The pride of Bergantiños in the semifinal of the Champions

José Ángel Esmorís Tasende (Coristanco, A Coruña, 1997), better known as Angelino, is one of the great sensations in the current Champions League. The 23-year-old young Galician footballer He is one of the few Spanish representatives who have reached the semifinals of the European Cup. He has achieved it with the revelation of RB Leipzig, after beating Atlético de Madrid in the quarter-finals after a great game, or Tottenham in the round of 16.

However, today a small region that is located in the northwest of Spain, in the province of La Coruña, will be more aware than anyone of their duel against PSG. Bergantiños, with just 70,000 inhabitants, is the area where Angeliño grew up as a player as a child. And, how could it be otherwise, His first kicks to a ball were at Bergantiños F.C., at the Luis Calvo Sanz School. They have put a tweet and a post on Facebook to show their pride in seeing their player at such a sporting event.

Angeliño Tasende would take one of the most important first steps of his career when he arrived at the quarry of the great of the province, the Sports. There it was forged for six years to later make the leap to England. Manchester City would enter his life in 2013, until now. Since he entered the conglomerate of the 'City Football Group', and after developing as a footballer in the U18 and U21 team of the 'skyblues', he would go on loan to New York City, the new emerging MLS franchise, in 2015.

There, in the United States, he coincided with a Spanish legend like David Villa or with another prestigious ex-footballer such as Andoni Iraola. He barely played 14 games, which were enough to return to Manchester, where he would intersperse minutes with the first team (he played the Champions League and FA Cup) with the subsidiary. All this until emigrating again with another assignment, returning to Spain to, this time, join the ranks of Mallorca in 2016. In the vermilion club, with 17 duels, he was not so lucky at the collective level, since it coincided with the relegation to Second B.

Once his loan ended, he was going to chain two consecutively in the Netherlands: first NAC Breda (35 games, 3 goals and 7 assists) and, finally, to do so at PSV Eindhoven (43 games, 1 goal and 12 assists). Those two assignments were key, since it is in the Netherlands where, at last, he found his ideal ecosystem to shine as a footballer. That excellent level helped him to return to City again and add minutes from the hand of Pep Guardiola. However, the prominence faded over time (13 games and 2 goal passes), which led to his departure in the winter market. The best? Your destination: RB Leipzig. At the German club he fell on his feet. And is that with a coach like Jules Nagelsmann it is very difficult not to grow.

Since then, Angeliño has become a starter in the left sector of the 'red bulls', either as a side or as a lane. A versatility that makes him win many integers over his peers. His numbers in the German club speak for themselves: 17 games, 1 goals and 5 assists (one of them was Tyler Adams' 2-1 to beat Atlético de Madrid).

From Bergantiños to RB Leipzig. From the Luis Calvo Sanz School to the semifinals of the Champions League at Estádio Da Luz in Lisbon. A story that is a clear reflection of perseverance and improvement. Today in Bergantiños there is one more RB Leipzig club.