Lucas Cavallini

Lucas Daniel Cavallini (born December 28, 1992) is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for Vancouver Whitecaps FC in MLS, and the Canada national team.

Lucas Cavallini

Personal information
Full name	Lucas Daniel Cavallini[1]
Date of birth	December 28, 1992
Place of birth	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Club information
Current team	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Number	9
Youth career
2010–2012	Nacional
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2015	Nacional	4	(0)
2012–2013	→ Juventud (loan)	25	(10)
2013–2015	→ Fénix (loan)	40	(16)
2015–2016	Fénix	36	(12)
2017–2018	Peñarol	16	(6)
2017–2018	→ Puebla (loan)	25	(13)
2018–2019	Puebla	50	(16)
2020–	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	18	(6)
National team^‡
2011	Canada U20	3	(1)
2012	Canada U23	3	(1)
2012–	Canada	17	(11)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 8, 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of November 15, 2019

Club career

Nacional

Cavallini began playing for Nacional's youth development squads in 2010.[2]

In June 2011, he participated in the 2011 U-20 Copa Libertadores. In the first game, Nacional beat Libertad 1–0 with a goal by Romero. In the second match, they beat Jorge Wilstermann 3–1 with goals from Bueno, Marchelli and again Romero. In the third and final game, Nacional drew 0–0 with Universitario, and qualified for the quarterfinals. On June 20, they were defeated by Mexican side América 1–0, which led to their elimination.

His development in the youth squad lead him to sign a senior contract with the club in early 2012.

Juventud

In mid July 2012, he was sent on loan to Juventud de Las Piedras in order to make his professional debut and have more chances in the first team.[3] In his second match with the club, he scored his first official goal in the 1–0 home victory against Central Español.[4] On October 7, he was the man of the match against Bella Vista, assisting and scoring a goal in his team's 2–0 victory.[5] His third goal came six days later, in a 1–1 away draw against Fénix.[6]

CA Fénix

After a slow start to life during his first season on loan with C.A. Fénix, Cavallini emerged as the club's most prolific goal scorer in the Apertura of the 2014–15 Uruguayan Primera División season. He joined them permanently before the start of the 2015 Apertura.

Peñarol

Cavallini joined Peñarol on January 10, 2017.[7] He scored his first goal against Montevideo Wanderers on February 26. He was loaned to Liga MX side Puebla on August 31, 2017.

Puebla

Cavallini was loaned to Liga MX side Puebla on August 31, 2017, becoming the first Canadian to play in Mexico's top tier since Isidro Sánchez Macip in 2010.[8] He would debut for the club against Cruz Azul on September 9, coming on in the 64th minute for Félix Micolta in a 0–0 draw. He scored his first goal for Puebla against Necaxa on September 16. After scoring 13 goals in 25 matches for Puebla in the 2017–18 season, the club would sign him to a four-year contract in June 2018.[9]

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Puebla and Cavallini agreed to a transfer, signing a three-year deal with MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps FC for a club-record transfer fee ahead of their 2020 season on a three-year deal.[10][11]

International career

Cavallini launched his international career for Canada at 18 years old, debuting for the U-20 team in 2011 during the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Guatemala.[12]

Cavallini has earned three call-ups to Canada's U-23 National team and his performance, along with the fact that he "plays in a different type of league (down in Uruguay)", according to head coach Stephen Hart, earned him his first call up to the senior roster to face Trinidad & Tobago in a friendly match on August 13, 2012.[13][14] Cavallini made his debut for Canada as a second-half substitute for Terry Dunfield against Trinidad, a 2–0 victory.[15]

Cavallini made his World Cup qualifying debut in Canada's 8–1 loss to Honduras. Following that match, he declined a call-up from interim coach Colin Miller for the 2013 Gold Cup, citing personal reasons.[16] Then coach Benito Floro gave an interview in October 2014 where he elaborated on Cavallini, saying that he had reached out to the player and had not heard back from him. Floro however pointed out that there is a place in the team for him in the future.[17] In May 2015, Cavallini stated in an interview with Tenfield that he regretted becoming cap-tied to Canada.[18][19]

Despite his comments, Cavallini was called up to face Ghana in an October 2015 friendly.[20] In an interview regarding his return to the national team, Cavallini stated that he never said he wouldn't play for Les Rouges again, and that his comments were wrongly translated. He mentioned that his lack of appearances were related to personal matters and timing including the birth of his daughter.[21]

Cavallini was named to the Canadian 40-man provisional team for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup by Canada coach Octavio Zambrano on June 6, 2017.[22] He was confirmed as part of the final 23-man squad on June 27.[23]

Cavallini scored his first goals for Canada on September 9, 2018, netting a brace in an 8–0 victory over the U.S. Virgin Islands in a CONCACAF Nations League qualifier.[24] On May 30, 2019, Cavallini was named to the final squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[25] He scored a hat-trick in a 7–0 win over Cuba during the group stage on June 23, and had a chance to score his fourth goal from a penalty spot, but his panenka went over the crossbar.[26]

Career statistics

Club

As of November 8, 2020[27]

