Skip to main content
EN
Previous

Basti, ‘el niño’ of Escobedo

The highest scorer in the history of Málaga CF, Sebastián Fernández Reyes ‘Basti’, netted his debut goal in an Escobedo-Málaga Copa del Rey clash…over 28 years ago and with Ben Barek as coach.

In a few hours, history will be repeated. Málaga, under the MCF name, returns to face UM Escobedo in the Cup competition after almost three decades. In Cantabria, the goal-scoring legend of Basti was born, after he converted the 0-1 in the first round of the Cup competition in 91/92. It was his first goal as a Malaguista. “My dream was to play with the team of my city. I was called-up by someone who I love very much, Ben Barek. It was special. I headed the ball into the net, and I remember it well. That was 28 years ago”, recalls Basti.

Basti remembers a curious anecdote: “I was 16 or 17 and all my teammates were taking the mickey out of me on the bus. They called me ‘el niño’ and asked why ‘el niño’ wasn’t wearing the team suit. Paco Martín Aguilar, who was also travelling with us, went and bought me a suit, shirt, tie, shoes, the lot…Then we were invited to ‘La Catedral’ to watch Athletic de Bilbao-Real Madrid, and I was delighted with my new suit. We got off the bus, all my teammates were in tracksuits and I was in my suit. They gave me a standing ovation and called me president”.

The 11 players on that 12th September 1991 included legendary names within CD Málaga such as Monreal, Padilla, Roa, Villa, Makanaky… “I remember Luis Merino, and also Quino, as the two of us played on the attack. I also remember Miguel Zambrana’s father, Pepillo, who was our kit manager. It was a great experience, especially for the goal, which was super important for me”, says the alma mater of the MCF Foundation.

His football father and coach on that day, Abdullah Ben Barek, told him to “play like he was playing with San Félix”. “I played a few matches before with Malagueño, with Pepe Sánchez as coach, and then I debuted with the first team. I remember Quino well as he debuted shortly before I did, and I focused on him when I went to La Rosaleda to watch Málaga”, concluded Basti, a boy who began his scoring idyll at Escobedo’s ground in Camargo in the Copa del Rey. Legend!