Saúl Coco

Saúl Basilio Coco-Bassey Oubiña (born 9 February 1999), better known as Saúl Coco, is a professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Las Palmas. Mainly a centre back, he can also operate as a defensive midfielder. Born and raised in Spain to an Equatoguinean father and a Spanish mother, he is a member of the Equatorial Guinea national team.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Coco-Bassey and the second or maternal family name is Oubiña.
Saúl Coco
Coco with Equatorial Guinea in 2022
Personal information
Full name Saúl Basilio Coco-Bassey Oubiña[1]
Date of birth (1999-02-09) 9 February 1999[2]
Place of birth Lanzarote, Spain
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre back, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Las Palmas
Number 23
Youth career
Orientación Marítima
2013–2016 Las Palmas
2015–2016 → Orientación Marítima (loan)
2016–2018 Espanyol
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Espanyol B 0 (0)
2018–2019 → Horta (loan) 22 (0)
2019–2020 Las Palmas C 13 (0)
2020–2021 Las Palmas B 9 (0)
2020– Las Palmas 53 (1)
International career‡
2018 Equatorial Guinea U23 1 (0)
2017– Equatorial Guinea 13 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 September 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 September 2023

Early life

Coco was born in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, to Basilio Coco-Bassey Eyanga and a Spanish mother. His father is an Equatoguinean former footballer and current coach[4] who played for Canarian club CDU Puerto del Carmen in the 1987–88 season, alongside his brother Luis (Coco's uncle).[5] Coco is also of Nigerian descent through his paternal grandfather.

Club career

Coco joined RCD Espanyol's youth setup in July 2016, after representing CD Orientación Marítima (where he was trained by his father) and UD Las Palmas.[6][7] In August 2018, after finishing his formation, he was loaned to Tercera División side UA Horta for the season.[8]

Coco made his senior debut on 18 August 2018, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3–1 home win against UE Figueres.[9] The following 18 July, he returned to his former club Las Palmas, being assigned to the C-team also in the fourth division.[2]

Promoted to the reserves in Segunda División B ahead of the 2020–21 campaign, Coco made his first team debut on 17 December 2020, replacing Álvaro Lemos in a 4–0 away win against CD Varea, for the season's Copa del Rey.[10] On 15 June 2022, he renewed his contract until 2025, being definitely promoted to the main squad.[11]

International career

Eligible to play internationally for Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria or Spain, Coco was called up to the senior squad of the former in August 2017.[12] He made his full international debut on 3 September, replacing Pablo Ganet in a 1–2 friendly loss to Benin;[13][14] by doing so, he became the first person from Lanzarote to get called up internationally in 67 years.[15] The match was subsequently eliminated from FIFA records,[16] as the referee and his assistants referees were from Equatorial Guinea.[17][18]

Coco became cap-tied to Equatorial Guinea on 17 November 2018, when he appeared in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match against Senegal.[19]

International goals
Scores and results list Equatorial Guinea's goal tally first.[20]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.7 October 2021Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea Zambia1–02–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.16 November 2021Stade Olympique de Nouakchott, Nouakchott, Mauritania Mauritania1–11–1

References
  1. "Federació Catalana de Futbol". fcf.cat.
  2. "Saúl Coco regresa para reforzar Las Palmas C" [Saúl Coco returns to bolster Las Palmas C] (in Spanish). UD Las Palmas. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  3. "Saúl Coco" (in Spanish). UD Las Palmas. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  4. "Comité de Competición. Sesión 20 de febrero de 2013" [Competition committee. Session of 20 February 2013] (in Spanish). Lanzarote Deportiva. 21 February 2013.
  5. "Temporada 87-88" [87-88 season] (in Spanish). Historia de Tías. 22 May 2015.
  6. "El centrocampista Saúl Coco ficha por el equipo juvenil del RCD Espanyol" [Central midfielder Saúl Coco signs for the juvenil squad of RCD Espanyol] (in Spanish). Lanzarote Deportiva. 17 July 2016.
  7. "El joven lanzaroteño Saúl Coco ficha por el RCD Espanyol" [Young lanzaroteño Saúl Coco signs for RCD Espanyol] (in Spanish). Lancelot Digital. 18 July 2016.
  8. "Pelegrín no seguirá" [Pelegrín will not continue] (in Spanish). RCD Espanyol. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  9. "El At. Horta ganó en casa al Figueres" [At. Horta defeated Figueres at home] (in Spanish). nvfocus.com. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  10. "Las Palmas se da un brindis y no se complica en la Copa" [Las Palmas give themselves a toast and do not complicate things in the Cup] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  11. "Saúl Coco amplía su vinculación con la UD Las Palmas" [Saúl Coco extends his link with UD Las Palmas] (in Spanish). UD Las Palmas. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  12. Betancort, Rubén (28 August 2017). "Saúl Coco convocado con la selección absoluta de Guinea Ecuatorial" [Saúl Coco called up to the full national team of Equatorial Guinea] (in Spanish). Lanzarote Deportiva.
  13. "Saúl Coco se quedó sin victoria en la noche de su debut con Guinea Ecuatorial" [Saúl Coco ended up without a win in the night of his debut with Equatorial Guinea] (in Spanish). Lanzarote Deportiva. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  14. "Malawi stun Togo, Benin edge past Equatorial Guinea". ESPN. 4 September 2017.
  15. "Saúl Coco puso fin a 67 años sin un futbolista internacional absoluto de Lanzarote" [Saúl Coco ended a 67-year spell without an international footballer from Lanzarote] (in Spanish). Lanzarote Deportiva. 4 September 2017.
  16. "Live Scores - Equatorial Guinea - Matches". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016.
  17. "Mismo error, la misma posición y el mismo árbitro" [Same mistake, the same position and the same referee] (in Spanish). P.Sports. 6 September 2017.
  18. "Joaquín ELA, el árbitro de los partidos eliminados por la FIFA" [Joaquín Elá, the referee of the matches eliminated by FIFA] (in Spanish). P.Sports. 6 September 2017.
  19. "Saúl Coco y Jordan ya juegan con la absoluta de Guinea" [Saúl Coco and Jordan already play with the full side of Guinea] (in Spanish). Ahora EG. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  20. "Saúl Coco". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
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