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 ...

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) ** Sm ...

for

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; en, "First Division"), known officialy as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Binance for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). T ...

club River Plate.

Club career

Born in the city of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

, 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. Population distribution (2010) Of the 163,240 in ...

of Buenos Aires Province. 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 position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, 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 (). On 3 March 2020, the virus was confirmed to have spread to Argentina. As of , a t ...

, 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 (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. 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 football club from the district of Barracas, Buenos Aires. Established in 1904, Barracas Central will return to the Primera División, the top level of the Argentine football league system, in the 2 ...

, 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 (french: Tournoi de Montaigu) 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 lo ...

, 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 will be the 19th edition of the South American U-17 Championship ( es, CONMEBOL Sudamericano Sub-17), the biennial international youth football championship organised by CONMEBOL for the men's under-17 na ...

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

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

, before scoring against

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

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, in preparation for the

2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be the 19th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It will be held in Peru f ...

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

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...

in a 2–1 loss and then the third in a 3–1 win against Japan. In the semi-finals against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, 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 either ...

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 wi ...

, only for Argentina to lose on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * P ...

. In the entirety of the tournament, Ruberto scored 8 goals, winning the golden boot.

Honours

Individual * FIFA U-17 World Cup Golden Boot:

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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