Sebas Méndez
Jhegson Sebastián "Sebas" Méndez Carabalí (born 26 April 1997) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club São Paulo and the Ecuador national team.[3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jhegson Sebastián Méndez Carabalí[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 26 April 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Mira, Ecuador | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | São Paulo | ||
| Number | 21 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2011 | Norte América | ||
| 2011–2015 | Independiente DV | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2018 | Independiente DV | 81 | (4) |
| 2015–2016 | → Cultural Leonesa (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2019–2022 | Orlando City | 72 | (1) |
| 2022 | Los Angeles FC | 9 | (0) |
| 2023– | São Paulo | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | Ecuador U17 | 4 | (0) |
| 2015–2017 | Ecuador U20 | 10 | (0) |
| 2018– | Ecuador | 34 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 October 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:28, 26 November 2022 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Independiente DV
Méndez joined the Independiente del Valle academy in 2011. By 2014 he had been promoted to the club's B team and made his first-team debut on 7 March 2015 in a victory over L.D.U. Loja in the Serie A Primera Etapa. After two substitute appearances, Méndez was loaned to Cultural Leonesa in Spain, making one substitute appearance for the club on 29 November 2015. Upon his return to the club, Méndez had to wait until gameweek 15 of the 2016 season to play his next game, appearing as a substitute in a defeat to Fuerza Amarilla on 13 May 2016. He followed that up by playing the full 90 minutes in six of the final ten games of the Serie A Primera Etapa and a further 12 appearances in the Segunda Etapa as he cemented himself as a first-team regular.
Orlando City
On 28 December 2018, Méndez signed to Major League Soccer team Orlando City.[4] He made his debut in the season opener at home to New York City FC on 2 March 2019. In July 2019, Méndez was part of the Orlando City team alongside Nani and Chris Mueller that won the 2019 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge, beating teams from the MLS All-Stars and Atlético Madrid to win the $25,000 prize for charity.[5]
On 7 November 2021, Méndez scored his first goal for the club on his 65th appearance. The goal, a spectacular knuckling 20-yard strike, was the opener in an eventual 2–0 win away at CF Montréal. It was the final match of the regular season in which Orlando entered knowing a draw would guarantee qualification to the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs.[6]
Los Angeles FC
On 19 July 2022, Méndez was acquired by Los Angeles FC via trade in exchange for $300,000 of General Allocation Money (GAM). Orlando could receive an additional $450,000 in GAM if certain contract conditions are met and also retained an undisclosed percentage of any future transfer fee.[7]
With LAFC, he won both the Supporters' Shield, after a 3-0 win over Austin FC,[8] and the MLS Cup Final, following a penalty shoot-out win over Philadelphia Union.[9] At the end of the 2022 season, he was released by the club.[10]
São Paulo
On 9 January 2023, Méndez joined Brazilian club São Paulo on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract.[11]
International career
Méndez was a member of Ecuador’s 2017 South American U-20 Championship squad which reached the final of the tournament.[12]
In October 2018, Méndez was called up to the senior Ecuador national team by manager Hernán Darío Gómez for the first time.[13] He made his debut on 11 September 2018, playing 73 minutes in a 2–0 friendly victory over Guatemala at Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Illinois.[14][15] In May 2019, he was called into the squad for the 2019 Copa América, his first senior international tournament.[16] After sitting out the first group game, Méndez started against Chile and drew a foul from goalkeeper Gabriel Arias to win a penalty, Ecuador's only goal of a 2–1 defeat.[17] He started the following game, a 1–1 draw with Japan. Ecuador were eliminated after finishing bottom of Group C with one point.
In June 2021, Mendez was named to the final roster for the 2021 Copa América.[18]
Personal life
His uncle is former professional footballer and fellow Ecuadorean international player Édison Méndez.[19]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 19 July 2022
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Playoffs | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Apps | Goals | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Independiente del Valle | 2015 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2016 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||||
| 2017 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||||
| 2018 | 40 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 42 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 81 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 3 | ||
| Cultural Leonesa (loan) | 2015–16 | Segunda División B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Orlando City | 2019 | MLS | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | 19 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | 17 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | ||||
| 2022 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 72 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 83 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 154 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 167 | 4 | ||
- ^ MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage
International
- As of match played 5 June 2022
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ecuador | 2018 | 5 | 0 |
| 2019 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 0 | |
Honors
Los Angeles FC
References
- ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Ecuador (ECU)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 10. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ "Sebas Méndez". Los Angeles FC. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
- ^ "Ecuador – J. Méndez – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com.
- ^ "Orlando City SC Signs Ecuadorian Midfielder Jhegson Sebastián Méndez | Orlando City Soccer Club".
- ^ "Nani gives Orlando City the win at the MLS Skills Challenge". AS.com. 31 July 2019.
- ^ "Man of the Match Spotlight: Sebas Mendez". www.orlandocitysc.com.
- ^ "LAFC Acquires Midfielder Sebastian Méndez". LAFC.
- ^ "LAFC advances to MLS Cup final with 3-0 win over Austin FC". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ Stejskal, Sam (5 November 2022). "LAFC finds Hollywood ending, beats Philadelphia on penalty kicks for first MLS Cup title". The Athletic. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "LAFC Announces Roster Moves For 2023 Season". Los Angeles FC. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
- ^ "São Paulo contrata equatoriano Méndez". São Paulo FC (in Brazilian Portuguese). 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ "Selección Sub-20 de Ecuador definida para Sudamericano". eluniverso.com. 4 January 2017.
- ^ TIEMPO, EL (6 October 2018). "Carlos Cuero sufre lesión muscular".
- ^ "Ecuador vs. Guatemala – Football Match Summary – September 11, 2018 – ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ PERU21, NOTICIAS (12 September 2018). "Deportes: Ecuador ganó 2–0 a Guatemala por amistoso internacional en Chicago | NOTICIAS PERU21 PERÚ". Peru21 (in Spanish).
- ^ "LOS 23 CONVOCADOS DE ECUADOR PARA COPA AMÉRICA DE BRASIL 2019" (in Spanish). FEF. 20 May 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Ecuador vs. Chile – Football Match Report – June 21, 2019 – ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ^ "Copa America 2021: Ecuador's squad for the competition". Bolavip US.
- ^ "World Cup 2022: complete guide to all 831 players. Everything you need to know (and more) about every squad member in Qatar". The Guardian.
External links
- Sebastian Mendez at Major League Soccer
- Jhegson Sebastian Mendez Carabal at Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol (in Spanish)
- Seba: Jhegson Sebastián Méndez Carabalí at BDFutbol
- J. Méndez at Soccerway