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 lea ...

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 The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Fútbol de Cuba is the top football division in Cuba. Currently, it is contested by 16 clubs and is divided into two tournaments – "Apertura" and "Clausura", with the last being the championship tournament. Th ...

. 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 The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

, Álvarez was signed to a professional contract by the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

expansion franchise

Austin Aztex The Austin Aztex were a soccer team based in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 2011 as a member of the Premier Development League, the team played the 2015 season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the United States soccer p ...

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 association football, 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. T ...

. 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 Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, renaming it

Orlando City SC Orlando City Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Owned by Zygi, Leonard, and Mark Wilf, it is the sister club of ...

. The club played in the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

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 Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

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 The 2014 USL Pro season was the fourth USL Pro season and the 28th season of third-division soccer in the United States. Teams Antigua Barracuda FC and VSI Tampa Bay FC folded following the 2013 season and were replaced by Sacramento Republ ...

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 ...

. This deal made Álvarez the second player ever signed to Orlando's MLS roster, second only to Kevin Molino. 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 The Dayton Dutch Lions are 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 Professiona ...

. After retiring as a player, he became a coach of Orlando City's youth academy.

International career

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

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

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, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

, a month prior to defecting to the United States.

Personal

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

Honours

Orlando City *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Real Salt Lake *

Western Conference Championship:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Individual *USL Pro MVP:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Yordany 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Cienfuegos Defecting Cuban footballers Men's association football midfielders Cuban men's footballers Cuba men's 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 men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States