Olympedia – Sergio Padrón

After beginning his football playing career with Club Deportivo España’s youth team, Sergio Padrón made his senior début for Deportivo San Francisco in Cuba. Padrón also represented Industriales, La Habana and Agricultores before retiring as a player and becoming a coach.

Padrón’s first worked as Cuba’s assistant team coach during their campaign to qualify for the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Despite Cuba not qualifying for the Mexico Games he became the head coach of the Cuban team, leading them on a tour to Vietnam in 1970. Padrón then led the national team to victory at the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Padrón continued to coach the Cuban side for multiple international tournaments including the 1975 Pan American Games, the 1976 Montréal Olympics, and the qualification campaigns for both the 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cups.