Sebastián Soria

Sebastián Soria

Soria at the Qatar Stars League launch ceremony in 2012
Personal information
Full name Andrés Sebastián Soria Quintana
Date of birth (1983-11-08) 8 November 1983
Place of birth Paysandú, Uruguay
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Al-Rayan SC
Number 23
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2004 Liverpool de Montevideo 41 (8)
2004–2005 Al-Gharafa 26 (14)
2005–2012 Qatar SC 152 (102)
2012–2015 Lekhwiya 64 (42)
2015– Al-Rayan SC 22 (10)
National team‡
2006 Qatar U-23 7 (6)
2006– Qatar 114 (37)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 31, 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of October 11, 2016

Andrés Sebastián Soria Quintana (Arabic: أندريس سيبستيان سوريا كوينتانا‎‎, born in Paysandú, Uruguay) commonly known as Sebastián Soria, is a Qatari footballer who plays as a striker for Al-Rayan SC and the Qatar national team. He was shortlisted for the Asian Footballer of the Year award in 2008, coming in third place. He currently holds the record for the fastest goal scored in AFC Champions League history at 9 seconds – a record which was set in 2013.[1]

Club career

Early career

As a youngster, Soria had an unsuccessful trial at Uruguayan club Defensor Sporting in Montevideo.[2]

Soria continued playing in the minor leagues and a new chance soon emerged. In 2001, a cyclist, who had watched Soria playing in the minor leagues and was impressed by his talents, brought him to the attention of a football agent he knew, and Soria was sent to Montevideo to play in Liverpool de Montevideo, where he played under coach Julio Ribas. He was sent to the reserve team for a brief while before making it back on the first team. He eventually proved his value and ended up playing the rest of the 2003 season on the first team.[2]

In mid-2004, Soria got an offer from Frenchman Bruno Metsu to play for Al-Gharafa in Qatar. He had to look Qatar up on a map as he was unsure of where it was located. Nevertheless, he accepted the proposal despite the geographical uncertainty. He arrived in Qatar in 2004 and was naturalized in 2006.[2]

Al Gharafa

Soria joined Al Gharafa in 2004 under the supervision of Bruno Metsu. It was the first time he had played outside of Uruguay. He won the 2004–05 Qatar Stars League with Al Gharafa.

Qatar SC

Soria transferred to Qatar SC from league winners Al Gharafa in 2005. He won the Qatar Crown Prince Cup with the club in 2009. He attracted interest from Europe, with Italian team Udinese and Spanish capital sides Getafe and Atletico Madrid scouting him. However, he chose to extend his contract with Qatar SC in 2010.[3]

AC Milan vs Al Sadd

When AC Milan came to visit Doha in March 2009, in a farewell match for Jafal Rashed Al-Kuwari, Soria guested for Al Sadd. "They invited me to play for Al Sadd, so of course I said yes. I like to play against the strong defenders," Soria said after his scuffles with Milan defender Philippe Senderos. After being substituted, Soria was swarmed by local fans and patiently signed autographs for approximately 15 minutes.[2]

Lekhwiya

After transferring to Qatari champions Lekhwiya, Soria had the opportunity to play in the 2013 AFC Champions League. He scored 4 goals in Lekhwiya's first four group stage games, including one of the fastest goals in any Asian competition after 9 seconds against Pakhtakor on 9 April 2013.[4] It was alleged to be the fastest goal in Asia's premier continental club competition during the AFC Champions League format.[5]

Al Rayyan

Soria joined Al-Rayan SC on a one-year deal in 2015.[6]

Club career statistics

Soria in 2012

Statistics accurate as of 25/3/ 2016

Club Season League League Cup1 League Cup2 Continental3 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Al-Gharafa 2004–05 QSL 2614
Total 2614
Qatar SC 2005–06 QSL 2519
2006–07 2110
2007–08 2318
2008–09 2319
2009–10 2015
2010–11 2012
2011–12 209
Total 152102
Lekhwiya 2012–13 QSL 2219 74
2013–14 2012 52
2014–15 2211 72
Total 6442 198
Al-Rayan SC 2015–16 QSL 2210
Total 2210
Career total 264168 198

1Includes Emir of Qatar Cup.

2Includes Sheikh Jassem Cup.

3Includes AFC Champions League.

a

Goal breakdown

Last update: 11/3/2016.[7]

Competition DFKs Headers Penalties Total
Qatar Stars League 0 9 20 168
Crown Prince Cup 0 1 0 5
Sheikh Jassem Cup 0 0 0 2
Emir of Qatar Cup 0 1 0 13
Champions League 0 0 1 8
Total 0 11 21 196

International career

Soria was born and raised in Paysandú, but moved to Qatar early in his footballing career and became a naturalized citizen. He won a gold medal in the 2006 Asian Games for the Qatar U-23 team. Some sources claim that he was born in 1980, but he is listed in Asian Games site as 1988. The official Qatar SC website has him listed as being born in 1984. In addition, QFA's website lists his actual date of birth as 1983.[8]

Soria saved the Qatari national team by scoring in the last 20 minutes, which helped tie the score. This happened in the AFC 2007 in both their games, one against Japan, and the other just recently against Vietnam. He also scored the leading goal against the United Arab Emirates. He is the only Qatari player to score on the 2007 Asian Cup. He scored three goals.

Soria scored a goal against eventual winners Japan in the 2011 Asian Cup quarterfinals but the homeside were silenced after a late goal from Inoha put Japan in the lead to win by a 3–2 victory. However, he was not included in Djamel Belmadi's squad for 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

International career statistics

Last update: 11/10/2016.[9]

Competition Appearances Goals
Pan Arab Games 1 0
Asian Cup 7 4
Asian Cup Qualifier 7 2
Gulf Cup of Nations 13 0
FIFA World Cup qualifiers 35 10
Friendlies 51 21
Total 114 37

International goals

Honors

Individual

Club

References

  1. ↑ "Know Your Rivals: Qatar's Three Key Players". goal.com. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Interview: Sebastian Soria – Sport". Al Jazeera. 25 March 2009. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Soria targets more success". ESPN. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Sebastian Soria's 10 Second Goal Against Pakhtakor". AOL.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  5. ↑ "Fastest goal in the history of the AFC Champions League". sauress.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "Sebastian Soria Joins Al Rayyan". Qatars Hub. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  7. ↑ "Goal breakdown". superkoora.com. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  8. ↑ Players Profile – Sebastian Soria
  9. ↑ "Century of international appearances". rsssf.com. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
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