Factfile: Meet new signing Matias Vina!

Here, we get to know the 23-year-old, who will play a significant role in easing the worries on the left after the unfortunate injury to Leonardo Spinazzola suffered at the European Championship in the summer.

The tale of the tape

Full name: Matias Nicolas Vina Susperreguy
Date of birth: 09/11/1997
Age: 23
Place of birth: Empalme Olmos
Nationality: Uruguayan
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 70kg

Where it all began

It was at boyhood club - and 48-time Uruguay champions - Nacional that Vina's career began in earnest, joining their youth setup as an 18-year-old in 2015.

Two years later, on 2 April 2017, Vina made his professional debut in a 3-1 defeat at Club Atlético Boston River.

That was the first of 47 appearances Vina made for the club, where he contributed five goals and six assists before moving to Brazilian outfit Palmeiras in 2020.

One full campaign in Sao Paulo followed, with continental glory delivered that season as Palmeiras lifted the Copa Libertadores trophy for only the second time in their history.

A senior international debut came in 2019 and Vina has since earned 16 caps for his country, helping them to the quarter-finals of this summer's Copa America 2021.

It ultimately ended in disappointment for Vina and his country as the 23-year-old's penalty was saved by David Ospina to see Colombia advance to the last-four.

One penalty miss certainly doesn't define the player, and Palmeiras assistant Carlos Martinho perhaps knows Vina's attributes better than anyone else.

"Matias is a great loss for us and a smart acquisition for Roma," Martinho said prior to the official announcement.

"For me he is perfect as a winger in a three-man defence, because he has the ability to attack the spaces with great intelligence.

"But he is also good as fourth in the four, as long as he is granted a bit of freedom in the offensive phase."

A serial winner

Despite his youth, Vina already boasts an impressive medal haul - something that will no doubt have drawn serial-winning Roma boss Jose Mourinho to his signature.

In 2017 Vina became South American champion with Uruguay's U20 team, while he has 2019 winners' medals for both the Uruguayan top-flight and Supercopa Uruguaya from his time with Nacional.

With Palmeiras, meanwhile, he raised three trophies to the sky: the Paulista championship, Brazilian Cup and Copa Libertadores, all in 2020.

That same year, Vina was named in El Pais' Equipo Ideal de Sur America, following in a long list of illustrious players to be selected in the continent's team of the season that includes the likes of Roma legend Cafu.

Did you know?

That's not the only similarity between the Brazilian that sits in Roma's Hall of Fame and the club's latest signing.

The full-backs also share Palmeiras as a former club, with Cafu the first player in history to make the switch between the two.

Goalkeeper Daniel Fuzato is also an ex-Palmeiras man, further strengthening the links between Roma and their Brazilian counterparts that were founded by Italian immigrants in 1914.

Notable numbers

• Vina will become the seventh Uruguayan to play for Roma, following in the footsteps of Alcides Ghiggia, Juan Alberto Schiaffino, Daniel Fonseca, Gianni Guigou, Nico Lopez and Mauro Goicoechea.
  
• Vina has made a total of 116 professional appearances at club level, scoring 10 times and laying on 16 assists in the process.
  
• With 446,000 followers and counting on Instagram, Vina is a hit on the social platform, leaving his French bulldog Gino with some catching up to do on 750 followers.

The man in his own words

"If we forget where we come from, we don't know where we are going."

That is Vina's mantra, according to his social media at least, with both his Instagram and Twitter profiles that each bear that phrase.

Otherwise, Vina doesn't appear to give too much away, but he has wasted no time in expressing his delight at joining the Giallorossi.

“For me this is a dream coming true. Roma is a top club. It will be an honour to be coached by Mourinho.”