Brian Span

Brian "Cobi" Span (born February 23, 1992) is a Costa Rican-American professional soccer player who plays for Swedish club Haninge.

Brian Span
Span with IFK Mariehamn
Personal information
Full name Brian Matthew Span Jackson[1]
Date of birth (1992-02-23) February 23, 1992
Place of birth Somers, New York, United States
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Haninge
Number 11
Youth career
2003–2010 FC Westchester
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Virginia Cavaliers 41 (12)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011 Reading United 5 (1)
2012–2013 Djurgårdens IF 14 (1)
2014 FC Dallas 0 (0)
2014 → Orlando City (loan) 19 (3)
2015–2017 IFK Mariehamn 96 (10)
2018–2021 Västerås SK 96 (10)
2022– Haninge 25 (8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of January 1, 2023

Club career

Span started out playing for FC Westchester as a youth player at age twelve.[2] He stayed there for seven years[3] and then went on to play two years of college soccer at the University of Virginia, scoring 12 goals and registering 8 assists during that time.

During the summer of 2011 he trained in Europe with German club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Örebro SK in Sweden.[4] After his sophomore season that autumn, the winger felt ready to go professional but MLS did not offer him a Generation Adidas contract. Instead, the North Salem native signed a two-year deal with Djurgårdens IF in Swedish Allsvenskan.[5]

Djurgårdens IF

Span made his debut on May 20, 2012. He came on at the 65th minute, replacing Ricardo Santos, and played the rest of the match.[6] Three days later he scored his first professional goal in his first game as a starter to equalize 1–1 against Helsingborgs IF.[7] Span's contract was not renewed following the 2013 season.[8]

FC Dallas

On January 8, 2014, Span signed a contract with Major League Soccer and was allocated via a weighted lottery with FC Dallas, Chicago Fire, San Jose Earthquakes, New England Revolution and Real Salt Lake participating.[9] FC Dallas acquired Span on January 9 in the weighted lottery.[10]

Span was waived by Dallas on February 5, 2015.[11]

Orlando City

Span was loaned to USL Pro club Orlando City on April 2, 2014.[12]

International career

While not a recent national team participant, Span was a member of the U17 residency program in Bradenton, Florida.[13]

In 2020, Span expressed his intention to play for the Costa Rica national team, motivated by his maternal family, who are relatives to Costa Rican legend Juan Cayasso.[14]

Honours

IFK Mariehamn

Västerås SK

References
  1. Brian Span at Soccerway
  2. "FCW Alum Cobi Span Scores His First Professional Goal in Europe". fcwestchester.com. May 23, 2012. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  3. "HOW SWEDE IT IS Ex-FC Westchester standout Span scores his first goal in Sweden". bigapplesoccer.com. Archived from the original on May 29, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  4. "Brian Span klar för Djurgården". svenskafans.com. December 20, 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  5. "YAX: SPAN READY TO BOOST DJURGARDEN". yanks-abroad.com. January 6, 2012. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. "BK Hacken vs Djurgardens IF RR match report" (in Swedish). everysport.com. May 20, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  7. "American Exports: Parkhurst claims title in Denmark".
  8. "Förändringar i spelartruppen" (in Swedish). dif.se. October 17, 2013. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  9. "Midfielder Brian "Cobi" Span signs with MLS, weighted lottery scheduled for Thursday". MLSsoccer.com. Major League Soccer. January 8, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  10. "FC Dallas lands former University of Virginia midfielder Brian Span in weighted lottery". FC Dallas. FC Dallas Media Services. January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  11. "FC Dallas waives 22-year-old midfielder Brian "Cobi" Span | FC Dallas". Archived from the original on February 6, 2015.
  12. "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
  13. "Residency Program". ussoccer.com. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
  14. Castillo, Luis Felipe (October 22, 2020). "Brian Span: El legionario que no habla español y sueña con jugar con La Sele". AMPrensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved July 18, 2021.

Media related to Brian Span at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.