After years of waiting and being ignored by former national team coaches, Sebastián Herrera Cardona finally received a call from the country that had become his second homeland.

photo by FK Borac Banja Luka: Sebastián Herrera Cardona

Herrera came to Rabotnichki at the age of 20. He played as a left back for the club from the Skopje neighborhood of Debar Maalo for five years, which according to FIFA rules earned him the right to play for Macedonia. But although he played in Rabotnichki under the leadership of Igor Angelovski, he did not call him up during his entire coaching tenure. He was also ignored by his successor Blagoja Milevski, and now Goce Sedloski has made his dream come true.

“For me, this is the biggest thing that could happen in my career, to wear the Macedonian top. It is truly an honor and a great pleasure to be here. I will do my best to help the national team. I have wanted, waited for and dreamed of this for a long time and I am happy that the moment has finally come. I am looking forward to getting started,” were Herrera’s first words as a Macedonian national team player.

He has long spoken Macedonian, has a Macedonian passport, and while waiting for a call-up, he married a Macedonian woman and has a child. Today, he plays for Borac from Banja Luka in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and after leaving Rabotnichki, he also played for Hungarian side MTK, Bregalnica from Shtip and Cypriot team Doxa.

“The most important thing is to be a team, all together. I know that Alioski has great experience in my position and many years in the national team, and that is additional motivation. I expect a tough match. Denmark is a strong national team, but we are focusing on ourselves. I believe that the match is 50-50 and that everything depends on us. We are going with maximum motivation and I hope for a positive result, why not a place in the final.”

Herrera has been in Skopje since Sunday, training with the national team, and is expecting a chance to make his debut. Whether that will happen in Thursday’s play-off match against Denmark or in the second match next Tuesday against Ireland or Czechia, will be decided by coach Sedloski. Since Alioski is injured, and there is no other left-back on the list, Herrera is likely to have a baptism of fire against the Vikings.

Herrera talks about his first call (in Macedonian):