# José Machín

José Ndong Machín Dicombo (Spanish pronunciation:; born 14 August 1996), also known as Pepín, is an Equatoguinean professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Spanish Segunda División club Cartagena on loan from the Italian club Monza, and the Equatorial Guinea national team.

## Club career
### Early career

Born in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, Machín moved to Spain and began his youth career with La Floresta in Tarragona. In the middle of 2004 he joined Barcelona's youth setup, and remained there the next four seasons. After returning to La Floresta for a year, Machín had stints at Cambrils, Gimnàstic de Tarragona, and Málaga.
Machín played twice for Atlético Malagueño, Málaga's reserve team, in the 2014–15 Tercera División, coming on as a late substitute in 2–0 home wins against Villacarrillo and Guadix.

### Roma

On 30 January 2015, Machín transferred to Serie A club Roma. He became a starter in their Primavera (under-19) side, helping Roma win the 2015–16 Campionato Primavera [it]. Machín also played friendly matches with the first team in the middle of 2015 and was an unused substitute in several 2015–16 Serie A matches.
On 5 August 2016, Machín was sent on loan to Serie B club Trapani, with whom he played nine games. In January 2017, he was sent on a six-month loan to Lugano in the Swiss Super League, and in July 2017 Roma sent Machín on loan to Brescia (July 2017).

### Pescara

In January 2018, Machín was sent on loan to Pescara, who excersied the buyout option on 1 July 2018.

### Parma

On 31 January 2019, he joined Parma on loan with a €2.5m obligation to buy. On 31 August 2019, Machín joined his former Serie B club Pescara on loan until 30 June 2020. He scored seven goals in 20 Serie B matches in the first half of the season.

### Monza

On 31 January 2020, Machín moved on a six-month loan to Serie C club Monza, with an obligation to purchase at the end of the season if certain conditions were met. After gaining promotion to Serie B, he moved permanently to Monza, playing in the first half of the 2020–21 season. Machin moved back to Pescara on 15 January 2021, on a six-month loan to play the second half of the season.
He became a key played for Monza during the 2021–22 Serie B season, helping his side gain promotion to the Serie A for the first time in the club's history. Machín scored four goals in 25 regular season games, as well as a promotion play-off goal in the final against Pisa.
After taking part in the 2022–23 Serie A season with Monza, in which he played 25 games, on 27 July 2023, Monza renewed Machín's contract until 30 June 2026.
On 26 August 2024, Machín moved on loan to Frosinone in Serie B.
On 29 January 2025, Machín was recalled from Frosinone and joined Cartagena in Spain on loan until the end of the second-tier season.

## International career

Born in Equatorial Guinea, Machín moved to Spain at an early age and obtained dual citizenship. He chose to represent his native country, and made his full international debut for Equatorial Guinea on 12 November 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 loss against Morocco.

## Personal life

A few months after joining Barcelona, Machín confessed to being a fan of arch-rivals Real Madrid.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 4 June 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Atlético Malagueño | 2014–15 | Tercera División | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Roma | 2015–16 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Roma | 2016–17 | Serie A | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Roma | 2017–18 | Serie A | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Roma | Total | Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trapani (loan) | 2016–17 | Serie B | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 |
| Lugano (loan) | 2016–17 | Swiss Super League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 |
| Brescia (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie B | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 1 |
| Pescara (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie B | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 2 |
| Pescara | 2018–19 | Serie B | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 1 |
| Parma (loan) | 2018–19 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Parma | 2019–20 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Pescara (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie B | 20 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 7 |
| Monza (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| Monza | 2020–21 | Serie B | 10 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 13 | 1 |
| Monza | 2021–22 | Serie B | 25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 30 | 5 |
| Monza | 2022–23 | Serie A | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 0 |
| Monza | Total | Total | 60 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 70 | 6 |
| Pescara (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie B | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 2 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 168 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 180 | 19 |
* ↑ Appearances in play-offs

### International

    As of match played 20 November 2023
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Equatorial Guinea | 2015 | 2 | 0 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 2016 | 2 | 0 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 2018 | 1 | 0 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 2019 | 2 | 0 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 2020 | 2 | 0 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 2021 | 5 | 0 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 2022 | 5 | 0 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 2023 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 23 | 0 |

## Honours

Monza
* Serie C Group A: 2019–20