Former Sagunto striker Adama Sangare in fine form at Castellonense
The Malian striker, who played for Atlético Saguntino last season, has already scored six goals in five pre-season friendlies with UD Castellonense, including a brace against his former club.
It only took five pre-season matches for Adama Sangare to become one of the surprises of the summer in Villanueva de Castellón. The 26-year-old Malian striker, who played for Atlético Saguntino (Sagunto's local club) last season, has already scored six goals in as many friendlies with UD Castellonense, finding the net in five separate matches — a run of form that strengthens his case for a prominent role once Iñaki Rodríguez's side begins its first season in Segunda Federación (the third tier of Spanish football). A start like this is unusual in the lower tiers of Valencian football, and it explains why the Castellonense coaching staff are following his progress so closely in these final weeks before the league campaign begins.
The way those six goals came about shows an almost unbroken run of form. It began on 31 July against Hércules B, with Sangare closing out a 2-0 win after Joel Rodríguez had opened the scoring; next came his goal against CD Buñol, in a match settled 4-0, to which Rubén Murcia, Lache and De Mateo also contributed. The most memorable chapter, however, came against his own former club: Castellonense came from behind against Atlético Saguntino thanks to goals from Agus Murillo and Joan Pulpón, and it was then that Sangare struck twice — in the 84th and 86th minutes — to seal a 4-1 win over the team for which he had been top scorer only months earlier. He also added the only away goal in a 5-1 defeat to Castellón B (56th minute) and settled the friendly against Torrent with a goal in the 67th minute. The only match in which he failed to score was against La Nucía, which Castellonense lost 3-1 despite a consolation goal from their own Joe Winstanley.
Back in Sagunto, meanwhile, fans have not lost track of their former player. His move to Castellonense was finalised on 24 June, after a season in which he scored ten goals in 27 appearances for Atlético Saguntino — starting 23 of those matches — and played a key role in the campaign that took the Sagunto club to second place in Group VI and into the promotion play-offs. That early-August friendly against his old team effectively served as a shared pre-season gauge for both clubs, and made clear that, months after leaving, Sangare remained one of the most decisive players to have recently worn that shirt. For many Sagunto supporters, keeping an eye on his form from a distance also works as an indirect gauge of the strength of the group their old club still competes in this season.
Atlético Saguntino itself has a century-old history: the club was formed in 1922 from the merger of two clubs, Sagunto C.D. and Cova Club, according to Wikipedia, and has played its home matches at the Camp Nou de Morvedre stadium since 1977 — the same ground where the Malian forward scored his ten goals last season.
Before arriving in Sagunto, Sangare's career had taken him through CD Soneja and Huracán Moncada. His most prolific season came precisely at Soneja, in 2022/23, with 26 goals in 40 games, a campaign that also brought promotion to Tercera Federación (the fourth tier) and the club's win in La Nostra Copa; in Tercera itself he scored six goals in his first year and ten in the next, reaching 42 goals in 102 appearances across his three seasons there.
His new club is also no ordinary destination right now: UD Castellonense, founded in 1946 in Villanueva de Castellón and based at the Camp Municipal de l'Almenà, achieved direct promotion to Segunda Federación last season by winning Group VI of Tercera Federación — the first time in its history the club has reached a national-level division, according to Wikipedia's historical records. The l'Almenà ground itself, which has an artificial pitch, opened on 6 December 2006, replacing an old parish football field, La Almena, now out of use.
For Iñaki Rodríguez, having a player capable of leading the line or operating from wider positions, with the ability to attack space behind the defence, adds another option ahead of what will be the club's toughest season opener in its recent history. Sangare's adaptation comes, then, at a decisive moment for a team preparing to make its debut in a national-level division for the first time, against opponents with far more experience in professional football and a physical and tactical demand well beyond anything faced so far in Tercera Federación. According to golsmedia.com, with additional background from Wikipedia on Atlético Saguntino and UD Castellonense.