Agustín Fabián Ruberto (born 14 January 2006) is an Argentine professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...

club River Plate.

Club career

Born in the city of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Ruberto first took an interest in football from the age of four, when he joined local youth side Barrio Nuevo in the

San Fernando Partido San Fernando is a '' partido'' of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, in the north of Greater Buenos Aires. Its capital is San Fernando. It is twenty-eight kilometers from the city of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of t ...

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

. After almost two seasons, he impressed a scout from another youth side named Parque Chas at a youth tournament. Parque Chas' goalkeeper was a close friend of Ruberto, and after the scout helped to arranged a trial at professional side River Plate for the goalkeeper, Ruberto was invited to join him. After three days of trialling, he was offered a place in the River Plate academy. Initially a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, he was converted to play as a centre-forward by River's youth coaches, who noticed his physical and technical ability. This change was beneficial for both River Plate and Ruberto, as he established himself as a prolific goal-scorer in the club's academy. Following the break from football due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina The COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , a total of people were confirmed to have been infected, and people were ...

, Ruberto returned to action scoring seventeen goals in fourteen games in the 2021 season. He was rewarded for his good form with a professional contract in April 2022 - a deal running through December 2024. The following year, having been promoted to the club's reserve team, he drew interest from English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. In 2024's first week, the striker renew his contract with River Plate until December 2027. This new contract includes an update with an increase release clause of €30,000,000, being the highest release clause in the squad. The forward scored his first goal for the senior River Plate squad, in his second appearance against

Barracas Central Club Atlético Barracas Central is an Argentine professional association football, football club from the district of Barracas, Buenos Aires. Established in 1904, Barracas Central returned to the Argentine Primera División, Primera División, th ...

, just 15 minutes after being substituted into the match.

International career

In April 2022, Ruberto was called up to the Argentinian under-16 team for the 2022 edition of the

Montaigu Tournament The Montaigu Tournament () is an international association football competition that is contested by under-16 national teams and clubs. The tournament is also known as Mondial Minimes. The games are held in stadiums located in the Vendée depart ...

, where he scored three goals in four appearances as Argentina finished second. At the

2023 South American U-17 Championship The 2023 South American U-17 Championship was the 19th edition of the South American U-17 Championship (), the biennial international youth association football, football championship organized by CONMEBOL for the men's under-17 national teams of ...

, Ruberto started Argentina's campaign with two goals in a 4–2 win against

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, before scoring against

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

in a 3–0 win. Following the tournament, in which Argentina finished third, he scored in a 1–0 friendly win against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, in preparation for the

2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the 19th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth association football, football tournament contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was hel ...

. At the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup, Ruberto scored in each of Argentina's first two games, against

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

in a 2–1 loss and then the third in a 3–1 win against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In the semi-finals against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, Ruberto scored a

last-minute goal The term "last-minute goal" is used in sport, primarily association football, to describe a goal scored very late in a game, usually one that affects the outcome of the game. The definition of a "last-minute goal" commonly used is one scored eith ...

to equalize 3–3, completing his

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

, only for Argentina to lose on penalties. In the entirety of the tournament, Ruberto scored 8 goals, winning the golden boot.

Honours

Individual * FIFA U-17 World Cup Golden Boot:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruberto, Agustín 2006 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine men's footballers Men's association football forwards Club Atlético River Plate footballers 21st-century Argentine sportsmen