Sebastián Soria

Andrés Sebastián Soria Quintana (Spanish pronunciation: [anˈdɾes seβasˈtjan ˈsoɾja kinˈtana]; Arabic: أندريس سيبستيان سوريا كوينتانا; born 8 November 1983) commonly known as Sebastián Soria, is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Qatar SC. Born in Uruguay, he has represented the Qatar national team. He was shortlisted for the Asian Footballer of the Year award in 2008. He currently holds the record for the fastest goal scored in AFC Champions League history at 9 seconds – a record which was set in 2013 when he was playing for Lekhwiya.[1]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Soria and the second or maternal family name is Quintana.
Sebastián Soria
Soria at the Qatar Stars League launch ceremony in 2012
Personal information
Full name Andrés Sebastián Soria Quintana
Date of birth (1983-11-08) 8 November 1983
Place of birth Paysandú, Uruguay
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Qatar
Number 23
Youth career
Club Atlético Centenario Uruguayo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2004 Liverpool de
Montevideo		 50 (11)
2004–2005 Al-Gharafa 26 (14)
2005–2012 Qatar SC 152 (104)
2012–2015 Lekhwiya 64 (42)
2015–2020 Al-Rayyan 104 (35)
2020–2021 Al-Arabi 19 (2)
2021– Qatar SC 39 (12)
International career‡
2006 Qatar U23 7 (6)
2007– Qatar 123 (39)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 February 2023

Club career

Early career

As a youngster, Soria had an unsuccessful trial at Uruguayan club Defensor Sporting in Montevideo.[2]

Soria continued playing in the minor leagues and a new chance soon emerged. In 2001, a cyclist, who had watched Soria playing in the minor leagues and was impressed by his talents, brought him to the attention of a football agent he knew, and Soria was sent to Montevideo to play in Liverpool de Montevideo, where he played under coach Julio Ribas. He was sent to the reserve team for a brief while before making it back on the first team. He eventually proved his value and ended up playing the rest of the 2003 season on the first team.[2]

In mid-2004, Soria got an offer from Frenchman Bruno Metsu to play for Al-Gharafa in Qatar. He had to look Qatar up on a map as he was unsure of where it was located. Nevertheless, he accepted the proposal despite the geographical uncertainty. He arrived in Qatar in 2004 and was naturalized in 2006.[2]

Al Gharafa

Soria joined Al Gharafa in 2004 under the supervision of Bruno Metsu. It was the first time he had played outside of Uruguay. He won the 2004–05 Qatar Stars League with Al Gharafa.

Qatar SC

Soria transferred to Qatar SC from league winners Al Gharafa in 2005. He won the Qatar Crown Prince Cup with the club in 2009. He attracted interest from Europe, with Italian team Udinese and Spanish capital sides Getafe and Atletico Madrid scouting him. However, he chose to extend his contract with Qatar SC in 2010.[3]

When AC Milan came to visit Doha in March 2009, in a farewell match for Jafal Rashed Al-Kuwari, Soria guested for Al Sadd. "They invited me to play for Al Sadd, so of course I said yes. I like to play against the strong defenders," Soria said after his scuffles with Milan defender Philippe Senderos. After being substituted, Soria was swarmed by local fans and patiently signed autographs for approximately 15 minutes.[2]

Lekhwiya

After transferring to Qatari champions Lekhwiya, Soria had the opportunity to play in the 2013 AFC Champions League. He scored 4 goals in Lekhwiya's first four group stage games, including one of the fastest goals in any Asian competition after 9 seconds against Pakhtakor on 9 April 2013.[4] It was alleged to be the fastest goal in Asia's premier continental club competition during the AFC Champions League format.[5]

Al Rayyan

Soria joined Al-Rayyan SC on a one-year deal in 2015.[6]

Soria in 2012

International career
Sebastián Soria is the third top scorer (39) and one of the most capped players (123) in Qatar.

Soria was born and raised in Paysandú, but moved to Qatar early in his footballing career and became a naturalized citizen. He won a gold medal in the 2006 Asian Games for the Qatar U-23 team. The official Qatar SC website has him listed as being born in 1984. In addition, QFA's website lists his actual date of birth as 1983.[7]

Soria saved the Qatari national team by scoring in the last 20 minutes, which helped tie the score. This happened in the AFC 2007 in both their games, one against Japan, and the other just recently against Vietnam. He also scored the leading goal against the United Arab Emirates. He is the only Qatari player to score on the 2007 Asian Cup. He scored three goals.

