The Tampa Bay Mutiny has filled one of their two allocated positions for 1999 by receiving Costa Rican forward Alejandro Sequeira from Major League Soccer. Sequeira, 23, has signed a multi-year contract with MLS. In keeping with league policy, no terms of the agreement will be revealed. MLS allocated Sequeira to the Mutiny at the request of GM Nick Sakiewicz and head coach Tim Hankinson, who have personally observed the 5-foot-11, 183-pounder in action for Saprissa of the Costa Rican First Division. “I have seen Sequeira play once and Tim has seen him twice,” said Sakiewicz, “and we both came away with the same conclusion: that this is a young, big-time player who can make quite an impact on our team and MLS. He has an outstanding track record in Costa Rica and is only beginning to reach his potential as a player. I will be very surprised if he isn’t one of the best players in our league this year.” A native of San Jose, Costa Rica, Sequeira has spent all but one of his nine seasons with Saprissa, beginning as a 15-year-old in 1990. He has been a member of three national champion teams at Saprissa (1993-94; 1994-95 and 1997-98). Over the last two years, Sequeira has established himself as one of Costa Rica’s top scorers. He had 16 goals for Saprissa in 1996-97, fourth best in his country, and had ten this year while leading the club to a 15-1-6 record and first place standing in the first half of the 1998-99 First Division season. “He can play both as a forward or an attacking midfielder and is comfortable in both positions,” said Hankinson. “He can score equally well with either foot and has an outstanding ability to head the ball. And, like our Mauricio Ramos, he loves to go to goal. He’ll be a handful for defenders and will certainly help our attack. I’m anxious to see both he and Mauricio together within the confines of our system. Certainly, he is a player that come in and help us immediately.” A star on the Costa Rican youth and U-23 national teams as well as Saprissa, Sequeira was recently called in for his first Costa Rican training camp with the full national team and is expected to be a fixture with his country’s national side for many years. He is listed on the roster for qualifying for the 2002 World Cup. Sequeira is expected to be in Tampa in time for the start of the Mutiny training camp on Feb. 1.