Geobel Pérez Oquendo (born 2 June 1999) is a Cuban 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 le ...

who plays as both a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Pérez began his career in the youth setup of

Ciudad de La Habana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. In 2018, after performing well during a youth tournament, Pérez was called up to the Ciudad de La Habana first-team in the

Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol de Cuba Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol de Cuba is the top division of the Asociación de Fútbol de Cuba, it was created in 1912. Despite being a league competition in CONCACAF, since 1990 none of the Cuban teams had played in CFU Club Championship or CO ...

. Later that year, following the

CONCACAF U-20 Championship The CONCACAF Under-20 Championship is the second longest running international association football event in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region, CONCACAF, and is the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. ...

, Pérez defected from Cuba and joined Fortuna SC, an amateur club in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

which comprises mainly Cuban footballers. Pérez stated that he was the last member of his team to defect that tournament, saying "Others had left in previous games before the tournament was over, I waited until it finished, I even ate with the team and was there until the last day." In 2019, Pérez joined

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

club Storm, another club comprising mainly Cuban players from Fortuna SC.

Charleston Battery

On 14 January 2021, Pérez signed with USL Championship club

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

. Prior to his arrival, the Battery had been known for bringing in Cuban players who had defected from previous tournaments, such as Osvaldo Alonso,

Maikel Chang Maikel Chang Ramírez (born April 18, 1991) is a Cuban professional footballer who plays for Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. Club career Born in Havana, Chang played for local clubs Industriales and Ciudad de la Habana, before leaving ...

, and

Heviel Cordovés Heviel Cordovés González (born 10 November 1989) is a former Cuban international footballer. Club career Cordovés played for hometown team Ciudad de la Habana before his move to the USA where he joined Charleston Battery. In December 2017, he ...

, and giving them a start to their professional career in the United States. Pérez made his professional debut for the Battery on 7 May 2021 against New York Red Bulls II, coming on as a 76th minute substitute in a 1–1 draw. Pérez featured in 22 matches in his rookie campaign, scoring two goals and notching two assists. Pérez scored his first goal of 2022 in stoppage time against Atlanta United 2 on June 29, the highlight reel strike earned him USL Championship Goal of the Week honors for Week 17 and a nomination for the league's June Goal of the Month award. The goal was featured by

Fútbol Americas ''Fútbol Americas'' is a TV show that is streaming exclusively on ESPN+. It is hosted by Sebastian Salazar and Herculez Gomez. History On March 4, 2021, it was announced that a new studio show, ''Fútbol Americas'', would first air on March 8, ...

in their top 10 goals of the week, coming in at No. 8, during their episode that aired the following day. Pérez was named to the USL Championship Team of the Week for his Week 20 performance against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC when he scored one goal and one assist in the 3–3 draw on July 22. Following the 2022 season, Pérez was released by Charleston.

International career

Pérez was called into the Cuba under-20 side for the

2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2018 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was the 6th edition of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship (27th edition if all eras included), the men's under-20 international football tournament organized by CONCACAF. It was hosted at Bradenton, Florida, ...

. He scored in his nation's first match against

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

, scoring the fourth in a 6–1 victory. He would tally five goals in the tournament, the most all-time for the Cuba U-20s in the competition.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

Profile
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Geobel 1999 births Living people Cuban men's footballers Men's association football forwards Charleston Battery players USL Championship players Cuban expatriate men's footballers Cuban expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Cuba men's under-20 international footballers Defecting Cuban footballers