Santiago Ascacíbar

Estudiantes LP

Ascacíbar arrived at Estudiantes (LP) in 2006 at the age of 8, after performing a trial in which coach Omar Rulli –father of goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli – was surprised by his tenacity, describing Ascacíbar as "a fan of practice, very obsessive from a young age to improve his technique, as well as with his daily work". Denoting his skill as a central midfielder from early on, and a strong presence on the pitch rarely seen among academy players, Rusito ("The Little Russian"), as he was nicknamed since childhood due to his blond hair and blue eyes, quickly became a key player in his age class. After recording impressive performances in his first four years in AFA youth divisions, the team's youth football coordinator Hermes Desio promoted him to the reserves for the first time in late 2014, and Ascacíbar made his debut in a match against the reserves of Rosario Central away at the Estadio Gigante de Arroyito. Already in early 2015, he represented Estudiantes at the Frenz International Cup in Malaysia and Indonesia with a team consisting of players born in 1997 and 1998. Although Estudiantes lost the final to Brazilian club Internacional, the organisers chose him as the best player of the tournament. Once back in Argentina, Nelson Vivas, manager of the first team, made him the starting central midfielder of the reserves. That same year, and on the recommendation of former international Juan Sebastián Verón who was now president of the club, Ascacíbar…

He represented Argentina in the football competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He made his senior international debut for Argentina on 8 September 2018 in a 3–0 international friendly against the Guatemala national football team. With the U20 team, Argentina finished in 4th place at the 2017 South American Youth Championship, thus qualifying to the 2017 U20 FIFA World Cup. As the case at the Olympics which was held a year prior, Argentina did not make it past the group stage.

Club

As of 23 July 2026

International

As of match played 20 November 2018

Estudiantes

Copa Argentina: 2023 Copa de la Liga Profesional: 2024 Trofeo de Campeones de la Liga Profesional: 2024, 2025 Primera División: 2025 Clausura