José Ndong Machín Dicombo (; born 14 August 1996), also known as Pepín (), is an Equatoguinean professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for 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 Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

. In the middle of 2004 he joined

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

's youth setup,"Líala, Eto'o" ("Fuss, Eto'o") - Page 2
; Mundo Deportivo, Retrieved 12 November 2015 and remained there the next four seasons. After returning to La Floresta for a year, Machín had stints at

Cambrils Cambrils () is a coastal town in the comarca of Baix Camp, province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is near the tourist town Salou and is frequently visited by those travelling by air using Reus Airport. History Roman Empire to Middl ...

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in . The club was founded in 1886 an ...

, and

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

. Machín played twice for

Atlético Malagueño Club Atlético Malagueño, shortened to Atlético Malagueño, () is a Spanish football team based in Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1990, it is the reserve team of Málaga CF, and currently plays in , holding home ...

, Málaga's reserve team, in the

2014–15 Tercera División The 2014–15 Tercera División was the fourth tier of football in Spain. Play started in August 2014 and ended in June 2015 with the promotion play-off finals. Competition format *The top four eligible teams in each group, played in the promotio ...

, coming on as a late substitute in 2–0 home wins against Villacarrillo and

Guadix Guadix (, ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in southern Spain, in the Granada (province), province of Granada. The city lies at an altitude of 913 metres, in the centre of the Hoya of Guadix, a high plain at the northern footh ...

Roma

On 30 January 2015, Machín transferred to

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

club

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

. He became a starter in their Primavera (under-19) side, helping Roma win the . 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 The 2015–16 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 114th season of top-tier Italian football, the 84th in a round-robin tournament, and the 6th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...

matches. On 5 August 2016, Machín was sent on loan to

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

club

Trapani Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the mai ...

, with whom he played nine games. In January 2017, he was sent on a six-month loan to

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

in the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

, and in July 2017 Roma sent Machín on loan to

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

(July 2017).

Pescara

In January 2018, Machín was sent on loan to

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

, who excersied the buyout option on 1 July 2018.

Parma

On 31 January 2019, he joined

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

on loan with a €2.5m obligation to buy. On 31 August 2019, Machín joined his former

club

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 The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...

club

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

, 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 The 2021–22 Serie B (known as the Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons) was the 90th season of the Serie B since its establishment in 1929. Changes The following teams have changed division since the 2020–21 season: To Serie B Relegated fr ...

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 Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

. After taking part in the

2022–23 Serie A The 2022–23 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 121st season of top-tier Italian football, the 91st in a round-robin tournament, and the 13th since its organization under an own league committee, the Lega 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 Frosinone (; local dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lazio, administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is about southeast of Rome, close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of th ...

. On 29 January 2025, Machín was recalled from Frosinone and joined Cartagena in Spain on loan until the end of the second-tier season. On 17 June 2025, Machín's contract with Monza was terminated by mutual consent.

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 Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

on 12 November 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 loss against

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Personal life

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

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Monza *

Group A: 2019–20

References

External links

Profile
at

AC Monza Associazione Calcio Monza (), or simply Monza, is a professional football club based in Monza, Lombardy, Italy. The team plays in the Serie B, the second tier of Italian football, following relegation in the 2024–25 Serie A season. The clu ...

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Machin, Jose 1996 births Living people People from Bata, Equatorial Guinea Equatoguinean emigrants to Spain Naturalised citizens of Spain Equatoguinean men's footballers 21st-century Equatoguinean sportsmen Men's association football midfielders FC Barcelona players CF Reus Deportiu B players Gimnàstic de Tarragona footballers Málaga CF players Atlético Malagueño players AS Roma players FC Trapani 1905 players FC Lugano players Brescia Calcio players Delfino Pescara 1936 players Parma Calcio 1913 players AC Monza players Frosinone Calcio players FC Cartagena footballers Tercera División players Serie B players Swiss Super League players Serie A players Serie C players Segunda División players Equatorial Guinea men's youth international footballers Equatorial Guinea men's international footballers 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players Equatoguinean expatriate men's footballers Equatoguinean expatriate sportspeople in Italy Equatoguinean expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland