Vietto, the great shooting star of LaLiga who now plays in Riyadh

Luciano Vietto’s career has taken a path that no one would have imagined in the summer of 2015. The Argentine striker arrived at Atlético as one of the great signings of the summer, with an investment of 20 million, one for each goal he had scored at Villarreal. But, six and a half years later, he is embarked on an adventure that passes through Riyadh, the city where the final of the Spanish Super Cup is played, although in his case he will see her as Al-Hilal player.

In that 2015, Vietto was 21 years old and had all the qualities to succeed. Its consecration had occurred in Vicente Calderón himself, breaking Godín with an electric dribble and defining against Moyá in a great goal that served for Villarreal to win 0-1 in the mattress fiefdom. But, those great feelings that he had left in his only year in the Yellow Submarine never made it to Atlético. Simeone had selected three names for the future of Argentina in an interview carried out in July 2013: Angel Correa, DePaul and Vietto. Three that would end up as rojiblanco, although the latter did not give the expected performance.

Vietto only managed three goals in his entire time at Atlético and only one goal in the league. Of course, one of those that are not forgotten. It was his first as a mattress maker and it served to tie the derby against Real Madrid in the 83rd minute of the match played on October 4, 2015 at the Vicente Calderón. Curiously, the teammate who started the play was a Jackson Martínez who was another failure in the mattress forward in that transfer market. Later he would add a goal in the Cup against Reus and a key goal in the visit to Benfica in the Champions group stage. In his balance was also the assistance for Torres to achieve his 100th goal as a rojiblanco. But nevertheless, he was never able to compete for a place in the starting eleven.

Neither his transfers to Seville, where he did seem to have an initial impact that faded, nor to Valencia, after returning to Atlético for half a season, helped him to take flight. The rojiblanco club tried one last unsuccessful loan, to the English Fulham, before getting rid of a player who had shone brightly in his beginnings, but who despite his youth had been stuck for years. Vietto entered into a compensation operation with Sporting de Portugal for Gelson Martins, another of those signings with more sorrow than glory at Atlético, and his career continued to move away from the spotlight. The exotic league of Saudi Arabia knocked on his door with a very succulent offer for all parties, and the Argentine, called to leave his mark on the Argentine team, said goodbye to Europe without having made his debut with the senior team.

On November 28, 2020, the Al Hilal shirt was donned for the first time and since then, together with players like Banega, Herrerín or Medrán, one of the old acquaintances of LaLiga who developed his career in Saudi Arabia. Vietto has two goals in 12 games so far this season and although he is far from the front page, he is still 28 years old. He signed a four-year contract at a rate of four million euros ‘clean’ for each of them. Vietto will be in Riyadh today, but not to prepare for the Super Cup final, but to play his league match against Al Taawon. A shooting star that did not meet his high expectations.