 Eguren in 2010 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sebastián Eguren Ledesma | ||
| Date of birth | 8 January 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Palmeiras | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2002 | Montevideo Wanderers | 36 | (6) |
| 2002–2003 | Danubio | 27 | (6) |
| 2003–2004 | Nacional | 39 | (5) |
| 2005 | Montevideo Wanderers | 23 | (3) |
| 2005–2006 | Rosenborg | 23 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Hammarby | 36 | (13) |
| 2008 | → Villarreal (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Villarreal | 61 | (1) |
| 2010 | AIK | 7 | (0) |
| 2010–2012 | Sporting Gijón | 49 | (3) |
| 2012–2013 | Libertad | 20 | (3) |
| 2013– | Palmeiras | 12 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2001– | Uruguay | 53 | (7) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, 19 December 2012.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:10, 23 June 2013 (UTC) | |||
Sebastián Eguren Ledesma (born 8 January 1981 in Montevideo) is an Uruguayan professionalfootballer who plays for Palmeiras in Brazil, mainly as a defensive midfielder.
Club career
Eguren started his career in native country, playing for Montevideo Wanderers (twice) and Club Nacional de Football. With the latter, after the 0–0 Libertadores Cup match against Ecuador's Club Deportivo El Nacional on 12 February 2004, he tested positive for cocaine, being suspended from football for six months. He blamed the coca tea, widely drunk in the Andean countries (as a medicine which alleviates the effects of altitude), and got the shortest suspension for this kind of cases (this specific match was played at 2,800 meters above sea level, in Quito).[1]
Eguren arrived at Hammarby IF from Norwegian club Rosenborg BK, on loan during the later part of the 2006 season and, on 5 December 2006, signed a three-year contract with the club. At the Swedishside, he quickly became a fan favourite.
On 30 January 2008 Eguren signed a loan deal with Villarreal CF of La Liga, until the end of the season.[2] Almost immediately cast into the starting XI, he partnered Marcos Senna in centre midfield, as the Yellow Submarine obtained its best position ever in the top flight (second). In May 2008 theSpaniards decided to make the move permanent, and the player penned a three-year deal.[3]
During 2008–09, more of the same: Eguren was, alongside Senna, an everpresent fixture, and the Uruguayan netted his first goal for the club in a 3–3 home draw against Getafe CF (with the Madrid side leading 0–3 at the half-hour mark). He played 32 league matches in his first full season.
In late January 2010, as he had lost his defensive midfielder position to club graduate Bruno, Eguren was loaned to S.S. Lazio.[4] However, the move was cancelled days later, after the player did not pass his medical.[5]
Anxious for playing time in order to secure a spot on the national squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Eguren signed with reigning Swedish champions AIK Fotboll on 19 February 2010. According to Björn Wesström, the club's director of football, the agreement was not technically not a loan deal, as the player had no contractual obligations with Villareal until 1 July 2010; however, he was due to return to the Spanish side, since he still had 12 months left of his contract.[6] In early March, it was decided by the club to put the player under police protection, after he was harassed while training by fans of former side Hammarby, a fierce rival to AIK.[7] Usually operating as a defensive midfielder; at AIK, however, manager Mikael Stahre preferred using him in an attacking midfielder or deep-lying forward role.
In late July 2010 Eguren returned to Spain, but not to Villarreal, signing a three-year contract with fellow first-divisioner Sporting de Gijón.[8]
On July 2013, Eguren signed a one-and-a-half year deal with Brazilian side Palmeiras.[9] Eguren confessed that changing of club happened because he had a few chances in Libertad, where he was just an alternative for Pablo Guiñazú.[10]
Personal issues
Married with a Swedish woman and dad of two children,[10] Eguren is a different footballer: besides his musical likes (artists such as Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd) and literary ones (he is a fan of his compatriots Eduardo Galeano e Mario Benedetti), the midfielder speaks openly about political. Eguren admires theuruguayan president, José Mujica, and is favorable for legalization of marijuana, what, according him, would represent more tax revenues to governments.[11]
International career
Eguren made his debut for Uruguay during the 2001 Copa América, entering the pitch in the 63rd minute of a 1–0 win against Bolivia, and added a further two appearances in the competition. On 28 May 2008, after a five-year absence, he scored his first goal for the Charrúas, netting in a 2–2 friendly with Norway inOslo.
Egurén was also selected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, playing once for the semifinalists (three minutes in the group stage 0–0 draw againstFrance[12]). Always as a substitute he was then used regularly in the 2011 Copa América, as Uruguay won its 15th continental tournament.
International goals
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 28 May 2008 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  Norway | 1–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 2. | 20 August 2008 | Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan |  Japan | 0–1 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| 3. | 6 September 2008 | El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia |  Colombia | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2010 World Cup qualification |
| 4. | 11 February 2009 | June 11 Stadium, Tripoli, Libya |  Libya | 0–1 | 2–3 | Friendly |
| 5. | 9 September 2009 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | Colombia | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2010 World Cup qualification |
| 6. | 8 October 2010 | Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia |  Indonesia | 1–4 | 1–7 | Friendly |
| 7. | 10 June 2012 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Peru | 4–2 | 4–2 | 2014 World Cup qualification |
Honours
Club
- AIK
- Palmeiras
Country
Personal life
During most of his career in Europe, Eguren did not count as a foreign player, due to the fact he was married to a Swedish woman.[5] He did not master theSwedish language however.
