- With three goals in this season’s CONMEBOL Sudamericana, David Romero has emerged as Tigre’s main goalscoring hope.
- The striker, who is enjoying the best spell of his career, has established himself as a key figure and the attacking focal point of Diego Dabove’s side.
At the beginning of January, El Matador acquired 100 per cent of Romero’s registration rights from Talleres de Córdoba, having identified the striker’s quality and attributes as reasons to make him one of their main attacking options for a demanding semester across two competitions. The gamble has paid off. Through his goals and impressive performances, the Corrientes-born forward is keeping Tigre’s CONMEBOL Sudamericana hopes alive.
‘Rulo’ has found the ideal environment at Tigre to flourish and showcase the qualities he had long hinted at: power, goalscoring ability and the character to step up in demanding situations.
His beginnings as a goalkeeper in Corrientes and move to Talleres
Curiously, his story began far from the opposition’s goal. As a child, Romero started out as a goalkeeper at Boca Unidos. His father had also played in goal, so he naturally followed the same path until he eventually discovered that his true connection with the ball lay several metres further up the pitch.
His talent quickly caught the attention of Talleres’ scouting department, which brought him to the club in 2017. Just a year later, he was the standout player and leading scorer for the club’s Under-16 side as they were crowned champions.
Alexander Medina was the coach who handed Romero his official first-team debut for Talleres at the age of 18. It came in April 2021 against Deportes Tolima, fittingly in the group stage of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
Unión La Calera and his footballing resurgence
During his first three seasons with the Córdoba-based club, he made just 50 appearances, most of them coming off the bench as an alternative rather than as a regular starter. In 2022, he was called up to Argentina’s U-20 squad for the historic L’Alcúdia tournament. Javier Mascherano’s side went on to win the title, although Romero did not feature.
Against that backdrop, he decided to move to Chilean football and join Unión La Calera at the request of head coach Walter Lemma, who knew him from Talleres’ youth academy. His spell was as brief as it was productive: he scored seven goals in 11 appearances.
Consolidation at El Matador
He joined Tigre on loan at the beginning of 2025 and quickly adapted to his new surroundings. In his first seven matches in the Apertura tournament, he not only struck up a promising partnership with Ignacio Russo but also scored three goals, including one against parent club Talleres.
A shoulder injury sidelined him for much of the season, although he still ended the year with five goals in 21 appearances before his loan spell expired. At the beginning of 2026, however, the club from the northern outskirts of Greater Buenos Aires decided to sign him permanently. Dabove placed his full trust in Romero, and the striker responded with goals.
So far in 2026, the 23-year-old has scored 11 goals in 17 matches, including three in this season’s CONMEBOL Sudamericana: a brace in the 2-2 draw away to Macará in Ecuador and the equaliser in the 1-1 draw against América de Cali in Colombia.
In a competitive, intense and direct Tigre side, his profile has proved a perfect fit. He has become an awkward attacking reference point for opposing defenders and a decisive presence in the final third. His contribution was instrumental in helping the Buenos Aires outfit finish second in Group A, behind Macará and ahead of América de Cali and Alianza Atlético.
El Matador are now dreaming of extending their continental campaign when they face Nacional in the Round of 16 play-offs. The Uruguayan side finished third in the group stage of the CONMEBOL Libertadores. Tigre have plenty of reasons to believe, and Romero is one of the biggest.
