Samu Aghehowa, the FCPorto striker, will return to his hometown for his debut in the Champions League against Real Betis. The 22-year-old, who was born in an immigrant center in Melilla and grew up in the El Cerezo area of Seville, will have the opportunity to play his first European match in La Cartuja, a few kilometers from the places where he began his football career.
The young attacker, who started in the Sevilla FC youth academy and then went through ADNervión before signing for Granada, has come a long way to reach the elite of Portuguese football. After his time at Atlético de Madrid and Alavés, where he demonstrated notable scoring ability, FCPorto offered him a contract worth 32 million euros in the summer of 2024. His career was interrupted in February by a serious knee injury that prevented him from competing for the Spanish team in the World Cup, but the player has declared that the recovery has been successful and that he already feels ready to return to his best level.
In the pre-match press conference, Aghehowa emphasized that his priority is to help the team win, whether with goals or his work on the field. “The most important thing is to win the game and help the team, whether with goals or with work,” he explained firmly. At the same time, the forward noted the personal meaning of returning to Seville. "Returning to Seville is always special. Being able to debut in the Champions League here is a coincidence in life," he added, while remembering the presence of family and friends in the stands.
Many of the attendees are Betis fans, which the player did not let pass without a smile. “The first people to write to me were my friends because most of them are from Betis and I told them that they were going to sleep badly that day,” he commented, and asked for tickets so that his loved ones could accompany him on this important event.
The match against Real Betis will be a challenge for both FCPorto and Aghehowa, who recognizes the quality of the rival and the presence of players like Isco, with whom he has coincided in the Spanish team. However, the forward made it clear that his commitment is to the Portuguese club. "Between Betis and Sevilla I don't care. I fight for Porto. That's what I owe myself to," he said before heading to the field with the hope of scoring his first goal in the Champions League and showing that the injury is just a memory of the past.