Yeferson Julio Soteldo Martínez, “Manzanita” for his friends, is the 23-year-old Venezuelan winger who excelled in the match in which Santos defeated Boca Juniors 3-0 for the semifinal of the Copa Libertadores and it turned out to be a nightmare for the defense of the Xeneize.
Yeferson was born in the city of Acarigua and began his career in the lower Zamora until he made his debut in the First Division when he was just 16 years old, in 2013. Four years later, he was sold to Huachipato in Chile for one and a half million euros, the most expensive purchase of the institution.
In 2018 he went to play at the University of Chile where he stood out and finally in 2019 he arrived at Santos in Brazil where he had Argentine Jorge Sampaoli as coach: “With Jorge I had to change my way of playing. He realized that I did not He was a player who liked to score. He told me: “You won’t play with me until you learn to score.” I’ve learned a lot. Sampaoli is the best coach I’ve ever had“Soteldo said.
Soteldo with his family Photo: Yeferson Soteldo
At the international level, the attacker is one of the figures of the Venezuelan National Team and managed to make his debut in 2016 with only 18 years against Costa Rica. In 2019 he played his first tournament, the Copa América in Brazil and showed all his skill and agility despite his meter sixty Tall: “Height has nothing to do with playing well or not. For me, the best players are small, like Lio Messi. So I have more balance and speed. I am very proud to be this size“, commented the Venezuelan.
It was in the selection Red wine that Soteldo starred in an unusual case. The player missed the flight that would add him to the squad in Japan and according to reports he confused the day of his passage: he thought it was Monday the 12th, when in reality it was Sunday the 11th.
Soteldo, gamer Photo: Yeferson Soteldo
A great milestone in the history of the sport of Venezuela was the runner-up in the 2017 U20 World Cup held in South Korea. In the final, England beat Venezuela 1-0 but Soteldo stood out for being one of the team’s figures along with other future teammates in the senior team, such as midfielder Yangel Herrera or goalkeeper Wuilker Fariñez. Both in that tournament and in the 2020 Under 23 Pre-Olympic he shared the squad with a former Boca striker, Jan Hurtado.
In turn, Yeferson is a fan of esports and He has his own Fortnite team called Clan YS. In addition, he broadcasts the competitions on his Twitch channel, Soteldios1030 where among others, he plays FIFA with his teammates. Together with his wife and three children, they usually celebrate special dates with themes related to eSports.
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