Sebrango still makes Impact at 39
MONTREAL — If you saw Eduardo Sebrango during the first weeks of pre-season training in preparation for the Montreal Impact’s inaugural season in Major League Soccer, you’d know he had somehow found the fountain of youth.
The “old man,” as a reporter jokingly called him, looked incredibly fit, did all the drills as well — if not better — than some of the younger players around him, ran as if he had wings on his feet, and the glint in his eyes was testimony his competitive fire still burns.
And, less than two months shy of his 39th birthday, Sebrango has made it. The club announced Tuesday that it has signed the veteran striker for the 2012 MLS season.
“We are very pleased to include him in our team for 2012,” Impact head coach Jesse Marsch said.
The Cuban-born Canadian, a former Vancouver Whitecaps player, has effectively come out of retirement for the second time in less than a year. He first retired last April 18 to become a coach with the Impact’s youth development academy and a U-16 assistant coach.
But Sebrango was back on the field by June with the Impact mired in a scoring drought, and he contributed six goals and an assist to finish the season second in team scoring.
Sebrango was set to retire and return to his coaching duties after last season. But after an evaluation of players on last year’s North American Soccer League roster by Marsch, Sebrango was one of five players invited to try out for MLS.
“I am really excited, happy and proud to be part of the Impact in MLS,” Sebrango said. “I’ve been with the club for a long time and it’s special for me to be a part of its first season in the top league in North America.”