The goalkeeper joins the list of eight academy players that Miguel Álvarez has handed professional debuts to this season
Rubén Gómez has had to wait a total of 25 games to make his debut this season in LALIGA Hypermotion, that is to say, in professional football. The goalkeeper from Alzira made his first appearance in goal for Villarreal B in an official match last Saturday in Miranda de Ebro. And, although the result was not positive for the Mini Submarine’s interests, Rubén was the last of the academy players in the B team (not counting Jordi Ortega, who has a long-term injury) to fulfil his dream: to make his debut in professional football.
If we exclude the current season’s signings for the Mini Submarino, up to seven academy players had made their LALIGA debuts under Miguel Álvarez in the 23/24 season, with Rubén Gómez being the eighth. José Manuel Cabrera ‘Lanchi’, Antonio Espigares, Marcos Sánchez and Pau Navarro in defence; Aitor Gelardo and Dani Requena in midfield and Víctor Moreno as a winger, also a youth player, had been the winners so far.
It is worth noting that 50% of the players who have made their debuts this season in the league are Valencian, two of them from the province of Castellón, such as Marcos Sánchez (Vila-real) and Pau Navarro (La Vilavella). The young goalkeeper, just 22 years old, represents Alzira in this statistic, which also includes Aitor Gelardo (Catral).
A deserved debut
Rubén Gómez is competing for a place in the Yellows’ goal with two other top level goalkeepers, Andorra international Iker Álvarez and newcomer to Miralcamp Miguel Ángel Morro, an international in all the lower age groups of the Spanish national team. Those who know Rubén best and who have daily contact with him at the José Manuel Llaneza Training Ground, such as his own teammates, Miguel Álvarez and goalkeeping head coach Mariano Barbosa, know that the Alzira native always trains with an energy and positivity worthy of admiration, which has been rewarded by the fulfilment of the dream of a boy who one day decided to put on goalkeeping gloves in the streets of his home town and who today enjoys the same passion at a professional level.
