Goal mine

Matchday 31 of the Liga BBVA saw one man steal the show:Santi Mina. The RC Celta youth product achieved a huge feat in los celestes’ clash against Rayo Vallecano, as at the age of just 19 the Galician forward scored four goals. With his virtuoso display at Balaídos, there can be little doubt that Mina (whose surname translates as ‘mine’) has staked his claim for more playing time loud and clear to coach Eduardo Berrizzo.

At 19 years and 125 days, Mina has become the youngest player to hit four for eight decades. Earlier than that, three individuals had managed to find the net four times in a match at an even younger age: Athletic Club’s 17-year-old José Iraragorri in a 6-0 victory over RCD Espanyol in 1930, 18-year-old Pablo Pombo in R. Racing C.’s 6-0 win against Athletic Club in 1934, and Jaime Lazcano in 1929 at 19 years and 43 days in Real Madrid’s 5-0 thrashing of Europa.

Celta had not seen one of their players score four for 36 years. The most recent to do so was Mori in 1979, when los vigueses beat R. Zaragoza 5-3. Prior to that, Juan Del Pino notched a four-goal haul in 1942 in a 4-1 Celta win against Hércules CF, and Manuel Hermida did likewise in the Galician outfit’s 10-1 victory over Gimnástic de Tarragona.

Take a look at Mina’s first-team stats with the Vigo club and his achievement only grows. He had not previously scored a brace or a hat-trick in the Liga BBVA, and had just two goals to his name in the division: one in a 3-2 Celta win over Athletic Club and another in a 2-2 draw with Real Sociedad, both last season. This term, he had not yet got off the mark.