Yordan Santa Cruz Explained

Yordan Santa Cruz
Fullname:Yordan Eduardo Santa Cruz Vera[1]
Birth Date:7 October 1993[2]
Birth Place:Cuba
Position:Forward
Years1:2009–2018
Years2:2018
Years3:2019
Years4:2019
Years5:2020
Nationalyears1:2014
Nationalteam1:Cuba U-21
Nationalcaps1:?
Nationalgoals1:0
Nationalyears2:2015–
Nationalteam2:Cuba
Nationalcaps2:10
Nationalgoals2:4
Ntupdate:8 September 2018

Yordan Eduardo Santa Cruz Vera (born 7 October 1993) is a Cuban professional football player who plays for the Cuba national team.

He debuted internationally in March 2015 against the Dominican Republic with a 3-0 victory. In September 2018, he scored twice against Turks and Caicos Islands in an 11-0 victory, resulting in a huge win for Cuba.[3]

Club career

Santa Cruz played in the Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol de Cuba in 2009 with FC Cienfuegos. In 2018, he played for a season with FC Santiago de Cuba before returning to Cienfuegos the following year.[4] In 2019, he was named the province's best footballer of the year.[5] In 2019, he played abroad in the Liga Dominicana de Fútbol with Jarabacoa FC.[6]

In 2020, he played in the Canadian Soccer League with Scarborough SC.[7] In his debut season with Scarborough he assisted in securing the First Division title.[8]

International career

International goals

Cuba score listed first, score column indicates score after each Santa Cruz goal.[9]

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
scope=colNo.scope=col data-sort-type=dateDatescope=colVenuescope=colCapscope=colOpponentscope=colScorescope=colResultscope=colCompetition
scope=row1.25 March 2015 Estadio Cibao, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic 2 2–0 3–0 Friendly
scope=row2. 22 March 2018 Estadio Nacional de Fútbol, Managua, Nicaragua 4 1–0 1–3
scope=row3.8 September 2018 Estadio Pedro Marrero, Havana, Cuba 10 7–0 11–0 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualification
scope=row4.8–0
scope=row5.29 September 2018 11 2–0 5–0 Friendly
scope=row6.3–0
scope=row7.12 October 2018 Kirani James Athletic Stadium, St. George's, Grenada 12 2–0 2–0 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualification
scope=row8.17 November 2018 Estadio Pedro Marrero, Havan, Cuba 13 1–0 1–0

Rape accusation

Santa Cruz Vera was accused of rape by an American woman in an incident that occurred in Jamaica on March 31, 2015.[10] Cuba's national soccer team had just participated in an international friendly match against Jamaica's team in the Montego Bay Sports Complex. According to the lawsuit, the woman identified Santa Cruz Vera as one of three men that raped her in a resort bathroom. In the lawsuit, the woman said the Cuban government intervened on the players’ behalf and compromised the investigation. DNA evidence from the athletes was not provided to Jamaican authorities, according to law enforcement there. To this day, no one has been arrested or charged.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cuba - J. Santa Cruz - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway. us.soccerway.com.
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20190218201951/http://static.fifa.com/fifa-tournaments/players-coaches/people=369869/index.html FIFA.com
  3. Web site: Game Detail. www.concacafnationsleague.com.
  4. Web site: Carrasquedo. Alex. 2019-03-07. Yordan Santa, el capitán de Cuba es nuevo legionario de su país. 2020-09-30. AS USA. es-us. 2021-05-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20210522231938/https://us.as.com/us/2019/03/07/futbol/1551969620_542811.html. dead.
  5. Web site: 2019-01-15. "Para mí significa mucho más este premio". 2020-09-30. 5 Septiembre. es.
  6. Web site: Sánchez. Darilys Reyes. 2019-05-24. Indetenible Yordan Santa Cruz en el fútbol dominicano. 2020-09-30. 5 Septiembre. es.
  7. Web site: September 30, 2020. SCARBOROUGH ON TOP WITH 3-2 VICTORY…….Playoffs to follow October 3rd games – Canadian Soccer League. 2020-09-30. en-US.
  8. Web site: Adamson. Stan. October 18, 2020. VORKUTA RALLY FOR CSL CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY – Canadian Soccer League. 2020-10-23. Canadian Soccer League. en-US.
  9. Web site: Santa Cruz, Yordan . National Football Teams . 18 November 2018.
  10. News: Indiana woman sues Cuba alleging rape by soccer players. Indianapolis Star. 2018-10-31. en.