On 15 June 2024, at El Campín stadium in Bogotá, Fabián Héctor Sambueza celebrated Atlético Bucaramanga’s first league title in the club’s 75 years. Santa Fe, one of his former clubs, won the second leg of the Torneo Apertura final 3-2. The tie went to a marathon penalty shootout, and Bucaramanga came out on top. For the Argentine midfielder, born on 1 August 1988 in Neuquén province, it was his third Colombian league title and the first won away from Junior of Barranquilla. He is nicknamed “el Chino” and is the younger brother of fellow footballer Rubens Sambueza. Most of his career has been played in Colombia, after a long spell in Argentina’s lower divisions.
Sambueza made his debut in 2009 for Independiente de Neuquén, in Argentina’s regional leagues. Between 2010 and 2013 he played for Huracán de Comodoro, Racing de Trelew and Deportivo Roca. These were lower-division clubs, and with them he built up minutes and goals as an attacking midfielder. In 2013 he joined Temperley, the club from the southern Buenos Aires suburbs that took him up the divisions.
His time at Temperley was the busiest stretch of his Argentine career. In the 2013-14 season the club went up from the Primera B Metropolitana to the Primera B Nacional. In 2014 it went straight up again and won promotion to the Argentine top flight. Sambueza was part of that squad, which put together two promotions in a row and took the club back to the top division. He played the 2015 top-flight season with Temperley, and in 2016 he moved to Colombian football.
Deportivo Cali and a first final
He signed for Deportivo Cali in 2016 and stayed until mid-2018. There he played as a playmaker behind the strikers and scored regularly. On 8 February 2017 he scored a hat-trick against Atlético Huila in a 4-0 win that gave Cali their first three points of the Torneo Apertura. In the same half-season Cali reached the league final and lost 5-3 on aggregate to Atlético Nacional. It was the first of several Colombian finals he would play, each with a different club.
Junior of Barranquilla: three trophies in a year
He joined Junior of Barranquilla in mid-2018. That December the team won the 2018 Torneo Finalización, beating Independiente Medellín in the final. In the same month Junior lost the Copa Sudamericana final to Athletico Paranaense. The Colombian Superliga followed in early 2019, and a few months later came the 2019 Torneo Apertura, which Junior won on penalties against Deportivo Pasto. In the second half of 2019 he moved from Barranquilla to Bogotá.
Between Santa Fe and Junior
Independiente Santa Fe signed him for the second half of 2019. With them he reached the 2020 league final, played during the pandemic, and lost 3-2 on aggregate to América de Cali. In January 2021 he went back to Junior and played the 2021 and 2022 seasons there. On 23 December 2022 Santa Fe announced his return, and he spent 2023 with the Bogotá side.
Atlético Bucaramanga
He joined Atlético Bucaramanga in December 2023. In the 2024 Torneo Apertura, under coach Rafael Dudamel, he was one of the key players in the side. In the group stage he starred against Deportivo Pereira, in the match that sent Bucaramanga to the final. It was his fourth Colombian league final, each with a different club: Cali, Junior, Santa Fe and Bucaramanga. After winning it he apologised to Santa Fe’s supporters. He later said the Bogotá club’s president had been annoyed that he celebrated the title with the Bucaramanga fans. An attacking midfielder standing 1.70 metres, he wears the number 10 shirt at Bucaramanga. His Colombian honours are three titles with Junior, the 2018 Torneo Finalización, the 2019 Superliga and the 2019 Torneo Apertura, and one with Bucaramanga, the 2024 Torneo Apertura.
Atlético BucaramangaMidfielderMarket value €160.0K