Club	Season	League			Cup[lower-alpha 1]		Continental[lower-alpha 2]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Club Nacional de Football	2013–14	Uruguayan Primera División	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Juventud (loan)	2012–13		25	10	0	0	0	0	25	10
Fénix (loan)	2013–14		13	2	0	0	0	0	13	2
	2014–15		27	14	0	0	0	0	27	14
	Total		40	16	0	0	0	0	40	16
Fénix	2015–16	Uruguayan Primera División	25	7	0	0	0	0	25	7
	2016		11	5	0	0	2	0	13	5
	Total		36	12	0	0	2	0	38	12
Peñarol	2017	Uruguayan Primera División	16	6	0	0	1	0	17	6
Puebla (loan)	2017–18	Liga MX	25	13	1	0	0	0	26	13
Puebla	2018–19		33	11	4	1	0	0	37	12
	2019–20		17	5	1	0	0	0	18	5
	Total		75	29	6	1	0	0	81	30
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	2020	MLS	18	6	0	0	0	0	18	6
Career total			214	79	6	1	3	0	223	80

Notes

1. Includes Copa MX
2. Includes Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana

International

As of November 15, 2019[28]

Canada national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2012	2	0
2013	0	0
2014	0	0
2015	1	0
2016	0	0
2017	4	0
2018	3	3
2019	7	8
Total	17	11

International goals

Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.[29]

#	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	September 9, 2018	IMG Academy, Bradenton, United States	8	U.S. Virgin Islands	2–0	8–0	2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualification
2.					5–0
3.	October 16, 2018	BMO Field, Toronto, Canada	9	Dominica	3–0	5–0
4.	March 24, 2019	BC Place, Vancouver, Canada	11	French Guiana	2–1	4–1
5.					4–1
6.	June 20, 2019	Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Denver, United States	13	Mexico	1–2	1–3	2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup
7.	June 23, 2019	Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, United States	14	Cuba	2–0	7–0
8.					3–0
9.					4–0
10.	June 29, 2019	NRG Stadium, Houston, United States	15	Haiti	2–0	2–3
11.	October 15, 2019	BMO Field, Toronto, Canada	16	United States	2–0	2–0	2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A
Correct as of October 15, 2019

References

1. "40-Player National Team Roster: 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup: Canada" (PDF). CONCACAF. p. 2. Retrieved May 20, 2019 – via Bernews.
2. "Pasión Tricolor conversó con el Juvenil de 3º y 4º – Lucas Cavallini". elnacional.com.uy (in Spanish). November 7, 2011. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
3. "No te me quedes". pordeciralgo.com.uy (in Spanish). July 26, 2012. Archived from the original on April 21, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
4. "Marche un canadiense". quenonino.com.uy (in Spanish). September 2, 2012. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
5. "Juventud 2 : 0 Bella Vista". laoraldeportiva.com.uy (in Spanish). October 7, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
6. "Sin diferencias". ovaciondigital.com.uy (in Spanish). October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
7. "Matías Mier y Lucas Cavallini son nuevos jugadores de Peñarol". teledoce.com. Teledoce. January 10, 2017.
8. "Lucas Cavallini joins Liga MX side Puebla FC". rednationonline.ca. Red Nation Online.
9. Julio Sanchez (June 14, 2018). "Lucas Cavallini renueva por cuatro años con Puebla". Sexenio.
10. "Whitecaps FC acquire marquee Canadian striker Lucas Cavallini on club-record transfer fee". whitecapsfc.com. Vancouver Whitecaps FC. December 16, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
11. "Whitecaps sign Canadian striker Lucas Cavallini to 3-year deal". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The Canadian Press. December 16, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
12. "Canada Soccer Profile: Lucas Cavallini". CanadaSoccer.com. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
13. "New faces aplenty on CanMNT's friendly roster". Canadian Soccer News. August 10, 2012. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
14. "New faces headline Canada's 18-man roster against Trinidad". CBC Sports (cbc.ca). August 10, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
15. Canadian Press (August 15, 2012). "Ricketts leads Canada to 2–0 Win over T&T". Rogers Sportsnet. Toronto. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
16. "Gold Cup roster: Hutchinson and Hainault forced to say no, Cavallini rejects invite". Edmonton. June 25, 2013. Archived from the original on December 8, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
17. "Red Nation Interview Series: Benito Floro". rednationonline.ca. Toronto: Red Nation Online. October 21, 2014.
18. Surridge, Grant (May 20, 2015). "Lucas Cavallini on Canada: I regret my decision a lot".
19. Olascuaga, Joselo (May 18, 2015). "Lucas Cavallini: jugador de la etapa".
20. Bottjer, Steve (October 2, 2015). "CanMNT names squad for October friendly against Ghana". rednationonline.ca. Red Nation Online.
21. Squizzato, Daniel (October 12, 2015). "New man? Forward Lucas Cavallini finally goes all-in for Canada ahead of Ghana game". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer.
22. Tierney, Mitchell (June 6, 2017). "Cavallini, Davies & Arfield highlight Canada's 40-man provisional Gold Cup roster". wakingthered.com. Waking The Red.
23. Zeitlin, Dave (June 27, 2017). "Canada names nine MLS players to 23-man CONCACAF Gold Cup roster". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer.
24. "Canada cruises to record win in Concacaf Nations League opener". sportsnet.ca. Sports Net. September 9, 2018.
25. "Together We Rise: Canada Soccer announces squad for the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup". canadasoccer.com. Canada Soccer. May 30, 2019.
26. "Cavallini, David hat tricks lead Canada past Cuba in Gold Cup". tsn.ca. The Sports Network. June 23, 2019.
27. "Lucas Cavallini profile". Soccerway. October 31, 2018.
28. "Lucas Cavallini profile". Canada Soccer. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
29. "Cavallini, Lucas". National Football Teams. Retrieved September 13, 2018.

External links

• Lucas Cavallini at Soccerway