Imanol Machuca

Imanol Machuca
Personal information
Full name Imanol Javier Machuca[1]
Date of birth (2000-01-15) 15 January 2000
Place of birth Roldán, Argentina
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position Winger[2]
Team information
Current team
 Vélez Sarsfield
Youth career
San Lorenzo (R)
El Porvenir del Norte
Sportivo Matienzo
Talleres
2018–2020 Unión Santa Fe
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2023 Unión Santa Fe 77 (9)
2023– Fortaleza 47 (5)
2025 → Vélez Sarsfield (loan) 15 (1)
International career‡
2025 Malaysia 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:00, 6 December 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 10 June 2025

Imanol Javier Machuca (born 15 January 2000) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a winger for Argentine Primera División club Vélez Sarsfield. He represented Malaysia at international level; however, the documents proving his Malaysian ancestry were later found to have been forged.[3]

Career

Early career

Machuca started his career in Roldán with San Lorenzo.[4] Spells soon followed with El Porvenir del Norte and Sportivo Matienzo, which preceded him joining the system of Talleres.[4]

Unión Santa Fé

In 2018, after a trial with Vélez Sarsfield, Machuca completed a move to Unión Santa Fe.[5] After two years in the reserves, he was promoted into the first-team squad in October 2020 under manager Juan Manuel Azconzábal; penning pro terms on 28 October.[6][7][8] Machuca made his senior debut on 29 October during a Copa Sudamericana second stage first leg home defeat to Emelec, as he replaced Juan Manuel García with two minutes left.[9]

Fortaleza

On 29 July 2023, Campeonato Brasileiro Série A side Fortaleza announced the signing of Machuca on a four-year deal, having acquired 50% of the player's economic rights[10] for a reported fee of $2.5 million.[11] Machuca arrived at Leão do Pici in 2023, when he played just 22 games, scoring two goals. In the 2024 season, the striker played 43 games, scoring four goals and providing five assists.[12]

Loan to Vélez Sarsfield

On 13 January 2025, Machuca joined Argentine Primera División side Vélez Sarsfield on loan until the end of the year, with an option to buy.[13] Vélez suspended Machuca following his sanction by FIFA in September of the same year.[14] After the ban was temporarily lifted in January 2026, Machuca returned to Vélez Sarsfield.[15]

International career

Born in Argentina, Machuca claimed to be of Malaysian descent.[16] He was called up to the Malaysia national team for a set of friendlies in June 2025.[17] Machuca made his international debut on 10 June 2025 in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification match against Vietnam at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, coming on as a second-half substitute for fellow debutant Rodrigo Holgado.[18]

He was among seven Malaysian national team players sanctioned by FIFA on 26 September 2025 when the disciplinary committee found that Football Association of Malaysia used doctored documentation to be able to field foreign-born players.[19][20][21][22] As a result, Machuca was suspended from all football-related activities for one year.[23] However, this ban was temporarily lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 26 January 2026 pending the final ruling.[24]

Personal life

Born in Argentina, Machuca claimed to be of Malaysian descent through his grandmother. However, FIFA released a statement that his grandmother was not born in nor has Malaysian ancestry, as the documentation submitted by Football Association of Malaysia proven to be doctored.[25]

Career statistics

Club

As of 3 September 2021.[26]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup Continental State league[b] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Unión Santa Fe 2019–20 Primera División — — 0 0 — — 0 0
2020–21[nb 1] Primera División 1 0 — — 1[c] 0 — 2 0
2021 Primera División 21 2 — — — — 21 2
2022 Primera División 33 3 2 0 — 8[c] 0 — 43 3
2023 Primera División 22 4 1 1 — — — 23 5
Total 77 9 3 1 0 0 9 0 0 0 81 10
Fortaleza 2023 Série A 16 2 — — 8[c] 1 0 0 24 3
2024 Série A 15 1 4 0 — 6[c] 0 16 0 41 2
Total 31 3 4 0 0 0 14 1 16 0 65 4
Vélez Sarsfield 2025 Primera División 8 0 2 0 — 1[d] 0 0 0 11 0
Career total 116 12 9 1 0 0 24 1 16 0 165 14
  1. ^ Includes Copa Argentina, Copa do Brasil
  2. ^ Includes Campeonato Cearense
  3. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana.
  4. ^ Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores.

