Diego Mateo

Diego Mateo Alustiza (born 7 August 1978) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Football career Born in Roldán, Santa Fe, Mateo started his professional career in 1996 with Newell's Old Boys, where he made over 100 overall appearances, scoring four goals in the top division. In 2000, he joined U.S. Lecce in Italy, but left the club after appearing in only one fourth of the Serie A games during the season, with the Apulia side narrowly avoiding relegation.

In 2001 Mateo moved to Spain, where he would spend a great portion of his career: first, he was instrumental in helping Racing de Santander return to La Liga by scoring four times in 32 matches, and was relatively used in the following two top flight campaigns. In January 2005 he returned to the second division, playing for Real Valladolid.

Mateo returned to Argentina for a spell at San Lorenzo de Almagro, then went again to Spain and its second level after signing with Hércules CF. He then played two years in his country with Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy but, after the team's relegation in 2009, the 31-year-old returned to his first club Newell's.

Honours Newell's Old Boys Primera División: 2013 Final