Sebastian Tagliabue's Rise Through Saudi and UAE Football

Carving his early career in his ancestral home Argentina and then at other South American outposts, it was in Saudi Arabia that Sebastian Tagliabue truly rose to prominence. He quickly became a fan favorite not at one, but two Roshn Saudi League powerhouses: Al Ettifaq and Al Shabab, the duo who lock horns in their opening RSL fixture in Riyadh on Saturday night.

Born in the Buenos Aires province, the then 25-year-old striker took a significant leap in 2010 when, while playing for Colombia’s Once Caldas, he accepted an offer to join Al Ettifaq in the distant Roshn Saudi League.

Almost 15 years later, Tagliabue remains in the region, now residing as an RSL luminary and a 19-time UAE international, having been naturalized in 2020. His stay in Saudi might have lasted only three seasons, but it paved the way for the fulfilling life he now enjoys in Abu Dhabi with his wife and two sons.

With his two former RSL clubs, Al Ettifaq, and Al Shabab, set to meet on Saturday to close out Matchweek 1 of the 2024-25 campaign, Tagliabue reminisces on his time in the Kingdom—years marked equally by prolific goal-scoring and life-changing experiences.

How good was the current @ALNasrSC & @UAEFNT forward during his time in #OurLeague? #SPL | @ShababSaudiFc | @Ettifaq_EN pic.twitter.com/TjZ2Rwoa18

— Roshn Saudi League (@SPL_EN) May 10, 2022

“About Al Shabab and Al Ettifaq, I’m thankful for both of them because Al Ettifaq opened the door for me to come to this amazing area in the world,” Tagliabue tells the RSL. “I never expected to come here, and Al Ettifaq gave me the chance, not only one year, but two years, to show my true self.”

Indeed, he did just that. In his debut season, Tagliabue struck 12 times in the RSL for the Dammam club, playing a pivotal role in his team’s superb third-placed finish. With it, Al Ettifaq secured a place in the AFC Champions League play-offs for the following campaign.

Domestically, Tagliabue was just getting started. He would plunder 9 more league goals in the 2011-12 RSL season as Al Ettifaq finished fourth. He also scored in every round leading up to the final of that year’s Crown Prince Cup, including an injury-time winner in the semifinal against Al Ahli.

If the showpiece didn’t go how Tagliabue hoped—despite the 2-1 defeat by Al Hilal in Riyadh, he says still: “I have very good memories of Al Ettifaq”—his personal trajectory was trending in the right direction.

The direction was west, as Tagliabue traded Dammam for Riyadh, and Al Ettifaq for capital club Al Shabab. The switch paid off: with 19 goals, the frontman concluded the 2012-13 RSL campaign as the division’s top scorer. The haul powered Al Shabab’s title push before they eventually settled for third, tied on points with runners-up Al Hilal (Al Fateh were that season’s shock champions).

Tagliabue, though, remembers the period fondly.

“Al Shabab gave me the chance to, for the first time, be a top international scorer,” he says. “I was top scorer in Argentina, but with Al Shabab, I did the same internationally for the first time.

“It was an amazing year because I played with incredible players; we had a very good team. In my opinion, we could have been league champions, but we missed winning two games at crucial moments against teams we should have beaten, and then we lost the title.”

Collective silverware would ultimately prove elusive, Al Shabab were beaten 4-2 by Al Ittihad in the King’s Cup final.

2013 #ACL

Sebastián Tagliabué with an emphatic strike to finish @ShababSaudiFc’s astonishing team play! pic.twitter.com/XPBYxgBb2V

Undeterred by the disappointment, Tagliabue soon departed for the UAE, joining Al Wahda in the summer of 2013 after scoring 40 goals in 69 RSL appearances. He went on to lift a succession of trophies there, twice the UAE Pro League’s top scorer, and is now the club’s all-time leading scorer.

Only Ali Mabkhout has netted more times in the history of the UAE top tier. Tagliabue has also represented Al Nasr and Sharjah. Four years ago, they became international teammates when he was granted Emirati citizenship at the beginning of 2020.

At 39, Tagliabue continues to play professionally. Looking at everything he has achieved, he realizes the RSL left as indelible a mark on him as he did during those three prolific years in the Kingdom.

“Both Al Ettifaq and Al Shabab were amazing clubs,” Tagliabue says. “I always have them in my heart, and I always look to see how they are in the league, how they are doing, and the players that are playing at this moment.

“Yes, they stay in my heart. Always.”