International

As of match played 10 June 2025[27]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Malaysia 2025 1 0
Total 1 0

Honours

Fortaleza

Velez Sarsfield

Notes

  1. ^ Soccerway counts Copa de la Liga Profesional appearances as league appearances.

References

  1. ^ "boletin jugadores 11-2018.pdf" (PDF). AFA. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Imanol Machuca: el sueño de jugar en Primera". Fibranet. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  3. ^ "El TAS falló a favor de Machuca, Garcés y Holgado". El Litoral (in Spanish). 26 January 2026.
  4. ^ a b "Quién es el próximo futbolista roldanense que podría debutar en Primera División". El Roldanense. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Imanol Machuca fue fichado por Unión de Santa Fe y se suma al plantel de Reserva". El Roldanense. 4 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Reserva: Jugada "Maradoniana" de Machuca en Unión". SOL 91.5. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Unión firmó contrato con cuatro jóvenes valores de inferiores". Santa Fe Deportivo. 29 October 2020. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  8. ^ "El roldanense Imanol Machuca firmó su primer contrato como jugador profesional". El Roldanense. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Argentina – I. Machuca". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Dia #1: Imanol Machuca chega ao Fortaleza e faz primeiro treino com o elenco" [Day #1: Imanol Machuca arrives at Fortaleza and undergoes first training with the squad]. Fortaleza Esporte Clube (in Brazilian Portuguese). 29 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Fortaleza anuncia atacante argentino Imanol Machuca" [Fortaleza announces Argentinian forward Imanol Machuca]. Globo Esporte (in Brazilian Portuguese). 28 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Resumo da Central: Palmeiras quer destaque do Cruzeiro, Grêmio de olho em sueco e adeus a Gatito". 26 December 2024.
  13. ^ "Bienvenido Imanol / Vélez Sarsfield". C. A. Vélez Sarsfield (in Spanish). 13 January 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  14. ^ Azharie, Farah (28 September 2025). "Argentine club sideline Machuca following FIFA ban". New Straits Times. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  15. ^ "Otro regreso: Machuca fue habilitado y vuelve". Diario Olé (in Spanish). 27 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  16. ^ Taharumalengam, Avineshwaran a/l (5 June 2025). "Big lift for our boys". The Star.
  17. ^ "New heritage blood ready to fire up Harimau Malaya [WATCH] | New Straits Times". NST Online. 4 June 2025.
  18. ^ "Match Report of Malaysia vs Vietnam - 2025-06-10 - AFC Asian Cup Qualification - Global Sports Archive".
  19. ^ "Malaysian players banned after using forged documents to play qualifier v Vietnam". Reuters. 26 September 2025. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  20. ^ "Malaysian footballers banned after using forged documents to play against Vietnam". The Straits Times. 26 September 2025. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  21. ^ "Poor advice? Who represents Imanol Machuca and Facundo Garcés". OneFootball (in French). 26 September 2025. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  22. ^ D'Cruz, Frankie (26 September 2025). "Forgery, fraud, and football: FAM has shamed the nation". Free Malaysia Today | FMT. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  23. ^ "FIFA sanctions Football Association of Malaysia and seven players". inside.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2025. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  24. ^ "Seven international footballers dodge FIFA ban after court intervention". Yahoo Sports. 27 January 2026.
  25. ^ "Malaysian players banned after using forged documents to play qualifier v Vietnam". Reuters. 26 September 2025. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  26. ^ "Ficha Estadistica de IMANOL MACHUCA". BDFA. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  27. ^ "Imanol Machuca". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
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