Soria scored a goal against eventual winners Japan in the 2011 Asian Cup quarterfinals but the homeside were silenced after a late goal from Inoha put Japan in the lead to win by a 3–2 victory. However, he was not included in Djamel Belmadi's squad for 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

Career statistics

Club
As of 22 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Centenario 2002 Campeonato de Selecciones del Interior 9999
Liverpool 2002 Uruguayan Primera División 83
2003 263
2004 165
Total 5011
Al-Gharafa 2004–05 Qatar Stars League 26141000533217
Qatar SC 2005–06 Qatar Stars League 25192100633323
2006–07 21102300002313
2007–08 23182100202719
2008–09 23192100202720
2009–10 20172183433424
2010–11 20122200442618
2011–12 2092200002211
Total 1521041411831810192128
Al-Duhail 2012–13 Qatar Stars League 22191274203225
2013–14 20120052122616
2014–15 22111072323315
Total 644222198649358
Al-Rayyan 2015–16 Qatar Stars League 25102100102811
2016–17 226306120337
2017–18 20110051533015
2018–19 2062062553313
2019–20 172100000182
Total 104358117413814248
Al-Arabi 2020–21 Qatar Stars League 192300052274
Qatar 2021–22 Qatar Stars League 1882000332311
2022–23 184000092276
2023–24 3000002050
Total 1911161611833215247145
Career total 475229301444156132597290
  1. Includes Qatar Emir Cup

International
As of 25 June 2022.[8]
CompetitionAppearancesGoals
Pan Arab Games10
Asian Cup74
Asian Cup Qualifier72
Arabian Gulf Cup130
FIFA World Cup qualifiers3810
Friendlies57 (6)23 (4)
Total12339
  • Notes: Values between brackets refer to matches/goals which are not considered full A-internationals.

International goals

Scores and results list Qatar's goal tally first.[9]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
–24 November 2006Doha, QatarChina Team XI1–02–0Unofficial friendly
–24 November 2006Doha, QatarChina Team XI2–02–0Unofficial friendly
–19 June 2007AscheimGhana U-21 3–13–1Unofficial friendly
1.9 July 2007Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam Japan1–11–12007 AFC Asian Cup
2.12 July 2007Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam Vietnam1–11–12007 AFC Asian Cup
3.16 July 2007Quân khu 7 Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam United Arab Emirates1–01–22007 AFC Asian Cup
4.16 October 2007Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar Iraq2–13–2Friendly
5.21 October 2007Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka1–01–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.28 October 2007Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Sri Lanka1–05–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.4–0
8.4 March 2008Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Bahrain1–01–2Friendly
9.16 March 2008Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Jordan1–02–1Friendly
10.23 May 2008Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Kuwait1–11–1Friendly
11.27 May 2008Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar Lebanon1–12–1Friendly
12.2–1
13.7 June 2008Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin, China China1–01–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
14.20 August 2008Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar Tajikistan2–05–0Friendly
15.10 September 2008Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Bahrain1–01–12010 FIFA World Cup qualification
–30 December 2008Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar Libya2–15–2Unofficial friendly
16.21 March 2009Aleppo International Stadium, Aleppo, Syria Syria1–02–1Friendly
17.2–0
18.8 October 2009Stadion Kantrida, Rijeka, Croatia Croatia2–22–3Friendly
19.16 December 2010Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar Egypt1–02–1Friendly
20.22 December 2010Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar Estonia1–02–0Friendly
21.21 January 2011Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar Japan1–02–32011 AFC Asian Cup
22.11 November 2011Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Indonesia4–04–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
23.3 June 2012Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon Lebanon1–01–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
24.6 September 2012Audi Sportpark, Ingolstadt, Germany Tajikistan1–21–2Friendly
25.7 November 2012Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Iraq2–02–1friendly
26.14 November 2012Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Lebanon1–01–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
27.9 September 2013Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Lebanon1–11–1Friendly
28.13 October 2013Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar Yemen6–06–02015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
29.15 November 2013Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates Yemen1–04–12015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
30.6 October 2014Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar Uzbekistan1–03–0Friendly
31.24 March 2016Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Hong Kong2–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
32.18 August 2016Swissporarena, Luzern, Switzerland Jordan1–03–2Friendly
33.2–1
34.3–2
35.29 September 2016Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Serbia1–03–0Friendly
36.2–0
37.3–0
38.6 October 2016Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea South Korea2–12–32018 FIFA World Cup qualification
39.17 January 2017Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Moldova1–01–1Friendly

Honours

Club

Al Gharafa

Qatar SC

Lekhwiya

Al Rayyan

Individual

See also

References
  1. "Know Your Rivals: Qatar's Three Key Players". goal.com. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  2. "Interview: Sebastian Soria – Sport". Al Jazeera. 25 March 2009. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014.
  3. "Soria targets more success". ESPN. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  4. "Sebastian Soria's 10 Second Goal Against Pakhtakor". AOL.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  5. "Fastest goal in the history of the AFC Champions League". sauress.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  6. "Sebastian Soria Joins Al Rayyan". Qatars Hub. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  7. "Players Profile – Sebastian Soria". Archived from the original on 30 March 2012.
  8. "Century of international appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  9. "Soria Quintana, Sebastián". National Football Teams. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  10. "Top Goalscorers". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
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