Thursday, November 14, 2024, 10:19
Sestao River achieved a true feat by defeating Cultural Leonesa, the leader who, until then, could boast of being undefeated. They also did it in El Reino de León, a stadium where only the Sestaota team has been able to win in the last fourteen months. The result, which will remain in the memory of many, was 1-2. The person in charge of breaking the tie and sentencing the victory was Diego Aznar, a 21-year-old forward on loan from Huesca, who thus debuted his scoring tally in the First Federation. The striker talks in EL CORREO about his career and how he experienced that moment.
The young Aragonese striker (09/20/2003) went through several Zaragoza teams in lower categories, including three years in Real Zaragoza itself. After a bad experience at Juventud, where he even considered leaving football at a very young age, he ended up at Monte Carlo. There he regained his enthusiasm for this sport and became interested in scoring goals. In fact, he was the top national scorer in the entire National Youth – second place at that age -, scoring 28 goals in 28 games.
Then, many renowned teams were interested in acquiring their services. He chose Osasuna, where he only stayed for one year. «I was 18 years old, it was the first year I left home and I noticed it, at first it was hard, and I also had some problem with my back that did not allow me to play with the regularity I wanted, but seen over time, it was a great learning and it was a stage that I cherish with affection,” says Aznar. He finished his brief period in the red youth team and headed towards senior football with Huesca, a club to which he still belongs.
In his first season as a senior, in Huesca B, which was then active in the Third Federation, he was once again the top scorer in the entire competition, with an outstanding record of 23 goals in 29 games. Some numbers that helped him make his debut with the first team, in the Second Division, when he was only 19 years old. “It was an incredible year, I experienced impressive things, like going to stadiums with 30,000 people, which seemed crazy to me, it is unforgettable for me,” he highlights.
He renewed his contract with the Huesca team for three years and was directly promoted to the first team last year. However, he hardly has any minutes and in January he ended up on loan at Valencia Mestalla, in the Second Federation. “It’s not every day a club like Valencia calls you and it was an opportunity I couldn’t waste.” There he scored another three goals in 437 accumulated minutes. That was his last experience before arriving, again on loan, at Sestao River. A team different from all the previous ones.
“In terms of facilities and means it is very different from what Osasuna, Huesca, Valencia may be… but I came from humble teams in Zaragoza and in those environments I feel comfortable,” says the forward. “Sestao River is a humble club, but very welcoming and familiar,” he adds. Regarding the learning that he can take away from his time at Las Llanas, Diego Aznar considers that “the First Federation is the closest thing to professional football, playing in these categories and in a club like ‘River’ makes you mature and become a better player, “I’m learning a lot.”
This is defined as “a striker who has good definition, who goes well into the collision and is good in the face.” At the moment, he has participated in the team’s 17 matches, but he has only started in one in the league, in addition to the five in the Federation Cup. “It’s true that I came out in the final minutes, but I think I’m taking advantage of it and I feel good,” he says. Likewise, he states that “I am one hundred percent sure that you are going to see a much better version of me than the one you have seen so far, I have much more to offer.”
“Without a doubt” of salvation
Diego Aznar scored his first goal in the First Federation last Sunday, which was enough to give the green and black team an epic victory in the impregnable Kingdom of León, against the leader, Cultural Leonesa. “It is clear that for the forwards the goal gives us life, it surely gives me a lot of confidence and now they enter me more easily.” He believes that victory will be “a turning point.” “It shows that the team has quality, it competes against anyone and I am sure that it will be a boost to go up.” He has no doubt that they will achieve permanence. “Without a doubt,” he ditches.
