Yordany Álvarez Oropeza, also written as Yordanis Álvarez Oropesa, (born 24 May 1985) is a Cuban retired

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 ...

Club career

Cuba

Álvarez began his career in his native Cuba, playing with his hometown club FC Cienfuegos in the Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol de Cuba. While playing for the Cuban U-23 national team in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Tampa, Florida in March 2008, Álvarez, along with several other members of the team, defected to the United States under the wet foot dry foot scheme that allows Cubans who reach U.S. soil to obtain asylum.

United States

Following an unsuccessful trial with

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

, Álvarez was signed to a professional contract by the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

expansion franchise Austin Aztex after attending the Aztex open tryouts in California in March 2009. He made his debut for the team on 18 April 2009, in Austin's USL1 season opener against

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its home ...

. On 21 January 2010 renewed his contract by signing a three-year deal with the club. Prior to the 2011 season, new owners purchased the club and moved it to Orlando, Florida, renaming it Orlando City SC. The club played in the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

league in 2011, winning the league championship with Álvarez being named league most valuable player. At the end of the 2011

season, Álvarez signed with Major League Soccer club

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...

on a loan agreement. In January 2012, Salt Lake exercised its option to purchase Álvarez and he signed a three-year contract in February 2012. On 22 January 2014, it was announced that Álvarez was loaned back to Orlando City SC for the 2014 USL Pro season and the move would be made permanent in 2015 when the club began play in MLS. In exchange for Álvarez, Real Salt Lake acquired Orlando's 4th round pick in the

2017 MLS SuperDraft The 2017 MLS SuperDraft was the eighteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The first two rounds of the 2017 Su ...

. This deal made Álvarez the second player ever signed to Orlando's MLS roster, second only to

Kevin Molino Kevin Reginald Molino (born 17 June 1990) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew and the Trinidad and Tobago national team. Club career Orlando City After playing for severa ...

. However on 29 August 2014, Álvarez was forced to retire after undergoing a series of tests for a medical condition he suffered during a match on 7 June against the

Dayton Dutch Lions Dayton Dutch Lions is an American soccer team based in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. From 2011 to 2014, the team played in the USL Professional D ...

. After retiring as a player, he became a coach t Orlando City's youth academy.

International career

Álvarez played for the Cuba U-20 's at the 2004 Copa de las Antillas and made his senior international debut for

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

in a November 2006 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification match against Surinam in which he immediately scored two goals and has earned a total of 8 caps, scoring 3 goals. His final international was a February 2008

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against Guyana, a month prior to defecting to the United States.

Personal

Álvarez received his U.S. green card in 2011.

Honours

Orlando City

: 2011

Real Salt Lake

* Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Individual

USL Pro MVP: 2011

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Yordany 1985 births Living people People from Cienfuegos Defecting Cuban footballers Association football midfielders Cuban footballers Cuba international footballers FC Cienfuegos players Austin Aztex FC players Orlando City SC (2010–2014) players Real Salt Lake players USL First Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players USL Championship players Major League Soccer players Cuban expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States