Óscar Sonejee

Early life Sonejee was born on 26 March 1976 in Santa Coloma, Andorra. After living in Paris, his father moved to Barcelona where he spent a year. However, he quickly looked to move on after believing the city was too suited to tourists and instead moved to Andorra, a small principality in the Pyrenees mountains, on the recommendation of other local Hindu merchants. After settling in the country, his wife and two sons moved to live with him and the family remained there once it gained independence in March 1993.

In 2008, Sonejee was approached over a potential move to his parents' homeland India, receiving offers from East Bengal and Churchill Brothers. He originally signed a deal with East Bengal but later decided to accept the offer from Goa-based Churchill Brothers as he believed the culture in the city was more European based and would be easier to acclimatise to and the club was closer to the home of his wife's parents. However, he later discovered that his original contract with East Bengal was still valid and both clubs claimed ownership. When Churchill attempted to register Sonejee, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) blocked the move as they had already received a registration request by East Bengal. The situation eventually led to Sonejee backing out of a move to India, having spent a month training with Churchill, However, in January 2017, he officially announced his retirement from playing at the age of 40.

International career

Sonejee began his career at the same time as Andorra declared independence and formed its own footballing governing body, the Andorran Football Federation (AFF) in 1994. As such, he was present in his nation's youth sides as they began competing in international matches.

On 28 March 2007, during a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier, he was involved in a spat with England striker Wayne Rooney, resulting with both players being booked and Rooney was substituted soon after by England manager Fabio Capello for fear of being sent off.

On 6 June 2015, Sonejee became the first Andorran to earn 100 caps, when he captained the side to a 1–0 friendly home defeat to Equatorial Guinea. Prior to kick-off, he was presented with an honorary cap and medal by Victor Santos, the president of the AFF. At the time of his last cap, he was also Andorra's oldest ever international player at 39 years and 230 days. However, his record was surpassed in 2018 by Juli Sánchez.

Managerial career Sonejee managed the Andorra under-16 team at two UEFA youth tournaments, in Luxembourg in 2014 and Montenegro in 2015. He was appointed as manager of the Andorra under-17 side in January 2016, remaining in charge until October 2017. His wife is also from India, hailing from Bandra, Year!!Apps!!Goals

Scores and results list Andorra's goal tally first No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 25 June 1997 Daugava Stadium, Riga, Latvia 1–2 1–4 Friendly 2. 8 February 2000 Ta' Qali National Stadium, Attard, Malta 1–1 1–1 Friendly 3. 9 September 2009 Estadi Comunal d'Aixovall, Andorra la Vella, Andorra 1–3 1–3 2010 World Cup qualification 4. 14 August 2013 Zimbru Stadium, Chişinău, Moldova 1–0 1–1 Friendly

Honours FC Santa Coloma Primera Divisió winner: 2009–10, 2010–11 Copa Constitució winner: 2009, 2012

FC Lusitanos Andorran Supercup winner: 2013–14