ORLANDO, Fla. - Age really is just a number for Eduardo Sebrango.
The 38-year-old striker who was invited to the expansion Montreal Impact's Major League Soccer training camp got a pleasant surprise Tuesday when he was signed to a one-year contract.
''He's shown no signs of age, no signs of anything other than sharpness and fitness,'' coach Jesse Marsch said as the team arrived in Florida for the eight-team Disney Pro Soccer Classic tournament.
The Impact invited five players who played for them in the second division North American Soccer League last season to try out for the MLS squad. Sebrango was the only one to earn a contract.
He believed from the start he could make it.
''It was tough the first couple of weeks, but then I started feeling better and I think I did well,'' the Cuban-born Canadian citizen said.
It is a second year in a row Sebrango's career appeared to be over, only to see him bounce back.
Before the 2011 campaign, the Impact wanted to keep only players they felt could stay with the club for the jump to MLS. Sebrango was let go but worked with the team's academy. He was back in June when the squad struggled to score goals. He recorded six the rest of the season and came second in team scoring.
''That's the thing about sport, you have to prove yourself every time you're on the field,'' said Sebrango, a prolific scorer in second division where he won championships with both Montreal and Vancouver. ''Here it's going to be even harder.
''It's going to be a challenge but I'm ready for it.''
Normally, an older player would be used only to come off the bench in the second half of games, but Marsch said Sebrango is not normal.
''We don't rule out him being a starter,'' said Marsch. ''I think he's 90-minutes fit.
''He's one of the fittest guys on the team, actually.''
He said the team has to work with Sebrango to get him to take a day off training so that he doesn't overwork.
''Every game he's played in this pre-season, he's played well and he's helped the team do well in the game because of his ideas and his sharpness,'' said Marsch. ''It wasn't a difficult decision based on the fact that he had done so well.''
Forward was a question mark for Montreal after the top pick in the expansion draft, Brian Ching, got his wish to be dealt back to the Houston Dynamo. Marsch now has at least some bodies to choose from.
Last week, the club selected Eddie Johnson as an allocation pick and flipped him to Seatte for promising striker Mike Fucito and midfielder Lamar Neagle.
''We have eight or nine good options at forward,'' he said. ''We'll have a lot of good competition.
''We feel Mike and Lamar will add to that group and it gives us flexibility in how we use (midfielder-forwards) Davy Arnaud, Sanna Nyassi and Justin Mapp. Now we've assembled a pretty talented attacking group of players.''
Mapp left camp in California last week for personal reasons but is to rejoin the team on Saturday. Nyassi is with the Gambian national team and will miss the Disney tournament.
Besides Sebrango, five other players from the 2011 Impact squad were already under contract with the team: goalkeepers Evan Bush and Greg Sutton, defender Hassoun Camara and midfielders Sinisa Ubiparipovic and Ian Westlake.
Montreal plays its first game Friday night against the rival Vancouver Whitecaps, while Toronto FC plays its first game Saturday night against USL cub Orlando City. Houston, Sporting Kansas City, Dallas and Swedish club B.K. Hacken will also take part.
The tournament ends March 3.
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