Sébastien Thurière (born January 6, 1990) is a

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who last played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

Malaysia Premier League The Malaysia Premier League () was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. It replaced the Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system. The Malaysia Premier League was contested by 12 clubs. The season usually ra ...

Early life

Thurière was born in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

. Prior to his professional career he played soccer at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

. He recorded 13 goals and 7 assists in his college career. He captained the South Florida Bulls for 3 years before graduating with a BA in Environmental Science and starting his professional career.

Youth

In 2004, Thurière spent playing at Cap Girondins de Bordeaux youth academy in Bordeaux France, finishing first in his class. He was tagged by Real Salt Lake's MLS program between 2007 and 2008. In 2008, he trained with Blackburn Rovers FC Reserves in England for 3 weeks. He was rated Seminole High School's best midfielder for three consecutive years between 06 and 08. He was named MVP in ‘07 and ‘08, along with Pinellas All-County Player of the Year (2008), County All-Star team honors (2008) and led Seminole HS in scoring (2008). Three time State Champions and one regional title with RSL Club in Tampa, Fl. He was named to RISE Magazine’s All Soccer Area Team in ‘07 and ‘08.

Professional career

VSI Tampa Bay

Thurière made his debut for VSI Tampa Bay FC of

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

on 30 March 2013 in a 1-0 loss to Phoenix FC in which he started.

Dayton Dutch Lions

After VSI Tampa Bay was shut down in late 2013, Thurière remained in the USL with Dayton Dutch Lions for the 2014 season. Thuriere was released by Dayton after the club chose to leave USL and return to amateur status following the season.

Charleston Battery

Thurière joined his third USL club

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

for the 2015 season and made 19 appearances. Played a strong roll as a central midfielder, but missed a good portion of the season due to International play with Haiti. Thuriere was called up for World Cup Qualifiers, International friendlies, and the 2015 Gold Cup.

San Antonio FC

After a pre season camp with SK Brann, Thurière signed with USL expansion club

San Antonio FC San Antonio FC is a professional soccer club based in San Antonio, Texas. It competes in the USL Championship, the second-highest level of the United States soccer league system, as a member of the Western Conference. History San Antonio FC ...

in early 2016.

International

Though born and raised in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Thurière is eligible for the Haiti national team and was first called into the squad for the

2014 Caribbean Cup The 2014 Caribbean Cup was the 18th edition of the Caribbean Cup, an international Association football, football competition for national teams of member nations affiliated with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) of the CONCACAF region. The fin ...

. Thurière has become a regular member of the national side, recording one assist in a qualification game (Haiti 1-0 Trinidad) helped Haiti qualify for the first time in the Nation's history for the Copa America Centario. He has been selected for 30 matches, and has earned himself 20 caps with the Senior team in which many he has started. He has participated in World Cup Qualifiers for 2018 Russia, Caribbean Cup 2014 (3rd place), CONCACAF 2015 Gold Cup, Copa America Centario 2016 qualification, Copa America Camp, and Caribbean Cup 2016.

Career statistics

Club

''Statistics accurate as of 16 January 2014''

References

External links

VSI Tampa Bay Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurière, Sébastien 1990 births Living people American men's soccer players American sportspeople of Haitian descent Haitian men's footballers Haiti men's international footballers South Florida Bulls men's soccer players IMG Academy Bradenton players VSI Tampa Bay FC (PDL) players VSI Tampa Bay FC players Dayton Dutch Lions players Charleston Battery players San Antonio FC players Men's association football midfielders Soccer players from St. Petersburg, Florida USL League Two players USL Championship players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Haitian sportsmen