.png)
Juan Miguel ‘Juanmi’ Jiménez broke records as a youngster in LaLiga Santander and is now one of the most in-form strikers in the division with Real Betis.
Juan Miguel Jiménez, better known as Juanmi, is enjoying his best goalscoring streak since joining Real Betis two seasons ago and has quickly become a key cog in the well-oiled machine that is Manuel Pellegrini’s side – one of the most in-form teams in LaLiga Santander. Just 28 years old, he’s already been a regular in Spain’s top flight for well over a decade. How did he get here?
Born in the southern Spanish province of Málaga, Juanmi stood out at a very young age in his hometown. It didn’t take long for Málaga CF to take notice of his qualities and his ability to score goals. In the Malaguista youth academy, the young striker made giant leaps through all the youth categories before making his debut at just 16 years of age in LaLiga Santander. His debut on Matchday 18 of the 2009/10 season against Getafe CF saw him write his name in the record books at the time as the youngest debutant in club history.
His rise to the elite levels of Spanish football kept on going, despite his tender age. The following season, Juanmi made history by becoming the youngest player in the history of the competition to score a brace: against Real Zaragoza, aged 17 years and 115 days, younger even than Bojan Krkic and Raúl González. He held this record for 10 years until a certain Ansu Fati beat him out in 2019/20.
After several seasons at Málaga CF, he would go on to play for Racing Santander and Real Sociedad – where he scored a creditable 24 goals in 96 LaLiga appearances – before joining Real Betis in 2019. Initially he struggled to cement his place in the side, but he’s certainly come good this season. He currently leads the club’s goalscoring charts with eight goals in just nine starts across the first 15 matches of the season. He’s very much in the contention for the Zarra award, given to the top scoring Spanish player in LaLiga, level on goals with RCD Espanyol’s Raul De Tomas, and looking good to beat his own record goals tally in LaLiga Santander: 11 (with Real Sociedad in 2016/17).
His spectacular hat-trick this weekend against Levante UD underlined his superb form and strong connection with the Benito Villamarin crowd. In fact, fans have created a song in his honour which can be heard from the stands week in, week out: “Oh, Juan Miguel, todos queremos que marque Juan Miguel” – “Oh, Juan Miguel, we all want Juan Miguel to score!”
