18 May 2004 was not just any day for the inhabitants of Adrogué, a town located 23 km south of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was the chosen day for one of their own, Agustín Pastoriza 'Pibe', to have his debut in the First Division of Spanish football. The chosen venue was the Sadar stadium, the last stop on the unstoppable progression of the left-footed Argentine by birth and Galician by adoption. "It was incredible, something I have been waiting to do for years. It was an exciting moment. I thought I would get a chance, but not so much maybe 10 or 15 minutes".

Born in 1996 this young talent emigrated 12 years ago together with his parents Daniel and Alejandra, their destination was Galicia in the hope of finding a more prosperous future. At just five years of age 'Pibe' arrived in Cambados, and in this beautiful landscape he started to climb up the footballing ladder. The youth sections of Burgáns, A Seca, Arosa and Pontevedra were the clubs chosen by this young footballer, who is defined as being "talented, quick and with good technique", to continue filling his backpack with faith that he had thrown over his back when he came to Spain. These were the qualities that led Gabriel Humberto Calderón to give him his debut last Sunday at Pamplona. "He told me that he had faith in me and that I should do what I do in the training sessions. My teammates said the same, that I should be relaxed and play like I do in the training sessions".

It was last summer when Guillermo Fernández Romo, the second coach of Betis B and ex-coach of Pontevedra and Villalonga, spotted this diamond in the rough who had already had his debut in the Third Division with Pontevedra when he was in the U17 squad against Barbadás. No wonder the first question his discoverer asked, when Sunday's match between Oscar Cano's reserves and UCAM Murcia CF had finished, was if his protégé had had his debut. A première that, despite appearances, was not so simple. "At first I felt a bit out of place and nervous because of the crowd, but then I started to connect with the ball and I felt normal just like always. It was the first step that had to be taken, now I have to stick at it if I can". Well, when Betis calls at your door, rejection is not in your vocabulary. "It's something that you can only say yes to. It is something you've been waiting for for years. It's a unique opportunity".

Guillermo Fernández Romo spoke about how Pibe came to Seville. "We had been watching him for a number of years. I have been working in the Galicia at Celta and Pontevedra for three years. I already knew of him when he was playing in the U16s. When Betis asked me to become a scout for the Galicia region I knew I had to get him because he was different, and we had the chance of beating Celta and Villarreal to him. He caught my attention from the moment I saw him. Playing in any of the teams he had an ability to score goal and tip the scales in matches. Last year he started in the U17 B team playing in the national League and he scored 11 goals, in the Honour Division he scored 9, and with Pontevedra B he scored 4. Not only that he ended up having his debut with the Pontevedra first-team. He was overcoming all his challenges".

When questioned about the effect of having such an early start at an elite level, the youth team coach asserted that "like most of these lads they are the only ones who mark their upper limit, you can't predict it. If they can cope with and accept the demands of training, the challenges of each season then potentially they could make it and stay at the top. It all depends on him. Throughout the year that I have been scouting for the club I have brought quite a few players like Javi Montoya or Sofian. It's nothing to do with my personal success. It's about the club, we signed them for Betis. I hope a lot more of the players will reach the top. I was just as happy to see Pibe's debut as I was when Ignacio Abeledo and Pepelu did the same".

The separation from his roots, from his family which forced him to take giant steps in consolidating this dream in the hope of emulating the path followed by his father and grandfather before him, who played at Racing de Avellaneda. "The family came to see me at Pamplona. My mother was moved and cried when she saw my dream come true. I didn't even expect to play with the first team so soon. I trained well and Calderón kept calling me back. I couldn't even have imagined this a few months ago when I came to Betis".

His appearance with the elite of Betis caused furore in Cambados, where he still has friends and coaches who saw him grow up; for example, Blas Charlín and David Paredes were ecstatic when they saw Pibe putting on the green and white shirt. "A lot of people gave me a call from my home town. I also got calls from a lot of radio stations over the past couple of days. A lot of people were excited and proud".

The eighth apprentice to debut in the 2013/14 season, Pibe's meteoric rise, a lad of prudent character and commendable intelligence, has placed him on the launch platform for the next pre-season in which the apprentices have an extremely important role to play. "Recently I've been thinking about all my hard work in order to get where I am today. My team is in the Honour Division. I will do whatever they ask of me. We would all like to be in the first team. First we'll have to see if I make it for the pre-season".

The fervent admirer of Leo Messi said "as an Argentinian he is my reference point because he's the best in the world", and the lad from Cambados understands football as being synonymous with happiness: "Ever since I have been playing in the youth teams my dream is to be to get as far as possible. When I was little I only played to have a good time. Now I still do but it's something that I want to achieve".

10 months in the Betis Academy at a very complicated time, and missing his parents as he's been away for them for the first time: "At first it was really hard being so far away from my family, until I started integrating little by little in the Honour Division group. I miss my family and friends, hanging out with them. It's the sacrifice you have to make to get to the top". While his adaptation to Seville and its climate was the worst for the beardless youngster requiring a lot of sacrifice, living with his teammates at the residence was a determining factor. "My dad calls me from time to time and some of the tutors give me a boost when I'm feeling low. That was more at the beginning of got used to it now, I feel much better".

An ardent Boca Juniors supporter but few people use the name Agustín when talking to him, a name which he practically lost when he landed on Spanish soil On a personal level it has been a very positive season for the left-winger who now dreams of having his debut at the Benito Villamarín Stadium, and he retains in his memory the goal scored last December in the match Gustavo Sánchez's team played against Sevilla FC. The son of a cook from Cambados who emigrated to and found love in Buenos Aires, knows that the ideal ingredients for glory can be found in Los Bemejales, a breeding ground for young players from which names such as Dani Ceballos, Pedro and Pepelu have emerged; Pibe's former teammates in the U18 Honour Division who also had their minutes of glory in the season that closed last Sunday. "Betis has one of the best football academies in Spain. They're doing a good job and a lot of long young players will make it up to the top. Whenever someone got the chance to debut you were encouraged. There wasn't any rivalry, quite the opposite. My teammates are great people and they deserve what has happened to them this year".

This child from Adrogué, the greenhouse that is cultivated stars such as Fernando Redondo and Carlos Peucelle, runner-up with Argentina in 1930 World Cup, has now grown-up with tenacity and honed passion which lead him to recognise that "I don't know what I'd do if I hadn't been a footballer. Almost certainly would be training to be a coach or working in something related to football. I remember one day a teacher said to me at school that I had to study because football wasn't going to put food on my table. Since then I know that go far in football you have to study hard to". And in the end everything boils down to something as simple as being happy, in getting the most out of the brilliant moments that football gives you. As Jorge Luis Borges said was born in Adrogué: "I have committed the worst of all sins. I have not been happy". A lesson that has inspired Pibe, the boy who arrived from Argentina to be happy kicking a ball around.