Johnny Leverón

PROFILE

A talented young centre back, Leverón joined Whitecaps FC on February 19, 2013 after spending the past three years with Honduran side Club Deportivo Motagua. Though only 23-years-old, the young defender brings international experience, having already made 20 appearances for the Honduran men’s national team.

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

2013: Leverón was a rock at the back in his first season in Vancouver. The Honduran international started all 18 of his appearances with most of those coming at centre back and one as a defensive midfielder. In every start, Leveron played all 90 minutes for the ‘Caps. The 5-foot-11 defender was named Budweiser Man of the Match twice, first on July 3 in a 1-1 draw versus Sporting Kansas City and then again on July 29 in Vancouver’s 1-0 loss to Philadelphia Union.

HONDURAS

2009-2012: Over four seasons with Club Deportivo Motagua in the Liga Nacional, the 5-foot-11, 160-pound centre back appeared in 83 matches and scored nine goals. During his time with the Blue Eagles the team won the Honduran Liga Nacional in 2009-10 with Leverón playing alongside current Celtic star Emilio Izaguirre and Honduran World Cup squad member Georgie Welcome. Leverón also competed in the CONCACAF Champions League in both 2010-11, when Motagua were knocked out by Toronto FC in the preliminary round, and 2011-12 when they progressed to the group stage before being eliminated.

INTERNATIONAL

The centre back was called up by Honduras for their World Cup qualifying match against the United States on June 18, which was played in Utah. The United States narrowly edged Honduras 1-0 , Leveron was an unused substitute in the match. Leverón has represented the Honduran national team at both youth and senior men’s national team levels. In 2007 he captained the U-17 squad in the Pan American games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he scored 3 goals in as many games. He also represented the U-17 national team in the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea, and in 2009 represented the U-20 side in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. In 2010, Leverón made his debut for the senior national team by coming on as a second half substitute in a friendly match against Venezuela. In 2011, Leverón played every match in Honduras’ successful Copa Centroamericana campaign, scoring a decisive goal in the semifinal against El Salvador to set up the final match against Costa Rica where Honduras lifted the trophy for the third time in their history. Later that year, Leverón was also included in the Honduras squad for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup in which Los Catrachos to the semifinals. Last summer, Leverón captained his country’s side in the 2012 Summer Olympics as Honduras progressed from their group, beating a much-fancied Spanish side en-route. They were knocked out in the quarterfinals by eventual finalists Brazil by a narrow margin despite having two players sent-off.

INTERESTING FACTS

Leverón was crowned champion of the 2013 Whitecaps FC ping-pong tournament, defeating teammate Kenny Miller in the final.