| Saúl Coco | |
| Fullname: | Saúl Basilio Coco-Bassey Oubiña[1] |
| Birth Date: | 9 February 1999 |
| Birth Place: | Lanzarote, Spain |
| Height: | 1.88m[2] |
| Position: | Centre-back |
| Currentclub: | Torino |
| Clubnumber: | 23 |
| Youthclubs1: | Orientación Marítima |
| Youthyears2: | 2013–2016 |
| Youthclubs2: | Las Palmas |
| Youthyears3: | 2015–2016 |
| Youthclubs3: | → Orientación Marítima (loan) |
| Youthyears4: | 2016–2018 |
| Youthclubs4: | Espanyol |
| Years1: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs1: | Espanyol B |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs2: | → Horta (loan) |
| Caps2: | 22 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs3: | Las Palmas C |
| Caps3: | 13 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs4: | Las Palmas B |
| Caps4: | 9 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2020–2024 |
| Clubs5: | Las Palmas |
| Caps5: | 79 |
| Goals5: | 2 |
| Years6: | 2024– |
| Clubs6: | Torino |
| Caps6: | 0 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2018 |
| Nationalteam1: | Equatorial Guinea U23 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2017– |
| Nationalteam2: | Equatorial Guinea |
| Nationalcaps2: | 19 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 3 |
| Club-Update: | 5 June 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 20 November 2023 |
Saúl Basilio Coco-Bassey Oubiña (born 9 February 1999), better known as Saúl Coco, is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Torino.[3] Born in Spain, he represents Equatorial Guinea at international level.
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.[6]
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.[7] [8] In August 2018, after finishing his formation, he was loaned to Tercera División side UA Horta for the season.[9]
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.[10] The following 18 July, he returned to his former club Las Palmas, being assigned to the C-team also in the fourth division.[11]
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.[12] On 15 June 2022, he renewed his contract until 2025, being definitely promoted to the main squad.[13]
On 15 April 2023, Coco scored his first goal at any level for Las Palmas on his 69th appearance, consolation in a 2–1 loss at Granada CF.[14] The team ended the season with promotion to La Liga, where he scored for the first time on 8 October to open a 2–1 victory away to Villarreal CF; his 30-yard direct free kick won the La Liga Goal of the Month award.
On 17 July 2024, Coco signed for Serie A club Torino FC on a four-year contract.
Eligible to play internationally for Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria or Spain, Coco was called up to the senior squad of the former in August 2017.[15] He made his full international debut on 3 September, replacing Pablo Ganet in a 1–2 friendly loss to Benin;[16] [17] by doing so, he became the first person from Lanzarote to get called up internationally in 67 years.[18] The match was subsequently eliminated from FIFA records,[19] as the referee and his assistants referees were from Equatorial Guinea.[20] [21]
Coco became cap-tied to Equatorial Guinea on 17 November 2018, when he appeared in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match against Senegal.[22] He scored his first international goal on his sixth appearance on 7 October 2021, opening a 2–0 home win over Zambia in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.[23] He played all of his team's games in their run to the quarter-finals of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, scoring in the penalty shootout win over Mali in the last 16.[24]
| Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| UD Las Palmas | 2020–21 | Segunda División | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | Segunda División | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Segunda División | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 71 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 76 | 2 | |||
Scores and results list Equatorial Guinea's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 7 October 2021 | Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea | align=center | 1–0 | align=center | 2–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 2. | 16 November 2021 | Stade Olympique de Nouakchott, Nouakchott, Mauritania | align=center | 1–1 | align=center | 1–1 | |||
| 3. | 24 March 2023 | Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea | align=center | 1–0 | align=center | 2–0 |
Individual
Category:People of Galician descent