Yeferson Soteldo: from Santos to Toronto.

Article by George, @georgexoliver, on May 4th 2021

The jump for certain South American players to European football can be a leap too far, however, the rise of Major League Soccer seems to be the perfect opportunity for South American players’ development.

In recent seasons, certain MLS clubs have looked to use the South American market in their favour by adding players from a variety of countries to their squads. Due to the lack of development and publicity in South American football, players can have often be picked up on the cheap and so there can be obvious profit to be made on these players.

Although this model is still in its early days, it can only be seen as a positive all-around. It gives the South American players the opportunities to play in a different league before potentially making that jump over to Europe, which will aid their development rather than rushing over to the big European leagues for huge money too early. It also gives the MLS clubs the opportunity to find a diamond in the rough, to nurture the player and give them playing time and responsibility in an up-and-coming competitive league, and then sell them on to a European club for profit.

One recent example of this is current Newcastle player Miguel Almiron, who, prior to moving to Atlanta United in MLS was playing for Lanus in Argentina. Almiron, who originally hails from Paraguay, was snapped up by Atlanta United for £6.95 million (according to Transfermarkt), before winning the MLS Cup and moving to Premier League club Newcastle United for £21.6 million a month later.

Whilst there have been a few other young and exciting South American players who have made their move to MLS in recent times from countries like Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil and Uruguay, none have yet been able to recreate the success of the model like Almiron did – whereby making huge profit for the MLS club.

However, one recent MLS transfer highlights how efficiently this market can be used more than any before. That is, of course, Toronto FC signing Yeferson Soteldo, the exuberant Venezuelan winger, signed from Brazilian side Santos.

A transfer that seemed to be announced only a few days after any rumours surfaced, Soteldo’s move to Toronto is most certainly one of the more exciting MLS transfers in recent history. Rather than the ‘classic MLS’ signing of a European player who is way past their best, Soteldo is a player just coming into his prime.

Standing at just 5ft 3, with a rather stocky frame, Soteldo encapsulates everything there is to love about South American football. With a fiery attitude that occasionally presents itself in matches, Soteldo’s flair and technique have seen him light up the Copa Libertadores for the last few years for a selection of South American teams.

Having already played 17 times for Venezuela, scoring once, Soteldo is someone who already has bags of experience. Interestingly, he was also part of the Venezuela U20 side that lost in the U20 FIFA World Cup final to England back in 2017.

Starting out at Venezuelan side Zamora FC, Soteldo broke into the senior team for the 2014/15 season, making 27 appearances in his first year and scoring 3 goals. The next season was a very successful one for both Zamora and for Soteldo personally, in which they won the Venezuelan Primera Division, with Soteldo scoring 12 goals.

Zamora repeated their success the following year, winning the league title again, but this would prove to be Soteldo’s last year in Venezuela, as he left for Chile.

Soteldo left Zamora for Chilean side Huachipato FC, who signed him for £1.3 million. After a year, he moved to Club Universidad de Chile on a year-long loan. He really caught the eye there, scoring 5 and assisting 7 as he and his team ended up finishing 3rd in a closely fought title race.

After his loan expired and he headed back to Huachipato, Soteldo was on the move again to another South American country. This time to the famous Santos FC, formerly home of Pele and Neymar, two of the football’s most entertaining and talented players of all time. This move was worth £2.75 million and seeing as Soteldo had already excelled for 3 different teams in 2 different countries, it was a very intriguing signing.

Due to his playing style, he hit the ground running in Brazil. It seemed as though he had found his best position on the left-wing and was beginning to look comfortable in his body. Using his stocky frame, but small stature, effectively when dribbling at and around opponents, he was becoming a real handful for Serie A defenders in Brazil.

Being a right-footed left-winger, he has also always had the ability to cut in of the left-hand side and fire in a dangerous shot.

In his first season at Santos, Soteldo played all but 6 of Santos’ Serie A matches as they finished 2nd in the league to a dominant Flamengo side. Soteldo finished the season with 9 goals and 6 assists and had a very promising first season in Brazil.

2020 saw a few injury problems for Soteldo, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, so it was a rather disrupted season for him. However, his injury problems were mainly limited to the league, and after football in Brazil and South America resumed in September, Santos came into a hot run of form in the Copa Libertadores.

Defeating Boca Juniors 3-0 in the semi-final over two legs, Soteldo scored a cracker in the second leg, where he had come in off the left-hand side and rocketed one into the roof of the net, sending Santos to their first Libertadores final in just under a decade.

Unfortunately, the final ended in heartbreak for Soteldo and co, losing 1-0 in the very last minute to fellow Brazilians Palmeiras.

Scoring 2 and assisting 2 throughout Santos’ marvellous run, Soteldo so often contributes much more than just his goals and assists. An extremely exciting player, he is the definition of someone who has you on the edge of your seat, with him completing a vast array of skills and dribbles throughout any given 90 minutes, and generally just looking as though he’s enjoying himself, it’s hard not to love watching him.

This is why it makes it incredibly exciting that we will soon see him in MLS, with Toronto FC. Having just signed for roughly £5.5 million, Soteldo has every right to step into Toronto’s team as a nailed-on starter and to excel. Toronto themselves are certainly one of the more exciting teams in the division as well, having finished 2nd last year only to Philadelphia Union in the overall league.

With experienced internationals like Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore, as well as Ayo Akinola, who looks to be one of the USA’s better striker prospects right now, Soteldo could be the perfect acquisition for Toronto to kick on and win the MLS Cup, as well as competing in the CONCACAF Champions League – a tournament in which MLS teams tend to struggle in.

Having had an exciting career already, this is the perfect next step in Soteldo’s journey. There is a genuine chance he can excel in a 4th country, take Toronto to the next level and then potentially make the move to Europe. He won’t have rushed to Europe like so many before him have, and Toronto will more than likely make a tidy profit off of their £5.5 million investment. Let’s see what Yeferson can bring to MLS.

Written by George, @georgexoliver.

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