Eduardo Sebrango

Eduardo Sebrango

Personal information
Full name	Eduardo Cebranco Rodríguez
Date of birth	April 13, 1973 (1973-04-13) (age 36)
Place of birth	Sancti Spiritus, Cuba
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Montreal Impact
Number	12
Youth career
1984–1991	Sancti Spíritus
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1992–1998	Sancti Spíritus
1999	Vancouver 86ers	27	(18)
2000	Rochester Raging Rhinos	24	(6)
2001	Hershey Wildcats	16	(8)
2002–2005	Montreal Impact	83	(36)
2006–2008	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	54	(21)
2008–	Montreal Impact	27	(4)
National team‡
1996–1998	Cuba	24	(16)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 October 2009. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 May 2009

Eduardo Sebrango (born April 13, 1973 in Sancti Spiritus) is a Cuban soccer player who currently plays for Montreal Impact in the USL First Division.

Career

Club

Sebrango started his career in Cuba with his hometown team, Sancti Spíritus where he played with the club for 14 seasons as both a youth and a senior player.

Sebrango immigrated from Cuba to Canada in 1998, and was subsequently signed by the Vancouver 86ers of the then A-League. He scored 18 goals and recorded 10 assists for Vancouver before being signed by Hershey Wildcats in 2001.

In 2002 Sebrango was signed by the Montreal Impact, and in his first season he scored 18 goals in 28 games and was named to the USL First Division All-Star Team. In 2004 Sebrango helped the Impact lift the USL First Division championship trophy as the Impact defeated the Seattle Sounders 2-0 on September 18. During the regular season, Sebrango contributed eight goals and three assists. In total Sebrango appeared in 83 games, notching 36 goals and six assists making him the second All-Time scorer for the club.

In 2006 Sebrango was traded to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in exchange for Daniel Antoniuk. With the 'Caps he played an important playoff role where he scored a goal in 2-0 victory over the Miami FC. In the semi-final game he scored a memorable goal against his former team the Montreal Impact which the Caps won 2-0. Unfortunately, Sebrango was ejected from the game after scoring his goal for excessive celebration for removing his shirt, and was suspended for the final. With Sebrango in the stands his team were able to win the USL First Division Championship beating the Rochester Raging Rhinos 3-0, his third title with three different teams.

In 2008 Sebrango led the Whitecaps in regular season scoring with 12 goals and three assists for 27 points in 29 matches. Sebrango also had two goals in three Nutrilite Canadian Championship games and two goals in five playoff matches. He played a significant role to help the Whitecaps win their second USL First Division championship in three years.

On 30 September 2008 was called up for the USL First Division All-League Team.^[1]

In November 2008, Sebrango was signed once again by the Montreal Impact^[2]. In his first appearance back with the Impact, Sebrango scored Montreal's two goals in a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal game against Mexican club Santos Laguna. During the 2009 USL season Sebrango contributed by helping the Impact clinch a playoff spot under new head coach Marc Dos Santos. On July 22 Sebrango scored both his 99th and 100th career goals in the USL First Division in a thrilling 4-1 victory over the Cleveland City Stars^[3]. In the playoffs he recorded his first goal in the second match against the Puerto Rico Islanders of the semifinals. He scored the winning goal for the Impact in a 2-1 victory which allowed the Impact to advance to the finals^[4]. In the playoffs their opponents would end up being the Vancouver Whitecaps FC this marking the first time in USL history where the final match would consist of two Canadian clubs. On October 10, 2009 in the first match of the finals Sebrango scored once again the winning goal in 3-2 victory at Vancouver^[5]. Montreal would later on win the second match to a score of 3-1, thus making Montreal win the series 6-3 on aggregate. The victory gave the Impact their third USL Championship and also the victory marked Sebrango's fifth USL Championship.

International

Sebrango was a regular with the Cuban national team, and played 24 games scoring 16 goals for the team prior to his defection. Because of his defection from Cuba his Cuban citzenship was taken away and he is not allowed to return to the Island.

Personal

Following his defection from Cuba Sebango became a Canadian citizen, but is ineligible to play for the Canadian national team due to his prior appearances for Cuba.

In addition to his playing career, Sebrango is a coach for the North Shore Player Premier Program Club, coaching the U-14 Metro Selects Club.

Honours

Rochester Rhinos

• USL First Division Championship (1): 2000

Montreal Impact

• USL First Division Championship (2): 2004, 2009
• USL First Division Commissioner's Cup (1): 2005
• Voyageurs Cup (4): 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005

Vancouver Whitecaps

• USL First Division Championship (2): 2006, 2008

Individual

• Canadian Championship Golden Boot: 2008 (co-winner)

Career Stats

Last Update: October 17, 2009

1) Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (American Based Clubs) - Nutrilite Canadian Cup (Canadian Based Clubs)
2) Concacaf Champions League

References

External links

• Montreal Impact bio
• Vancouver Whitecaps bio
• North Shore Player Premier Program