CHESTER, Pa.—After being on loan to Philadelphia Union II from Venezuelan side Metropolitanos since March 2024, Giovanny Sequera has signed a contract with Union II and will occupy an international roster spot. A midfielder that transitioned to playing right back, the 20 year old from Montalban, Carabobo, Venezuela has shown tremendous improvement and a knack for creation.
“Giovanny has taken a big step forward since joining the club,” said Philadelphia Union II Head Coach Ryan Richter in Union II’s press release. “His growth, work rate, and understanding of our style of play have made him a key contributor, and we’re excited to continue developing him within our environment.”
Most recently, Sequera traveled with the Union to Marbella, Spain for preseason, and started their friendlies against SK Sigma Olomouc and FC Nordsjælland. (In case you missed it, he was listed as “trialist.”)
In 2024, Sequera made 16 appearances for 621 minutes, with six games started and two assists, as well as two postseason match appearances as Union II went on to the MLS Next Pro Cup. His loan was extended for the 2025 season, where he was much more impactful. In 23 appearances (16 starts) for 1,460 minutes, he had three goals and four assists. He started the season as a midfielder, but with a void at right back after Gavin Wetzel’s departure for college, Sequera stepped into that role and flourished.
After Sequera’s first start at right back on June 26 against New England Revolution II, Union II head coach Ryan Richter said, “He has the mentality, the personality and the quality, but really, his mentality is amazing. It’s something that all the guys can learn from. And, you know, he’ll do anything to play well and to win. And I’m very proud of him, and we all are.”
Sequera played another match at right back, and this writer followed up with Richter at training in July about how he thought Sequera was fitting into the role. “He’s obviously like a different style player, but he’s a winner. And he’s desperate to succeed and he’ll do anything to be successful in the field,” Richter shared.
”I think it’s probably the first two games in his life that he’s played as a right back, but this mentality can carry him a long way,” Richter continued. “So yes, continue to learn the position, that’s the biggest thing. It’s just him learning the position. He has the right mindset and mentality to do that, so we’re excited to see if he can string a number of good games together… he’s done two. Let’s see if he can go five good games in a row, and then and keep building off that.”
I asked Sequera at training in July about his transition to right back. He said (through a translator), “I’m a player who, if the coach puts me in, I’ll give it my all, and I adapted to my position.”
Sequera became a consistent starter at right back and never looked back, starting all but one match at that position the rest of the season, including the three playoff games.
Later in the season, Richter shared more on Sequera’s performances at right back and the growth he had seen, and had a lot of praise for him.
“He has as a person grown a lot- he’s so passionate and he wants it so bad,” Richter said. “He’s such a fighter. He’ll do anything to make it in this game. And I think he’s finding a way to channel that in the right way and being aggressive on the field and how to use his voice to lift people up and how to continue to have that fire inside of him, but channel it in the right way.”
Perhaps this sounds a little bit like another Venezuelan that played for the Union? Fans of the team who are not familiar with his game may see some similarities to José “El Brujo” Martínez in his play and also perhaps the yellow card department as he led the squad with eight, but maybe not in the screamers from distance that are either golazos or go into the river. Sequera is, however, good at creating and is quick and shifty.
“And then the change in position, I don’t think any of us would have thought that he could deal with that so well,” Richter added. “Some of the nuances of the position that he does get right, he still makes mistakes and has to learn some of the positional responsibility with playing as a defender, but he’s so front footed and he’s so aggressive and everything he does is at 100 percent, and you can get away with a lot when you’re that committed. He’s been really fun to work with, and to see him grow as a person has been just as fun as to see how much he’s grown on the field.”
Sequera also has national team experience for Venezuela, being called to the U-17, U-20, and senior level. He had 10 matches with the U-17s and 5 with the U-20s. I asked him how it felt representing his country after being in the South American Championship. “The experience is something very beautiful because you are representing your country, you are with your national team, being with your family who are in Venezuela,” he said.
When I talked to Sequera in July, I asked him about his goals, which he said were to win the championship and make the move to the first team. Time will tell if he achieves the first one, but he is one step closer to the second one, and now gets to prove himself officially as a member of Union II.
Main article photo credit: Philadelphia Union II
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