
| 2022 | Atlético San Luis | 27 | (1) |
| 2023 | Maipú | 29 | (6) |
| International career | |||
| 2001 | Argentina U17 | 1 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Argentina U20 | 11 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 08:28, 16 October 2023 (UTC) | |||
Rubens Oscar Sambueza (born 1 January 1984) is an Argentine former professionalfootballer who played as anattacking midfielder. In October 2013, he became a naturalizedMexican citizen.[2]
His younger brotherFabián is also a professional footballer.
Sambueza came up through the youth-ranks atRiver Plate, making his debut for the first-team on 30 November 2003 in a 2–0 loss againstLanús. He was part of the team that won the Clausura 2004 title. During his time at River Plate, Sambueza played 49 games, scoring three goals.
For the Apertura 2007–2008 tournament, Sambueza was sent on-loan to Mexico sideUNAM Pumas, being presented as their number 11, which was worn by legendary playerHugo Sánchez.[3] He debuted in thePrimera División againstGuadalajara, with the match ending in a 1–1 draw. He played fourteen games in total, providing two assists and scoring two goals that season, againstUANL Tigres, and most notably againstPachuca, which led UNAM to the playoffs, eventually losing in the final againstAtlante F.C. The Clausura 2008 tournament saw Sambueza play sixteen matches, scoring two more goals and providing four assists. His loan with Pumas ended and was sent back to River Plate the following year.
In August 2008 Rubens moved, on loan, toFlamengo for a period of one year. He was assigned with the number 10 shirt,[4] previously worn by club legendZico, and vacant afterRenato Augusto's transfer toBayer Leverkusen. On 31 August he debuted for Flamengo as a substitute forÉverton in theFla-Flu derby, when his club andFluminense drew 2–2 for theCampeonato Brasileiro Série A.[5]
In the summer of 2009, Sambueza moved back to Mexico, this time to play withEstudiantes Tecos. He made hisApertura debut on 2 August in a league match againstPuebla in a match which ended in a 1–1 draw.[6] Rubens played 15 matches that tournament in total, scoring zero goals, but having three assists. It would not be until theBicentenario 2010 tournament that Sambueza would score his first goal for Tecos, scoring on a penalty kick in a 1–1 draw against his former team, UNAM, on 14 February.[7] He would go on to be a mainstay in the Estudiantes line-up for the rest of his time at the club, eventually playing his final match on 16 April 2012, when the team was relegated to thesecond division after 37 years in the top-flight, drawing 1–1 with Puebla, with Sambueza scoring the only goal for Estudiantes.[8]
On 30 May 2012 it was confirmed that Sambueza was transferred toAmérica, reuniting him with his former manager whilst at Estudiantes Tecos,Miguel Herrera.[9][10][11] His first match withLas Águilas came on 28 July 2012 in a 4–2 win overJaguares at theEstadio Azteca.[12] He scored his first goal a week later in a 2–2 draw against Atlante.[13] He scored the following two matches againstAtlas[14] andQuerétaro[15] in a 1–1 draw and 4–0 win, respectively. He finished his first season with América playing 16 matches, scoring four goals and having three assists. In only his first tournament at the club, Sambueza was named the club's best midfielder by the fans in a social media poll, receiving 50.75% of the votes, ahead of captainDaniel Montenegro.[16]
Sambueza started theClausura 2013 with an assist and scored via penalty kick in a 2–1 home win againstMonterrey on 5 January.[17] On 11 January, he scored again in the 2–0 away win against Jaguares.[18] Sambueza played in fifteen regular season matches, scoring two goals and providing six assists. He also started in both games in the final againstCruz Azul. América won its eleventh league title, and Sambuezas' first league title in Mexico.[19]
On 31 July, Sambueza assisted inMiguel Layún's goal in a 1–1 draw againstLéon in América's first match of theApertura 2013.[20] Three days later, Sambueza would have aMan of the match performance, assistingRaúl Jiménez and scoring off a free-kick in the 3–0 victory over Atlas.[21] Sambueza would not score again until 21 September, when he scored a goal in América's 3–1 victory overChiapas,[22] and 1–0 away win againstVeracruz on 28 September.[23] On 5 October, Sambueza assisted Raúl Jiménez in scoring the first goal in the 2–0 victory in theSúper Clásico match againstGuadalajara.[24] On 26 October, Sambueza scored his firstbrace for América in the 3–1 win overPuebla.[25] Sambueza received plaudits for his performance throughout the tournament, being named América's best player of the Apertura 2013 by the club fans, as he received 25% of the votes.[26]
In the Apertura Final while America paring 1–0, he was sent off for a second yellow to make the game 10 on 10, which America ended up losing on a penalty shootout. This was his last game as an America player, as he was then transferred toToluca.
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Pumas UNAM | 2008 | Primera División de México | 35 | 4 | — | 35 | 4 | |||||
| Flamengo | 2008 | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | 7 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |||||
| River Plate | 2008–09 | Argentine Primera División | — | 5[a] | 1 | 5 | 1 | |||||
| Tecos | 2009–10 | Mexican Primera División | 27 | 2 | — | 6[b] | 1 | 33 | 3 | |||
| 2010–11 | 30 | 1 | — | 30 | 1 | |||||||
| 2011–12 | 29 | 6 | — | 29 | 6 | |||||||
| Total | 86 | 9 | — | — | 6 | 1 | 92 | 10 | ||||
| América | 2012–13 | Liga MX | 33 | 6 | 8 | 1 | — | 41 | 7 | |||
| 2013–14 | 36 | 9 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 39 | 9 | |||||
| 2014–15 | 32 | 1 | — | 8[d] | 0 | 40 | 1 | |||||
| 2015–16 | 35 | 4 | — | 11[e] | 1 | 46 | 5 | |||||
| 2016–17 | 19 | 1 | 7 | 2 | — | 2[f] | 0 | 28 | 3 | |||
| Total | 155 | 21 | 15 | 3 | — | 24 | 1 | 194 | 25 | |||
| Toluca | 2016–17 | Liga MX | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 14 | 2 | |||
| 2017–18 | 38 | 4 | 9 | 2 | — | 47 | 6 | |||||
| 2018–19 | 12 | 5 | — | 12 | 5 | |||||||
| Total | 62 | 10 | 11 | 3 | — | — | 73 | 13 | ||||
| León | 2018–19 | Liga MX | 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 15 | 2 | |||
| Pachuca (loan) | 2019–20 | Liga MX | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| Toluca (loan) | 2020–21 | Liga MX | 37 | 4 | — | 37 | 4 | |||||
| 2021–22 | 17 | 4 | — | 17 | 4 | |||||||
| Total | 54 | 8 | — | — | — | 54 | 8 | |||||
| Atlético San Luis | 2021–22 | Liga MX | 17 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |||||
| 2022–23 | 10 | 1 | — | 10 | 1 | |||||||
| Total | 27 | 1 | — | — | — | 27 | 1 | |||||
| Career totals | 464 | 55 | 29 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 3 | 528 | 65 | ||
He has played for Argentina only in competitive youth games. A vital part ofMiguel Herrera's Club America team, Herrera inquired about calling Sambueza up to theMexico national football team, but he was ultimately denied due to Sambueza's history with Argentina's youth national team.
River Plate
América
Individual